Five thousand years of atmospheric Ni,Zn, As,and Cd deposition recorded in bogs from NW Iberia: prehistoric and historic anthropogenic contributions

The analysis of environmental archives from across the world has demonstrated that human perturbation of the geochemical cycles of trace metals and the resultant atmospheric metal contamination date back, at least, several millennia. However, an understanding of the local processes and timing of changes in trace metal deposition is also essential for a proper global interpretation. The Iberian Peninsula was a major mining area since prehistoric times and the analysis of environmental archives provides a good opportunity to improve our understanding of the history of mining and metallurgy in Europe. We present the results from three ¹⁴C dated peat cores from the Xistral Mountains (NW Iberia). These records are used to reconstruct past atmospheric deposition of Ni, Zn, As, and Cd. The chronology of the changes in concentrations and metal accumulation rates was found to be concordant in the three bogs, and showed great similarity to total Pb, Hg, and Pb isotope ratios as determined in previous investigations. They present a consistent view of changes in atmospheric pollution and the importance of metals in the development of human societies, especially: i) the first evidence of atmospheric metal pollution 3400 years ago, which is simultaneous with the expansion of the Atlantic Bronze Koine; ii) a pollution event between 2350 and 2150 years ago, associated to the development of so-called Celtic culture (local Late Iron Age); iii) a dramatic increase of metal fluxes in Roman times; iv) a severe and rapid increase in the last 250 years corresponding to the beginning of the industrial revolution in Europe, reflecting the emergence of the new dominant sources of pollution, and v) the increase of long range atmospheric transport of pollutants. Our data suggest that all detected ancient (until ca. 1450 cal BP) periods of enhanced Ni, Zn, As, and Cd accumulation may have had an anthropogenic origin, related to the onset and development of mining and metallurgy.     

The Determination of Lead Isotope Ratios by Multiple Collector Icp‐Ms: A Case Study of Early Bronze Age Artefacts and their Possible Relation With Ore Deposits of the Erzgebirge*

Lead isotope analyses of Early Bronze Age metal artefacts from the Aunjetitz (Ún?tice) culture in central Germany and Bohemia were determined in order to find out whether they could be related to ore sources of the Erzgebirge. Historical mining began only in the 12th century ad , but despite the lack of convincing field evidence it has frequently been suspected that this region was already being exploited in prehistoric times. For the determination of the lead isotope ratios, the new technique of multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC‐ICP‐MS) was employed, which combines relatively easy sample preparation with highly precise and accurate measurements. The results show that there is still no evidence for prehistoric mining in the Erzgebirge, but the Rammelsberg deposit in the Harz Mountains might have supplied some of the copper. Mining of stream tin in the Erzgebirge remains a possibility, but no positive evidence can be extracted from the data.     

Ancient copper and lead pollution records from a raised bog complex in Central Wales,UK

This paper presents records of metal deposition as preserved by a peatland which has accumulated in the lowland coastal zone at Borth, near Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, mid-Wales, U.K. The research objective was to explore the origins and history of metal mining and (or) metallurgy by reconstructing a geochemical record of copper, lead and zinc pollution for the last four millennia. Two cores were extracted from Borth Bog, one from the raised ombrotrophic part of the bog and another from a minerotrophic part of Borth Bog close to the ancient copper workings at Llancynfelin. Although peat stratigraphy and nutrient status have influenced the geochemical record, the results suggest that an early phase of copper and lead pollution occurred at Llancynfelin whilst lead enrichment occurred in the peat core taken close to the centre of Borth Bog during the Bronze Age and the Roman occupation. Therefore the origins of copper and lead mining and metallurgy possibly extend back to the Bronze Age in central Wales. No record of historical pollution exists at either site. The results of this study also provide further evidence that lead and copper are immobile in ombrotrophic peat and that pollution records can be elucidated from minerotrophic peat. Zinc, however, may have suffered from post-depositional mobility.     

Salt mining tools and techniques from Duzdaği (Nakhchivan,Azerbaijan) in the 5th to 3rd millennium B.C.

