Description

Humanintentionality in chemical patterns in Bronze Age metals

For the last 180 years, scientists have been attempting to determine the 'provenance' (geologicalsource) of the copper used in Bronze Age artefacts. However, despite advancesin analytical technologies, the theoretical approach has remained virtuallyunchanged over this period, with the interpretative methodology only changingto accommodate the increasing capacity of computers. This book represents aconcerted effort to think about the composition of Bronze Age metal as theproduct of human intentionality as well as of geology. It considers the traceelement composition of the metal, the alloying elements, and the lead isotopiccomposition, showing how a combination of these aspects, along witharchaeological context and typology, can reveal much more about the lifehistory of such artefacts, expanding considerably upon the rather limitedambition of knowing where the ore was extracted.

Beyond Provenance serves as a 'how-tohandbook' for those wishing to look for evidence of human intentionality in thechemical patterning observed in bronzes.

This publication isGPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer Review Content).