Early Copper Age Settlements in the Körös Region of the Great Hungarian Plain

Abstract

This article discusses research carried out by the Körös Regional Archaeological Project from 2000 to 2006 at Early Copper Age Tiszapolgár Culture sites on the Great Hungarian Plain. To build a model of social organization for the period, we incorporated information from regional geomorphological studies, soil chemistry analysis, archaeological surface surveys, remote sensing, and systematic excavations at Early Copper Age sites in the Körös Valley of southeastern Hungary. Previous models characterized the transition from the Neolithic period to the Copper Age as an abrupt shift from a tell-based, sedentary, agricultural lifeway to one based on mobile cattle herding. By studying the transition between these periods on multiple geographic and temporal scales, we have identified a more gradual process with widespread regional variation in cultural patterns. Similar social processes characterize the transition between chronological periods and cultural phases in other parts of the world, and we suggest that a multiscalar approach is effective for building comparative archaeological models of long-term social change.     

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BLACK‐PATINATED COPPER ALLOYS*

This analytical study aims to investigate ancient Egyptian black‐patinated copper alloys. The study group was selected from the collections of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and from the Faculty of Archaeology Museum in Cairo University. Examination and analysis were undertaken using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), X‐ray diffractometry (XRD), X‐ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The analysis results indicated that the black patina contained mainly tenorite (CuO). The study presents evidence of thermal patination and animal glue coating.     

THE ANCIENT MINE OF SERVETTE (SAINT‐MARCEL,VAL D’AOSTA,WESTERN ITALIAN ALPS): A MINERALOGICAL,METALLURGICAL AND CHARCOAL ANALYSIS OF FURNACE SLAGS*

The Cu–Fe mining district of Servette is located in the valley of Saint‐Marcel (Val d’Aosta) at about 1800 m a.s.l. in the western Italian Alps. A large furnace slag deposit occurs near the Servette mine. Slags are mainly constituted by silicate and oxide in a glassy matrix, with disseminated sulphides and iron–copper alloys, and they record temperatures of 1380–1100°C. Radiocarbon dating of slag charcoals has shown that metallurgy in this site took place around ad 890–980. The charcoal analysis has shown that coniferous wood was mainly utilized, and intensive exploitation over the centuries led to a change in the composition of the local woods.     

Roman military copper‐alloy artefacts from Israel: questions of organization and ethnicity*

The published analyses of Roman military copper‐alloy metalwork from Masada are complimented by additional ICP‐AES analyses of material from Gamla enabling further discussion of alloying trends and presenting new insights into the organization of the Roman military and the cultural specificity of brass technology.     

INVESTIGATION ON ROMAN LEAD GLAZE FROM CANOSA: RESULTS OF CHEMICAL ANALYSES*

Five sherds of green glazed pottery excavated at Canosa (Apulia) in Italy have been analysed by scanning electron microscopy. The aim of the investigation was to determine the chemical composition of the glazes and thus obtain information on the methods used in their production. The glazes were all of the high‐lead type, coloured green by the addition of copper. Intermediate layers, observed at the interface between the glaze and body and giving the appearance of an applied white slip, were the result of the crystallization of lead feldspar from the molten glaze. Non‐calcareous clays were used in the production of the pottery bodies. Concentration profiles from the glaze exterior to the body suggested that the glazes were produced by applying a suspension consisting of lead oxide plus silica to the bodies. On the basis of the glaze and body compositions, it is suggested that the Canosa glazed pottery was produced locally.     

PALAEOCLIMATIC IDENTIFICATION BASED ON AN ISOTOPE STUDY OF TRAVERTINE FROM THE COPPER AGE SITE AT LOS MILLARES,SOUTH-EASTERN SPAIN*

Remains of an aqueduct from the Copper Age settlement of Los Millares have been studied. The isotope results (—7‰ < δ¹⁸O — 5.3‰) show that the aqueduct was used to transport fresh water at room temperature. The results are inconsistent with the aqueduct being used for hot water transport or as a container for water exposed to evaporation processes. Both isotopic and mineralogical results were useful in identifying the origin and use of building materials and also in determining climatic conditions during the time of the settlement occupation.     

