Academia.eduAcademia.edu

Copper metallurgy

description107 papers
group28 followers
lightbulbAbout this topic
Copper metallurgy is the branch of materials science and engineering that focuses on the extraction, processing, and manipulation of copper and its alloys. It encompasses techniques for smelting, refining, and alloying copper to enhance its properties for various industrial applications.
lightbulbAbout this topic
Copper metallurgy is the branch of materials science and engineering that focuses on the extraction, processing, and manipulation of copper and its alloys. It encompasses techniques for smelting, refining, and alloying copper to enhance its properties for various industrial applications.

Key research themes

1. How does the lifecycle and social context influence the chemical and isotopic composition of archaeological copper artifacts?

This research theme challenges the traditional provenance-focused approach in archaeometallurgy that presumes a direct, unaltered relationship between the chemical/isotopic signatures of copper artifacts and their geological ore sources. It investigates how social behaviors such as recycling, reuse, mixing, and curation of metal objects create complex 'metal flows' that imprint on the chemical and isotopic compositions of archaeological copper. Understanding these lifecycle dynamics is critical to accurately interpreting metal provenance and reconstructing past human-metal interactions.

Key finding: Demonstrates the limitations of conventional provenance studies by providing evidence that mixing of recycled metals from multiple sources in objects like the Bridgewater bell creates blended isotopic signals that do not... Read more
Key finding: Combining typochronological, chemical composition, and lead isotope analyses on 39 Neolithic and Early Bronze Age copper objects reveals multiple distinct metallurgical traditions in the region, with evidence for... Read more
Key finding: Reviewing chemical and lead isotope data of Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Anatolian copper artifacts, this study highlights the archaeological inconsistencies that arise from interpreting metallurgical data solely through... Read more

2. What technological innovations and local practices characterized copper smelting across different historical and regional contexts?

This area focuses on the metallurgical techniques employed in copper extraction and alloy production, with a particular emphasis on how local environmental, resource availability, and cultural factors influenced smelting and casting methods. The theme covers advances from Neolithic to Iron Age metallurgy, including furnace design, fuel use, ore blending, and alloy composition optimization, exploring both empirical experimental archaeology and archaeometric analyses to reconstruct ancient metallurgical engineering.

Key finding: Analyses of 2nd millennium BC copper smelting slags from Taldysai reveal dual production lines for copper and arsenical copper employing different co-smelting recipes and multi-step roasting to remove sulfur and iron.... Read more
Key finding: Through extensive experimental archaeology replicating Middle Kingdom smelting furnaces at Ayn Soukhna, this study identifies a dual fuel system combining fresh acacia wood and donkey dung as optimal for copper smelting. The... Read more
Key finding: Reviews historical and contemporary applications of investment casting for copper alloys, demonstrating that advanced molding and casting technologies enable production of high-strength, high-conductivity, and complex-shaped... Read more
Key finding: Archaeological excavations at Le Planet (France) uncover extensive Neolithic pyrometallurgical installations including furnaces and slag pits with the processing of multiple copper ores (malachite, tetrahedrite, bournonite).... Read more

3. How are copper production, trade networks, and social structures interconnected in ancient societies?

This theme examines the socio-economic dimensions of copper metallurgy, focusing on how copper production centers, trade routes, and metal artifact assemblages relate to social cohesion, ritual practices, and political organization. It leverages archaeometric data in combination with spatial and contextual archaeological analyses to elucidate the role of metallurgy in societal complexity, resource control, and ideological expression across cultures and time periods.

Key finding: Through metallographic and contextual analysis, Saruq al-Hadid is characterized as a standalone Iron Age workshop specializing in copper-alloy object production linked to ritualized depositional practices. The site... Read more
Key finding: Comprehensive archaeometallurgical and contextual studies at Saruq al-Hadid reveal evidence of a full copper production chain (smelting, refining, casting, recycling) accompanied by ritualized copper depositions indicative of... Read more
Key finding: GIS spatial analyses combined with metallurgical slag studies of two Late Roman smelting sites in Western Cyprus reveal distinct production organization strategies: Argaka as an industrial-scale site optimized for labour... Read more
Key finding: Demonstrates a hydrometallurgical roasting and leaching procedure enabling selective recovery of copper and cobalt from industrial copper slags, alongside removal of toxic elements. The method underscores the potential of... Read more

