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Evidence for a previously unrecognized pan-Asian metallurgical tradition of linear configuration iron-smelting furnaces is reviewed. The foundation of this technological lineage lies in an evolutionary series of excavated furnaces in Sri Lanka dating from the fourth century BC to the eleventh century AD. Further archaeological, ethnographic and documentary evidence from Burma, Cambodia, Sarawak and Japan demonstrates the spread of linear furnace technology and its association with the production of high-carbon steels, often associated with weapons manufacture. An evolutionary approach is used to argue that a process of memetic inheritance explains a major divergence in Eastern and Western metallurgical development and furnace design.

Geochemical survey and metalworking: analysis of chemical residues derived from experimental nonferrous metallurgical processes in a reconstructed roundhouse, Journal of Archaeological Science (2014Science ( ), doi: 10.1016Science ( /j.jas.2014 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT *principle author for correspondenceAbstract: Geochemical survey is becoming a more frequently applied tool for site specific archaeological investigation. It has the potential to integrate site prospection and excavation data with post excavation artefact analysis, unifying two stages of the archaeological process. In the field of archaeometallurgy this is particularly relevant as sites of metalworking are liable to produce high geochemical loadings, related to the manufacture of metal goods and associated waste products such as slags. This paper describes the geochemical survey of an 'experiential' metalworking area within a reconstructed roundhouse, identifying geochemical enhancements associated with bronze and lead working. The geochemical survey of the roundhouse clearly defines areas of metalworking that can be related to recollected episodes of metalworking and quantifies the spatial distribution and absolute geochemical loadings from this activity. Consideration is given to how such geochemical enhancements should be archaeologically interpreted and whether geochemistry should be viewed as a micro-artefact and dealt with in a context specific way. It is suggested that geochemical survey can play an important role in defining evidence of metallurgy in archaeological investigations, particularly where such evidence remains elusive, e.g. the British Bronze Age.Keywords: metallurgy, geochemistry, metal pollution, spatial survey, GIS IntroductionGeochemical survey is becoming a more widely practised technique within archaeological research (Oonk et al. 2009a;Wilson 2009), which has the potential to identify evidence of anthropogenic activity that is otherwise invisible to conventional archaeological methods, i.e. the hidden site, context or landscape (Heron 2001). Despite this potential, geochemical survey has yet to establish itself as a technique that can consistently offer results demonstrably linked to human activities within the archaeological record (Oonk et al. 2009b), partly due to the difficulty in interpreting multifaceted geochemical data; "because of the complexity of site use history and the effects of post depositional processes" (Wilson et al. 2008). Archaeological geochemical survey has been applied on a variety of scales, ranging M A N ...

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