The emergence of mining reflects profound changes in the organization of late prehistoric societies. In terms of lithic and ore mining, salt is a highly strategic mineral resource which was exploited for its dietary and healing properties. The exceptional prehistoric salt mine of Duzda?i (Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan) is located in a high salt-bearing region centered on the Aras River in the Lesser Caucasus. Field survey, spatial recording of archaeological materials and use-wear analysis of macrolithic tools have allowed us to outline the mining operations and techniques there from the Chalcolithic period onwards. We have identified workshops for the manufacture and repair of tools, as well as salt extraction and processing areas.     

The potential of stable Cu isotopes for the identification of Bronze Age ore mineral sources from Cyprus and Faynan: results from Uluburun and Khirbat Hamra Ifdan

Copper isotope ratios differ between hypogene sulfidic, supergene sulfidic and oxidized ore sources. Traditional lead isotope signatures of ancient metals are specific to deposits, while Cu isotope signatures are specific to the types of ore minerals used for metal production in ancient times. Two methodological case studies are presented: First, the mining district of Faynan (Jordan) was investigated. Here, mainly oxidized copper ores occur in the deposits. The production of copper from Fayan’s ore sources is confirmed by the measurement of the Cu isotope signature of ingots from the Early Bronze Age metal workshop from Khirbat Hamra Ifdan. Based on our results illustrating differences in the Cu isotope composition between the ore mineralizations from Timna (Israel) and Faynan, it is now possible to determine these prehistoric mining districts from which copper artifacts originated by combining trace elements and Pb isotopes with Cu isotopes. The second case study presents data on Late Bronze Age copper production in Cyprus. Oxhide ingots from the shipwreck of Uluburun (Turkey) were tested for their lead isotope signatures and assigned to Cypriot deposits in the recent decades. The oxhide ingots from Uluburun show a Cu isotope signature which we also found for oxidized copper ores from Cyprus, while younger oxhide ingots as well as metallurgical slag from the Cypriot settlements Kition and Enkomi show a different signature which might be due to the use of sulfidic ore sources from a greater depth of deposits. We assert that there could be a chronological shift from oxidized to sulfidic ore sources for the copper production in Cyprus, requiring different technologies. Therefore, Cu isotopes can be used as a proxy to reconstruct mining and induced smelting activities in ancient times.     

An Interdisciplinary Study on the Environmental Reflection of Prehistoric Mining Activities at the Mitterberg Main Lode (Salzburg,Austria)

A multi‐proxy study by palynological, geochemical, archaeological and dendrochronological analyses discloses the mining activities at the Mitterberg Main Lode. By these means, several mining phases with varying intensity are recorded during the Bronze and Early Iron Age, whereupon a west to east shift of the mining activity at the Mitterberg Main Lode can be observed. The initial mining phase (Phase II), from the 21st to the 15th centuries bc , is characterized by an opening up of the forest vegetation and, additionally, by slightly elevated heavy metal deposition. Phase III shows a first bloom phase of the chalcopyrite mining during the 14th and 13th centuries bc . Pollen analyses disclose extensive clearings used for pasture and settlement. The increased human impact and higher heavy metal pollution suggest intensive mining activity, which is corroborated by the dendrochronological and archaeological data. Phase IV is characterized by mining activities in progress during the 12th century bc . The pollen data reflect a stabilization of the vegetation and slightly elevated As/Cu/Sb to Sc ratios. During Phase V, in the 11th century bc , new clearings indicate a re‐intensification of the mining activities at the Mitterberg Main Lode. Phase VI, from the ninth century bc onwards, describes a human impact with lower intensity at the mining site. This interdisciplinary study at the Mitterberg Main Lode contributes new environmental data for an important area of past metal mining and extends our understanding of the relationship between miners and their landscape.     

Experimental determination of use wear on stone adzes from Boomplaas Cave,South Africa

To test the assumption that Later Stone Age adzes were used primarily for woodworking, replicas of adzes were made and used to chisel and to plane wood. The use wear on these replicas was then compared with that on 51 prehistoric examples from Boomplaas Cave in the southern Cape Province, South Africa. The results show that all the prehistoric adzes examined have wood polish, and that charcoaling was part of the technique of Later Stone Age woodworking at least as early as 14,200 bp.     