All papers in Copper metallurgy

Kufel-Diakowska B., Chłoń M., Bronowicki W. and Borowski M. 2024. Hidden lithic treasures. Research perspectives on museum collections of Neolithic stone tools. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 76/1, Museum collections contain numerous finds... more
Im Rahmen meiner an der Universität Freiburg (Deutschland) entstandenen Magisterarbeit führte ich eine Reihe von Schmelzexperimenten mit Kupfererzen durch. Ziel war es, die metallurgischen Prozesse bei der Kupfergewinnung während des... more
The U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted Cu exchange tests for six common clays under simulated in situ leaching conditions. Regression equations were obtained from the data expressing the Cu exchange capacity as a function of Cu concentration,... more
Le Royaume Téké connu également comme le Royaume Anziko ou Tyo, qui a existé et existe encore de nos jours en Afrique Centrale, avec pour capitale Mbé située dans l’actuel Congo-Brazzaville, a été et est encore un grand royaume, fondé... more
HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or... more
Copper axe-adzes of the Jászladány type are a prominent feature of Eneolithic material culture, particularly in Southeastern Europe, with significant finds in Serbia. Characterized by dual bits positioned horizontally and vertically... more
Results of Excavation Campaigns made in 2015 and 2016 at the Chalcolihic settlement of Outeiro Redondo (Sesimbra). Results of Excavation Campaigns made in 2015 and 2016 at the Chalcolihic settlement of Outeiro Redondo (Sesimbra). In this... more
per Damia CRESP~ l . " Francesc GRACIA 3s5, Damia VICENS Miquel Alexandre DOT ', Mateu VADELL 2, Miquel Angel BARCELÓ 2, Pere BOVER 4 , 5 , 7 i V i c e n ~ PLA Presentam la descripció i topografia de 13 cavitats inedites i un enfonsament... more
Les cahiers de la Réserve naturelle | N°1 de l'ONCFS pour étudier leur occupation du territoire grâce à des captures, des marquages et des suivis télémétriques. Le Chamois nouveau venu sur la chaîne (après la dernière guerre selon Robert... more
Les cahiers de la Réserve naturelle | N°1 de l'ONCFS pour étudier leur occupation du territoire grâce à des captures, des marquages et des suivis télémétriques. Le Chamois nouveau venu sur la chaîne (après la dernière guerre selon Robert... more
The three first-rate walled sites where the author directed archaeological excavations: Leceia (Oeiras), between 1983 and 2002; Moita da Ladra (Vila Franca de Xira), between 2003 and 2006; and Outeiro Redondo (Sesimbra), between 2005 and... more
A series of 17 crucible smelting experiments were carried out as part of an interdisciplinary research project initiated to understand the innovation of copper metallurgy in the central and southern Portuguese Copper Age. The... more
Arrived as an historian in Nouakchott in 1974, the author quickly became a prehistorian. He was asked to organise the History Department of the École Normale Supérieure, which was at that time one of the two higher education institutions... more
Geochemical measurements on well-dated sediment cores from Lake Er (Erhai) are used to determine the timing of changes in metal concentrations over 4500 years in Yunnan, a borderland region in southwestern China noted for rich mineral... more
Au nom de l'équipe du projet, je tiens à présenter mes plus vifs remerciements à la commission des fouilles du Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires Etrangères pour son soutien scientifique et financier au projet franco-mauritanien... more
En 1972, Claude Béguin (botaniste neuchâtelois) publie une carte précise de la végétation des crêtes du Jura. Ce faisant, il était loin de se douter qu’il créerait les conditions d’émergence d’un projet interdisciplinaire 40 ans plus tard... more
Du Reculet aux sommets alpins : quels changements sur les crêtes ? de l'ONCFS pour étudier leur occupation du territoire grâce à des captures, des marquages et des suivis télémétriques. Le Chamois nouveau venu sur la chaîne (après la... more
Du Reculet aux sommets alpins : quels changements sur les crêtes ? de l'ONCFS pour étudier leur occupation du territoire grâce à des captures, des marquages et des suivis télémétriques. Le Chamois nouveau venu sur la chaîne (après la... more
Many traces of copper metallurgy, such as slag and other copper melts, can be found in the area of Lower Silesia. The tested material mainly consists of copper slag with different content of copper melts, being a semi product. The copper... more
The Faynan region in southern Jordan is the largest copper ore resource zone in the southern Levant and was exploited for these ores beginning ca. 8000 years BP. We discuss the relationship between nomadic populations and major copper... more
Many traces of copper metallurgy, such as slag and other copper melts, can be found in the area of Lower Silesia. The tested material mainly consists of copper slag with different content of copper melts, being a semi product. The copper... more
The geological, magnetic and mineralogical studies have uncovered a polymetallic mineralization deposit at Amensif in the Amezmiz mining district (western High Atlas, Morocco). The Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag and Au mineralizations are hosted in the... more
La société actuelle produit des quantités sans cesse croissante de déchets. Ceux-ci sont une source potentielle de pollution et il est alors nécessaire de pouvoir les stabiliser et de connaître leur devenir. Une des voies principales de... more
