Standish, CD, Chapman, RJ, Moles, NR et al. (2 more authors) (2022) Archaeological applications of natural gold analyses. Geological Society Special Publications, 516. pp. 401-424. ISSN 0305-8719
Abstract
Compositional studies of natural gold usually have a geological focus, but are also important in archaeological provenancing. Both methodologies rely on compositional comparison of two sets of samples, one of which is geographically constrained. Here we describe how experiences in gold characterization resulting from geological studies are relevant to archaeology. Microchemical characterization of polished sections of natural gold identifies alloy compositions, alloy heterogeneity and mineral inclusions. Gold from all deposit types shows Cu and Sn values much lower than those recorded during numerous studies of artefacts. Inclusions in artefact gold include various Cu- and Sn-bearing compounds which indicate specific high temperature reactions that could ultimately illuminate the conditions of (s)melting. The use of LA-ICP-MS to generate a wide range of elemental discriminants for provenance studies may be compromised by alloy adulteration and/or unrepresentative analysis of natural/artefact alloys, which are commonly highly heterogeneous at the micron scale. Geological studies normally characterize only the earliest-formed (hypogene) alloy, whereas archaeology-focussed studies should entail analyses of bulk alloy compositions and impurities that may be incorporated during (s)melting. Isotopic-based provenancing alleviates many of these problems but, to date, generates regional rather than locality specific targets. A dual isotopic-compositional approach is recommended.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of an article, published in Geological Society, London, Special Publications. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Institute for Applied Geosciences (IAG) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 27 Sep 2021 15:00 |
Last Modified: | 05 Jan 2023 15:30 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | The Geological Society |
Identification Number: | 10.1144/sp516-2021-59 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:178504 |