Metallurgical traditions and metal exchange networks in late prehistoric central Myanmar,c. 1000 BC to c. AD 500

Myanmar has been notably underrepresented in recent studies of archaeometallurgy in Southeast Asia, despite its richness in both mineral and cultural resources and its potentially central role in long-distance exchange networks linking India, China and peninsular neighbours. Here, we present original analytical data on copper-base artefacts from several Bronze Age and Iron Age sites in Myanmar. Observed microstructures range from as-cast, worked, to fully annealed; compositions include leaded copper, low-tin to high-tin bronzes, and arsenical copper/bronze. Lead isotope analyses indicate that the metal originates from different geological sources, including several that match the lead isotope signatures of known prehistoric copper mines in Thailand and Laos. These archaeometallurgical data, including evidence for secondary copper-base production, more than double those currently available for Myanmar and document the presence of multiple local alloying and working traditions, perhaps chronologically differentiated, as well as identifying possible links to primary mineral sources across the region. Overall, this adds significant new information to the emerging picture of Southeast Asian prehistoric metallurgy at the crossroads of several major ancient cultures.     

The Mineralogy of Bronze Age Copper Ores from the British Isles: Implications for the Composition of Early Metalwork

Numerous analytical studies during the latter half of this century have contributed to the compilation of a large compositional database of Early to Middle Bronze Age copper-based artefacts revealing distinctive impurity patterns which appear to change over time. However, attempts to relate these data to copper ore sources proved problematic in the absence of firm evidence for the location of prehistoric copper mines. Over the last fifteen years this situation has changed dramatically with the discovery of numerous Early and Middle Bronze Age copper mines in England and Wales. This study is the first attempt at a comprehensive mineralogical survey of the principal mines investigated to date in order to define the likely composition of the copper ores as mined in antiquity for comparison with the artefact database. The study suggests that the majority of these mines can only have produced essentially pure copper. Only one mine, Ross Island, is likely to have produced copper with a significant level of impurities. The relative purity of the known ore sources is contrasted with significant levels of various metallic impurities among the analysed artefacts, leading to the conclusion that metal circulation and mixing may have been more extensive than previously thought even during the earliest part of the Bronze Age.     

Erosion Hazards and Efficient Preservation Measures in Prehistoric Cultural Layers in the Littoral of Lake Constance (Germany,Switzerland)

Many Neolithic and Bronze Age cultural layers and pile fields embedded in sediments at the shorelines of pre-alpine lakes in France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Italy (in part UNESCO World Heritage Sites), are threatened by littoral erosion which is partly caused by human agency. Based on measurements of the wave field at four prehistoric sites on Lake Constance (Germany, Switzerland) we discuss the role of passenger ship navigation. We also review the stability and ecological compatibility of archaeological preservation control fills on the littoral platform of Lake Constance, and we make some recommendations for future preservation measures.     

From Scale to Practice: A New Agenda for the Study of Early Metallurgy on the Eurasian Steppe

This paper evaluates conventional scholarship surrounding early metallurgy in the Eurasian steppe zone, with a particular focus on prehistoric developments in a region including northern Kazakhstan and the Southern Ural Mountains of the Russian Federation. Traditionally, the emergence of metallurgy in this region has been viewed either as peripheral to core developments in Mesopotamia, Europe and the Near East, or as part of a much larger zone of interaction and trade in metals and metal production technologies. Such views have deflected scholarship from pursuing questions concerning metallurgical production, consumption, trade and value, and their connection to local diachronic socio-economic change. This paper examines these key issues through recent research programs in the steppe region, and in so doing offers an important comparative case study for early metallurgy. It is suggested that in order to develop a better understanding of early mining, metallurgy and socio-economic change in the central steppe region, new theoretical and methodological approaches are needed that highlight the unique characteristics of early mining communities and their relationships to micro-regional resources and concomitant local, in addition to long-distance, trade dynamics. These issues are discussed in light of current field research by the authors and their Russian colleagues on the Middle Bronze Age Sintashta development (2,100–1,700 BC) in the Southern Ural Mountains.     

