Beyond Provenance

Human intentionality in chemical patterns in Bronze Age metals

For the last 180 years, scientists have been attempting to determine the ‘provenance’ (geological source) of the copper used in Bronze Age artefacts. However, despite advances in analytical technologies, the theoretical approach has remained virtually unchanged over this period, with the interpretative methodology only changing to accommodate the increasing capacity of computers. This book represents a concerted effort to think about the composition of Bronze Age metal as the product of human intentionality as well as of geology. It considers the trace element composition of the metal, the alloying elements, and the lead isotopic composition, showing how a combination of these aspects, along with archaeological context and typology, can reveal much more about the life history of such artefacts, expanding considerably upon the rather limited ambition of knowing where the ore was extracted.

Beyond Provenance serves as a ‘how-to handbook’ for those wishing to look for evidence of human intentionality in the chemical patterning observed in bronzes.

Ebook available in Open Access.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

"Beyond Provenance" was edited by Mark Pollard.

Mark Pollard is Edward Hall Professor of Archaeological Science at the Research Laboratory for Archaeology, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, and PI on the ERC Advanced Grant ‘FLAME’.

Yes, "Beyond Provenance" is part of the "Studies in Archaeological Sciences" series. It's book 6 in the series.

Studies in Archaeological Sciences presents state-of-the-art methodological, technical or material science contributions to Archaeological Sciences. The series aims to reconstruct the integrated story of human and material culture through time and testifies to the necessity of inter- and multidisciplinary research in cultural heritage studies. Studies in Archaeological Sciences aims to publish at least one volume a year and accepts monographs as well as coherent edited volumes in English. Contributions should be set up to be a specialist reference work for a broad audience of academic readers. Manuscript should be 80.000 to 120.000 words in length and may include graphs and tables in black and white. All contributions are submitted to international peer review.

Readership

Researchers and graduate students in fields such as Archaeology, Archaeological Sciences, History, Conservation and Cultural Heritage Studies and Museum Sciences.

Editor-in-Chief

Prof. Patrick Degryse, Centre for Archaeological Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium

Editorial Board

Prof. Dennis Braeckmans, Department of Archaeological Sciences, Universiteit Leiden, The Netherlands
Prof. Ian Freestone, Institute of Archaeology, University College London, United Kingdom
Dr. Andrew Meek, Department of Scientific Research, The British Museum
Dr. Andrew Shortland, Centre for Archaeological and Forensic Analysis, Cranfield University, United Kingdom
Prof. Manuel Sintubin, Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium

Invitation to future Advisory Board members

Scholars interested to join the Advisory Board of this new series are cordially invited to contact Prof. Patrick Degryse (Editor-in-Chief) or one of the editorial board members.

Proposals

Proposals and inquiries can be sent to to editor-in- chief Patrick Degryse or one of the editorial board members. Please send a preliminary abstract (1-2 pp.) and a short bio. Upon approval of this abstract (average turnaround time of 4 weeks), the full manuscript will be submitted to international peer review. Two peer reviewers will be asked for expert advice, three in case of conflicting reports.

Please make use of the submission form to present your manuscript or proposal to our board.
Authors interested in Open Access can consult the available funding options.

Links & Resources

Yes, "Beyond Provenance" is published Open Access. It is available under a BY-NC-ND license.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1Previous Approaches to the Chemistry and Provenance of Archaeological Copper Alloys
Chapter 2Developing a New Interpretative Framework
Chapter 3Legacy Datasets and Chemical Data Quality
Chapter 4Trace Elements and ‘Copper Groups’
Chapter 5Alloying Elements and ‘Alloy Types’
Chapter 6Lead Isotope Data from Archaeological Copper Alloys
Chapter 7The FLAME GIS-Database
Chapter 8Summary: Beyond Provenance?
References
Bibliography of Sources of Chemical and Isotopic Data Used in the FLAME Database
Index

The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for "Beyond Provenance" is 10.11116/9789461662668.