ARCHIVES

(6075 articles):



By Date December 2019 November 2019 September 2019 August 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 April 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 August 2017 June 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 January 2003 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 March 2001 November 2000 July 2000 May 2000 April 2000 February 2000 January 2000 December 1999 November 1999 October 1999 September 1999 July 1999 June 1999 April 1999 March 1999 November 1998 August 1998

By Region Africa Americas Asia Australasia England France Iberian peninsula Ireland Italy Middle East Rest of Europe Scotland Wales EDITORIAL TEAM:



Clive Price-Jones

Diego Meozzi

Paola Arosio

Philip Hansen

Wolf Thandoy



If you think our news service is a valuable resource, please consider a donation. Select your currency and click the PayPal button:

Euro Pound Sterling U.S. Dollar --------------- Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Czech Koruna Danish Krone Hong Kong Dollar Hungarian Forint Japanese Yen Norwegian Krone NZ Dollar Polish Zloty Swedish Krona Singapore Dollar



Main Index

Podcast



Tweet



19 January 2014

6,500-year old tin-bronze from Serbia The hypothesis of a single origin for Eurasian metallurgy has been challenged by the discovery of copper smelting evidence some 7000 years old at Plochnik, a Vincha culture settlement in eastern Serbia. Here, the tin-bronze foil was excavated from an undisturbed context, on the floor of a dwelling structure next to a copper workshop - a single occupation horizon dated to circa 4650 BCE. The tin-bronze foil from the site of Plochnik is therefore the earliest known tin-bronze artefact anywhere, extending the record of bronze making by about 1500 years.

Two artefacts were analysed for a new study: the foil from Plochnik and a ring from Gomolava. Their shape implies that they were used for decorative purposes. The foil from Plochnik was left in a soft annealed state so that it could be wrapped around a ceramic vessel, while the ring from Gomolava was left in the work-hardened state. The annealing temperatures used were much higher than those required for annealing the pure copper that was the dominant metal of the time. This demonstrates that the metal smiths understood clearly the specific properties and requirements of tin-bronze.

The disappearance of the complex tin-bronzes coincides with the collapse of large cultural complexes in north-eastern Bulgaria and Thrace in the late 5th millennium BCE. This suggests that these tin-bronzes were 'cultural alloys', their production dictated by culturally embedded desires and preferences.

What were the advantages of tin-bronzes? The presence of major impurities such as tin, arsenic and antimony improved their material properties: they melted at lower temperatures than pure copper objects, and were easier to cast. These impurities also gave the artefacts a bright yellow colour. Colour has been recognised as crucial in the use of tin-bronzes as an alternative to gold in central Asia, and for the early appearance of brasses from the early 3rd millennium BCE. Colour is particularly interesting in light of the world's earliest gold objects, dated to the mid 5th millennium BCE and deposited in the cemetery of Varna.

The colour and social significance of gold can be related to the emergence of the early tin-bronzes, and the opportunities the latter might have offered as an imitation of gold. We may add the relatively limited production of both metals, which stands in stark contrast to the massive production of contemporary copper metal implements. Gold and tin-bronzes may have been the reserve of highly ranked individuals.

The new study provides archaeological and analytical evidence for the independent emergence of tin-bronze production some 1500 years before the first tin-bronze alloys of south-western Asia, and preceding by almost half a millennium the earliest use of natural alloys of arsenical copper, challenging the established sequence of the evolution of metallurgy in western Eurasia.

Other metals were used in the Balkans at this period. There is evidence of use of both lead and galena from Vincha culture sites and the use of silver is attested by the hoard from the Alepotrypa Cave in Greece, and dated to the mid 5th-early 4th millennia BCE. The near-contemporary use of all these metals in the Balkans defies the conventional narrative of a slow unilinear evolution of metallurgy.

Balkan polymetallism may have evolved from the aesthetic preferences of the consumer elite at the time. Exploitation of the material properties indicates that metalworkers were actively pursuing various technological solutions, but these technologies were not utilised for the active alloying of two metal components.

The absence of alloyed metals in these early stages of Eurasian metallurgy has been traditionally ascribed to a lack of technological skills, but the evidence presented by the new study showcases the significant level of metal craftsmanship in the 5th millennium BCE. The reluctance to produce alloyed metals may well have been rooted in cultural as well as technological choices, for instance in the demand for a specific colour rather than advantageous material properties.

The production of complex tin-bronzes in the Balkans declined towards the end of the 5th millennium BCE, coinciding with the collapse of the gold-using cultures in Bulgaria. Tin-bronzes only re-appeared some 1500 years later, based on cassiterite tin. This alloy was widely adopted across central and south-western Asia, when its production, consumption and trade acted as one of the driving forces behind the intensification of the economic, social and political lives of Bronze Age communities across Eurasia. Edited from Antiquity (December 2013) Share this webpage:

Tweet

Next entry: Previous entry: Neolithic mural may depict ancient eruption Next entry: Storms unearth Neolithic bog in Ireland

Copyright Statement

Publishing system powered by Movable Type 2.63 HOME • SHOP • TOURS • PREHISTORAMA • FORUMS • GLOSSARY • MEGALINKS • FEEDBACK • FAQ • ABOUT US TOP OF PAGE ^^^