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*

The results of the lead isotope analysis (LIA) of 15 copper‐base artefacts from the Bronze Age site of al‐Midamman, Yemen, are reported. The LIA data suggest the existence of an indigenous Bronze Age metal production and exchange system centred on the southern Red Sea region, distinct from those in neighbouring regions of Arabia and the Levant. These preliminary results are highly significant for the archaeology of the region, suggesting that local prehistoric copper extraction sites have thus far gone unrecorded, and highlighting the need for systematic archaeometallurgical fieldwork programmes in the countries surrounding the southern Red Sea.     

Historical context and chronology of Bronze Age land enclosure on Dartmoor,UK

The upland of Dartmoor, southwest England, is one of the flagship prehistoric landscapes within Britain owing to the excellent survival of extensive prehistoric coaxial field systems. Archaeological surveys and rescue excavations during the 1970s and 1980s did much to further the understanding of this landscape; however, much remains to be explored, in particular the chronology of enclosure, the nature of the pre-enclosure landscape and the relationship between Bronze Age communities and their environment. Reconsideration of this landscape is important, given the place it holds in our understanding of subdivision of the landscape across northwest Europe during prehistory. This paper presents new palaeoecological data recovered as part of an integrated archaeological and palaeoecological project on northeast Dartmoor. The sequences detailed here include the first dated Neolithic period palaeoenvironmental data from within the prehistoric enclosed land on the moor, providing a longer-term context for enclosure. Neolithic groups are implicated in the first establishment of heathland in the study area at around 3630–3370 cal BC. During the early Bronze Age, reestablishment of hazel scrub in the study area implies reduced use of the upland, although it is not clear whether this is local or indicative of the wider landscape. A combination of pollen and fungal spore data indicates a substantial shift to species-rich grassland with grazing animals at c.1480 cal BC in a phase that lasted 400 years. The later Bronze Age and early Iron Age are characterised by low intensity use of the upland. These data provide new chronological data for land cover change on Dartmoor and whilst they broadly confirm existing models of upland land use in later prehistory, their proximity to the standing archaeology affords a more nuanced interpretation of local change.     

Neolithic and Bronze Age ungulate footprint-tracks of the Severn Estuary: Species,age, identification and the interpretation of husbandry practices

Ungulate footprint-tracks provide information regarding the species and age of animals. Combined with other datasets, this contributes to interpretation of seasonal husbandry patterns in the Severn Estuary, focusing on Bronze Age intertidal footprint-tracks at Redwick and Goldcliff East and the Late Neolithic site of Oldbury. Metric dimensions and morphology of modern contemporary ungulate footprint-tracks are used as analogues to help understand the species and age of prehistoric ungulates. Findings indicate that Dexter cattle and Soay sheep are metrically similar to British prehistoric ungulates. The prehistoric sites have a concentration of neonatal and juvenile individuals. Along with evidence provided by environmental data, faunal skeletal assemblages and lipid and isotopic analysis, this leads to the conclusion that the presence of younger animals and evidence at Brean Down for dairying is consistent with saltmarsh grazing activity in spring and summer.     

3D imaging of Skoteino Cave,Crete, Greece: Successes and difficulties

Abstract

Interpreting cave use, especially from antiquity, requires the perception of subterranean space in all dimensions (floor to ceiling to lateral extent) including spatial variability resulting from geological factors. Subterranean conditions, coupled with variable atmospheric conditions, create a special environment not readily conveyed by conventional mapping techniques limited to two-dimensional floor plans. Skoteino Cave in north central Crete, Greece was used as a ritual and refuge site in the Bronze Age and later. Mapping of the cave attempted to depict and interpret prehistoric and historical use of this space by employing two mapping techniques: EDM total station mapping and terrestrial/point cloud laser scanning. Comparisons with earlier methods used to map cave show the advantages and disadvantages of various mapping schemes. To date, this was the first use of three-dimensional (3D) scanning to explore the complex shapes and space of a subterranean archaeological site on Crete (and the second such use in Greece), and this use demonstrates its own consequent successes and difficulties.     

