AIA Presentation 2015
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Metalworking began in Eurasian steppes over 6000 years ago, and from the very beginning it involved networks for the distribution of raw materials over hundreds of miles. Metal helped to forge the bonds that made the Eurasian steppes a broad cultural area. This presentation on early metal making and metal networks in the Middle Volga steppe region of Samara, Russia, includes copper, bronze, and gold jewelry, and the role that the mobility of early steppe pastoralists, relationships between distant communities, and recycling played in the social and technical practices that surrounded early metalwork. Previous versions of this presentation were given at the Talking Archaeological Science Symposium, Stanford University Archaeology Center, May 17, 2014, and at the Four Field Colloquium, University of Michigan Department of Archaeology, January 20, 2014.
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AIA Presentation 2015
- 1. David Peterson, Ph.D. The MoDa Group and Director, Samara Ancient Metals Project Eurasia Before the Golden Age Metal Technology and Metal Networks, ca. 3000-1500 BC AIA, Minnesota Society and Macalester College September 24, 2015
- 5. circumpon-c metallurgical province P r o v i n c e Metallurgical Focus Metalworking Focus Metalworking Focus Metallurgical Focus Metallurgical Focus Eurasian Steppe ZoneCaucasus Zone Metallurgical Focus Metalworking Focus Metalworking Focus Metallurgical Focus Metallurgical Focus Province ca. 3500-2000 BC (E. N. Chernykh 1992) Caspian Sea . Samara
- 16. samples removed by hand with jeweler’s saw, mounted in bakelite, ground and polished • samples are preserved • analysis is repeatable • the same samples are used for electron microprobe, metallography, SEM-EDS, and nanoSIMS 16 elements were analyzed by electron microprobe wavelength- dispersive spectrometry (WDS), 200 ppm resolu-on: • iron • cobalt • nickel • copper • zinc • arsenic • an-mony • -n • sulfur • aluminum • silicon • manganese • silver • bismuth • lead • gold
- 20. cm
- 28. 0 5 10 15 20 25 Potapovka I Utevka VI WP 2 WP 3 21 12 16 9 comparison of work paSerns copper and bronze metalwork from Potapovka I and Utevka VI
- 36. Badakhshan Royal Cemetery of Ur ca. 2600 BC Samara Samara, ca. 1800 BC was the deple-on gilding technique transferred along the same routes as lapis?
- 38. Inventory from Sintashta grave 30 Reconstruction of the Arkaim Settlement Sintashta paSern MBA II, ca. 2100-1800 BCE
- 39. Funding ² Wenner-Gren Founda-on ² Na-onal Science Founda-on ² Office of Research, Faculty Research CommiSee, Humani-es and Social Sciences Research CommiSee, and College of Art & LeSers, Idaho State University Research Centers and Ins2tutes ² Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (Richland, Washington) ² Ins-tute for the History and Archaeology of the Volga (Samara, Russia) ² Center for Archaeology, Materials and Applied Spectroscopy, Idaho State University Students and Colleagues from ² University of Chicago ² Hartwick College te University’s ch pixel in the t pa ern. Sig-‐ in Fig. 4. The of silver in the . 4, right) also . Gold enrich-‐ d on to it as is the par cipa on Ur and the Bronze Age steppes in networks for the distribu on of lapis lazuli [3] suggest that knowledge of this technique may have traveled the prehistoric Silk Road with early luxuries. Deple on gilding implies the associa on of gold with beauty and greater value than the other metals that were re-‐ moved and hidden below the surface of the object. It was 2000 years before technology for "gilding the lily"—giving the surface of a rare and valuable material, electrum, a more golden color—was used to refine gold. If gold was so valuable, why did it take so long for this shi to occur? The uses of gold went beyond the desire to acquire more of the precious material. Gold refinement produces a color change and a loss of mass from the removal of silver. The manipula on of electrum for bodily adornment in the Spiridonovka II pendant would have been made more difficult by purifica on; removal of all of the silver would have result-‐ ed in loss of 95% of a scarce material that was already worked into a very thin foil. The mo va on for re-‐ finement was not adornment, but control of the composi on of the material itself. Analysis of the earliest Lydian coins shows that slightly before refinement was introduced, electrum was struck into coins of regular weight and form as assurance of redeemability by the Lydian state [12]. Faith in this new medium for mar-‐ ket interac ons, tax, and tribute was tested in its early years, crea ng a greater need to control the make- up of official currency and to sustain permanent shops [13]. Size and weight were not enough. The ideal be-‐ came a pure material that remained as a commodity itself when faith in coin and state was challenged. ONGOING RESEARCH Iden fica on of deple on gilding during the Bronze Age in the Volga-Ural steppes has led to the ques on of how widespread these techniques were in the prehistory of the surrounding region. Peterson will travel to Kazakhstan to collect samples from Bronze and Iron Age contexts in May 2013 for new analyses. ck and white vka II pendant foil , g) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A por on of the research was performed using EMSL, a na onal scien fic user facility sponsored by the Department of Energy’s office of Biological and Environmental Research and locat-‐ ed at Pacific Northwest Na onal Laboratory. Acquisi on of the samples was facilitated by Peterson’s par cipa on in the Samara Valley Project (Dr. David Anthony, PI), and collec on of new samples in Kazakhstan will be done in coordina on with the Tuzusai project directed by Dr. Claudia Chang (Sweet Briar College. EPMA was performed at Oxford Materials by Dr. Pe-‐ ter Northover and Dr. Chris Salter, with assistance from Dr. Blanca Maldonado. Funding was provided by the Wenner-Gren Founda on for Anthropological Research through Individual Re-‐ search Grant 6760. This material is based upon work supported by the Na onal Science Founda on under Grant No. 0431940. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommenda-‐ ons expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Na onal Science Founda on. This work was also partly supported by the Na onal Science Founda on under Grant No. BSC 0821783, PHY 0852060, and the Office of Research and College of Arts and Le ers, Idaho State University. III: 67-77. the Altai Moun-‐ i Kul’tury v Samar-‐ -60. 93-97. D. disserta on, Uni-‐ Boston, pp. 38-52. ² Samara State Pedagogical University ² Oxford Materials ² Idaho State University