Lead Isotope Analyses of Bronze Age Copper‐base Artefacts From Al‐midamman, Yemen: Towards the Identification of an Indigenous Metal Production and Exchange System in the Southern Red Sea Region*

Weeks, Lloyd; Keall, Edward J.; Pashley, Vanessa; Evans, Jane; Stock, Susan

doi:10.1111/j.1475-4754.2008.00429.x

Cited by 53 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Computational Fluid Dynamics of wind powered iron furnaces (Tabor et al 2005); the provenancing of ore deposits through isotope ratios of ores, slags and artefacts (Weeks et al 2009); and the microscopic examination of hammerscales, slags, and blooms, to understand production and processing factors (Jouttijärvi 2013).…”

Section: A C C E P T E D Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemical survey and metalworking: analysis of chemical residues derived from experimental non-ferrous metallurgical processes in a reconstructed roundhouse

Carey

Wickstead

Juleff

et al. 2014

Journal of Archaeological Science

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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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Section: A C C E P T E D Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemical survey and metalworking: analysis of chemical residues derived from experimental non-ferrous metallurgical processes in a reconstructed roundhouse

Carey

Wickstead

Juleff

et al. 2014

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…Cross‐referencing the LI, major element and contextual data for the remaining 11 bangles and bowls is problematic, but they appear to be high‐tin bronzes (ibid.). Maintaining the assumption that tin does not normally bring a significant LI contribution to a copper alloy (e.g., Begemann and Schmitt‐Strecker 2009; Weeks et al . 2009, 586), the LI signature of the 11 high‐tin bronzes can be compared with the nascent SEALIP database (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Southeast Asia's First Isotopically Defined Prehistoric Copper Production System: When Did Extractive Metallurgy Begin in the Khao Wong Prachan Valley of Central Thailand?

et al. 2010

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Southeast Asian metallurgical developments have been a focus of international academic interest since Solheim (1968) and Bayard (1972) first published bronze artefacts in claimed early/middle third millennium bce contexts from northeastern Thailand, igniting a regional ‘origins’ of metallurgy debate that has smouldered for 40 years (e.g., White and Hamilton 2009, Higham in press). In this paper, we present the results of a lead isotope pilot study centred on the Khao Wong Prachan Valley of central Thailand—currently Southeast Asia's only documented prehistoric copper smelting locale. These preliminary data indicate that our ongoing regional metal exchange research programme may be able to elucidate interaction networks between copper‐producing and ‐consuming societies within and beyond Southeast Asia from c. 2000 bce to c. 500 ce. Furthermore, we are able to offer tentative evidence relevant to White and Hamilton's (2009) ‘Rapid Eurasian Technological Expansion Model’ for the Sino‐Siberian derivation of regional metal technologies around the turn of the third/second millennium bce.

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“…Weeks et al (2009) suggested three main copper sources within and around Arabia which were exploited since before the Iron Age. Geographically, the most likely copper source for Tayma and Qurayyah would be the Jordan rift valley of northwest Arabia with the famous ancient mining and smelting sites at Feinan and Timna (Rothenberg, 1972;Hauptmann, 2007;Weisgerber, 2006).…”

Section: Lead Isotope Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second major potential copper source for these two sites is in current Oman and the northern United Arab Emirates where copper was exploited as early as the second half of the third millennium BC and at least until the pre-Islamic period (Weeks, 2003). The third potential copper source (Weeks et al, 2009) is the so-called Arabian Shield in southwest Arabia and northeast Africa, split by the Red Sea. Lead isotope data for ores and artefacts from this region match best with Bronze Age artefacts from al-Midamman on the Red Sea coast of Yemen (Weeks et al, 2009: 593e4).…”

Section: Lead Isotope Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Copper processing in the oases of northwest Arabia: technology, alloys and provenance

Liu

Pernicka

Hausleiter

2015

Journal of Archaeological Science

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a b s t r a c tVery little is known about early metallurgical activity in the north-western part of the Arabian Peninsula, despite the region's cultural importance. To begin to address this research lacuna, metallurgical remains including crucible fragments, metal dross and a copper artefact were sampled from two oases in northwest Arabia, Qurayyah and Tayma. The metallurgical activity in Qurayyah is dated to the Late Bronze Age, and in Tayma to the Roman/Late Roman period. At both sites we identified evidence for copper alloying and refining. Small scale copper smelting might also have been practiced in Qurayyah. Arsenical copper was processed at both sites, but in Tayma tin bronze and leaded tin bronze dominated. The chemical analysis of metal prills in crucible linings showed that fresh copper and tin instead of scrap metal were employed in these processes. Lead isotope analysis indicates that at least some of the Tayma metal was imported. Access to raw materials from remote areas is consistent with the importance of Tayma in the trading network of northwest Arabia.

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Lead Isotope Analyses of Bronze Age Copper‐base Artefacts From Al‐midamman, Yemen: Towards the Identification of an Indigenous Metal Production and Exchange System in the Southern Red Sea Region*

Cited by 53 publications

References 30 publications

Geochemical survey and metalworking: analysis of chemical residues derived from experimental non-ferrous metallurgical processes in a reconstructed roundhouse

Geochemical survey and metalworking: analysis of chemical residues derived from experimental non-ferrous metallurgical processes in a reconstructed roundhouse

Southeast Asia's First Isotopically Defined Prehistoric Copper Production System: When Did Extractive Metallurgy Begin in the Khao Wong Prachan Valley of Central Thailand?

Copper processing in the oases of northwest Arabia: technology, alloys and provenance

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