Revisiting Key Sedimentary Archives Yields Evidence Of A Rapid Onset Of Mining In The Mid‐13th Century At The Great Copper Mountain,Falun, Sweden

Mining in Falun, Sweden, was first mentioned in a deed from ad 1288, but previous studies of peat and lake sediments inferred that mining began during the fifth to eighth centuries. In order to reassess these findings, we performed new geochemical analyses on new samples from three key sites: Tisksjöbergets myr, a buried mire alongside the mine; Tisken, a small lake in Falun; and Runn, the main recipient for waters draining through Falun. At Tisksjöbergets myr, the peat contains up to 6% copper, giving it the characteristics of a cupriferous bog. Hence, this record is not useful for tracing early mining. The sediments of Tisken—upon which many of the old interpretations have relied—contain numerous cut wood fragments, and two of those gave young and reversed radiocarbon dates (19th and 16th centuries for 192 and 187 cm, respectively). This indicates that the sediment was derived from infilling and, thus, has little value as a historical record. Runn's sediment—the only reliable record—provides clear evidence of a rapid onset of large‐scale mining from c. ad 1245, with abrupt increases in ore‐related elements—for example, a 34‐fold increase in copper—this increase is consistent with the mid‐13th century burial of the mire at Tisksjöberget.     

The impact of mining activities on the environment reflected by pollen,charcoal and geochemical analyses

This article presents results of a multi-proxy study of a fen deposit in the former mining district of Falkenstein near Schwaz in the Tyrol, Austria. The aim of the study in the framework of the special research program HiMAT (The History of Mining Activities in the Tyrol and Adjacent Areas – Impact on Environment & Human Societies) was to disclose the ecological impact of mining in pollen and heavy metal diagrams and to create a model combining the changes in palaeoecological proxies with historical evidences for mining. The application of this palaeoecological–historical model to prehistoric times allowed us to reconstruct the impact of mining and metallurgic activities in the surroundings of the fen during the last millennia. The results of stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, LOI, pollen and micro-charcoal analyses as well as geochemical analyses of scandium, lead and lead isotopes validated by historical and archaeological data are hereby presented.     

The Bronze Age landscape of the Bjäre peninsula,southern Sweden,and its relationship to burial mounds

Palaeoecological analyses from a small fen deposit, combined with pollen analysis from buried soil profiles under prehistoric burial mounds, have been used to investigate the timing and vegetation change associated with the Holocene development of a cultural landscape in southern Sweden. Traditional pollen analysis is complemented with plant macrofossil analysis and soil pollen analysis from within and in close proximity to the burial mounds in the coastal Bjäre peninsula, well known for its high density of well-preserved Bronze Age monuments. The vegetation development is linked to the construction of the burial mounds. A marked increase of cultural impact on the landscape is recorded during the Neolithic–Bronze Age transition and estimates of landscape openness suggest that by the onset of the Bronze Age, forest cover was only 20–40%, falling to 10% in the immediate vicinity of the burial mounds themselves. The coastal strip appears to have been affected by human activity to a greater extent and at an earlier date than sites from further inland in southern Sweden and the Bronze Age burial mounds were most likely designed to be visible in a largely deforested landscape.     

Prehistoric Settlement,Mobility and Societal Structure in the Peak District National Park: New Evidence from Ceramic Compositional Analysis

Detailed compositional and technological analysis of a large assemblage of prehistoric ceramics from numerous sites situated within the Peak District National Park has been used to explore the settlement patterns, societal structure, mobility and interaction of the populations that inhabited this area during the Early Bronze Age to Early Iron Age. A surprising pattern emerges of the widespread dominance of a single, geographically restricted temper type, which appears to have been transported and mixed with locally procured clay and used to produce pottery at numerous different sites. The distribution of this and several other compositional groups are defined via thin‐section petrography and compared to raw material field samples. The resulting patterns are used to assess the validity of previous theories about prehistoric life in this region during the third to first millennia bc .     

Sheep wool in Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe

This study presents the results of a series of wool measurements from Bronze Age and Iron Age skins and textiles from Hallstatt, and Bronze Age textiles from Scandinavia and the Balkans. A new method of classification that was set up and applied on mostly mineralised Iron Age material has now been applied to a large body of non-mineralised material from the Bronze and Iron Ages. Three types of microscopes were used and their advantages and disadvantages assessed. The results of the investigation cast new light on sheep breeding and fibre processing in prehistoric Europe, and suggest that different sheep breeds existed in Bronze Age Europe.