PRE-COLUMBIAN METALLURGY: TECHNOLOGY,MANUFACTURE, AND MICROPROBE ANALYSES OF COPPER BELLS FROM THE GREATER SOUTHWEST*

Twenty-four cast copper crotals (commonly called bells), one 'spilled bell’, one tinkler bell and a number of minerals from locations throughout the Greater Southwest were analysed for their elemental composition by a PIXE nuclear microprobe at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, USA. Sixteen bells contained minor and trace amounts of silver, antimony, arsenic, lead, and in some cases tin, strontium, and selenium. Nine bells contained little or no detectable amounts of these elements. This suggests that several workshops throughout the Greater Southwest and Mexico might have manufactured these bells.     

A CHALCOLITHIC MACE HEAD FROM THE NEGEV,ISRAEL: TECHNOLOGICAL ASPECTS AND CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS

An interdisciplinary case study of the role of technology in ancient society is presented here based on a single copper object from the beginning of metallurgy in Israel during the late fifth to fourth millennium BC. This research is based on a combination of typological, chronological and technological analyses. The mace head is made of copper alloyed with arsenic and antitmony, cast in a ‘lost wax’ technique over a stone core. The metallurgical, metallographic and petrographic analyses not only help reconstruct the production technology but also shed light on fundamental questions concerning the origin, ore selection and function of this sophisticated type of metal production in prehistoric society.     

PREHISTORIC COPPER PRODUCTION IN THE INN VALLEY (AUSTRIA), AND THE EARLIEST COPPER IN CENTRAL EUROPE*

In recent years archaeological finds and scientific analyses have provided increasing evidence for a very early beginning of copper production in the rich mining area of the Tyrolean Alps. The earliest findings derive from an excavation of a multi‐phase settlement on the Mariahilfbergl in Brixlegg, which revealed evidence that a small amount of fahlores, probably of local provenance, was at least heated if not even smelted there in the Late Neolithic Münchshöfen culture (the second half of the fifth millennium bc ). However, most copper finds of this horizon consist of low‐impurity copper that most probably derives from Majdanpek in Serbia. This long‐distance relationship is corroborated by typological features that link some aspects of the Münchshöfen culture with the Carpathian basin. Thus it is not yet clear if, at Brixlegg, actual copper production took place or, rather, an experimental treatment of the local ores. The typical fahlore composition, with arsenic and antimony in the per cent and silver and bismuth in the per mille ranges, appears in quantity only in the Early Bronze Age. Many thousands of Ösenringe are known from many central European Early Bronze Age sites, with a chemical composition typical of fahlores. At Buchberg near Brixlegg, a fortified settlement with slags from fahlore smelting proves that the local ores were indeed exploited. The lead isotope ratios of Ösenringe from the Gammersham hoard in Bavaria, which consist of fahlore copper, confirm this and suggest that copper mining and production in the Inn Valley reached a first climax during that period. In the Late Bronze Age, copper was produced at an almost industrial level.     

DISCOVERY AND CHARACTERIZATION OF AN UNKNOWN BLUE‐GREEN MAYA PIGMENT: VESZELYITE*

Blue‐green mosaic and polychrome masks and funerary offerings from the royal tombs of Calakmul, Mexico, were analysed by scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (SEM‐EDS), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and particle induced X‐ray emission (PIXE). This led to the first identification of the use of veszelyite, a rare hydrated copper‐zinc phosphate, as green pigment. Analyses of a geological sample of this mineral have been done to confirm the characterization of this Mayan pigment, which might help determine pre‐Columbian trade routes of precious and luxury objects in the ancient Maya Classic period (ad 250–800).