Winter home ranges of chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) were censused, cartographied, and described in four montainous massifs situated in Isère (France). Based on 1 700 points characterized by 7 environmental parameters, 73 areas were... more
Marmots through space and time / Les marmottes dans le temps et l'espace Adaptive strategies and diversity in marmots / Stratégies adaptatives et diversité chez les marmottes TOME C. & CHAIX L. 2003. Marmot's hunting and exploitation in... more
A number of slags of all known sites in the Italian Eastern Alps showing occurrences of copper smelting activities in the Copper Age have been characterized by lead isotope analysis. All the investigated smelting slags from Trentino... more
A treballs anteriors (RAMIS et al., 2004, 2005) hem documentat processos metal·lúrgics prehistòrics, alguns de cronologia incerta i d'altres associats a la pri-mera fase cultural registrada a Mallorca. Aquesta fase cultural es... more
Mots-clés. Sud de la France, district de Cabrières, chalcolithique, métallurgie du cuivre, outillage en pierre, typologie, technologie, tracéologie. Résumé. Les outils à cupules en provenance des aires de métallurgistes chalcolithiques du... more
El trabajo analiza las novedades que se han producido en el estudio de los rituales funerarios campaniformes al introducir, de manera sistemática, análisis arqueométricos que nos permiten identificar la presencia de cinabrio en numerosas... more
The research focuses on assessing the metal content, mainly copper, lead, iron and also silver in metallurgical slag samples from the area where historical metallurgical industry functioned. In the smelter located in Mogiła, near Krakow... more
During the last decades it has been shown that copper production in Cyprus continues in large scale at least until the 7th and perhaps until the 8th c. CE (Kassianidou, 2013a; Socratous et al., 2015; Kassianidou et al., 2021), and not... more
The purpose of this paper presented at RECIMAT-09 is to address, briefly and as clearly as possible, expectations which may have arisen from the basic and applied research regarding the increasing problem of pollution caused by arsenic... more
3.2 Methodes socioculturelles En suivant un questionnaire Standard decrit dans Boillat (2002), 21 interviews ont ete reparties comme l'indique le tableau 2. D'apres une enquete preliminaire (Lamnek 1995), les
The present article presents a review of a singular find of a copper pin together with Bell Beaker items in a cave in Morocco. Although in the first publication of this piece Georges Souville already established a connection of the pin to... more
Based on a pre‑development excavation near the town of Pecica, at the “Arsat” location, a group of eight inhumation graves were identified, out of which only two presented a funerary inventory composed of pottery recipients characteristic... more
Copper metallurgy in Southeast Arabia has been extensively studied, focusing primarily on understanding production and trade dynamics during the Bronze Age. Investigations have also delved into the Iron Age period, mainly examining... more
Presentam la descripció i topografia de 13 cavitats inedites i un enfonsament carstic situades en el puig Gros de Bendinat i als seus voltants (serra de na Burguesa, Calvia). Destaquen I'avenc de sa Soca de 103 m de fondaria i la cova des... more
The purpose of this paper presented at RECIMAT-09 is to address, briefly and as clearly as possible, expectations which may have arisen from the basic and applied research regarding the increasing problem of pollution caused by arsenic... more
Many traces of copper metallurgy, such as slag and other copper melts, can be found in the area of Lower Silesia. The tested material mainly consists of copper slag with different content of copper melts, being a semi product. The copper... more
Copper metallurgy in southeast Arabia has been the focus of many studies, mainly to understand production and trade dynamics in the Bronze Age. More recently, studies have also concentrated on the Iron Age. These have focused on evidence... more
Winter home ranges of chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) were censused, cartographied, and described in four montainous massifs situated in Isère (France). Based on 1 700 points characterized by 7 environmental parameters, 73 areas were... more
catalaEs presenta la descripcio i planimetria parcial dels forns de guix de la serra de na Burguesa (Mallorca). Els conjunts de forns estudiats es presenten en parells i es localitzen a la vora d’antigues explotacions mineres de guix. La... more
Presentam la descripció i topografia de 13 cavitats inedites i un enfonsament carstic situades en el puig Gros de Bendinat i als seus voltants (serra de na Burguesa, Calvia). Destaquen I'avenc de sa Soca de 103 m de fondaria i la cova des... more
Cover: Kongo kingdom stone smoking-pipe fragments, decorated stem and bowl from 17th century Ngongo Mbata site excavations, Kongo Central province, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Dans le cadre du projet de recherche KongoKing, dirigé par Koen Bostoen (cf. www.kongoking.org), une mission de prospections archéologiques et d’enquêtes ethnoarchéologiques, menées par Els Cranshof et Igor Matonda, a été organisée... more
Download research papers for free!