Copper metallurgy

The topic of “innovation transfer” has gained major significance in the past decades. The present study explores conditions, mechanisms and patterns of the distribution of such processes, which are compiled by means of three examples, namely the technical innovation of copper metallurgy in Europe, the economic innovation of food production in northern Europe, and the spiritual-ritual innovation of Middle Neolithic circular earthworks. The examples demonstrate that some innovations came to a limited halt at “temporal boundary zones”. With regard to history of research, there are two approaches, a neo-evolutionary one with a focus on long-term development and supra-regional processes and another one starting from social and cultural factors and stressing the individual. The book demonstrates the significance of social networks and the importance of the transformation potential of an innovation as well as the presence of recurrent patterns. On the one hand, economic and social conditions on either side of a border tend to assimilate to each other, on the other hand expansion was always connected to phases of growth, diversity, flexibility, and high resilience .

Two hundred and fifty-five anthropomorphic stelae or stelae fragments from the Middle and Final Neolithic can be counted in south-eastern France, around the Gulf of Lion, from the southern and western borders of the Massif Central to Provence and the Prealps.
Their study dates back to the end of the 19th century and these monuments fully belong to the French, European and Mediterranean prehistorical "landscape". However, as no synthesis has ever been produced since the 1970’s, a complete analytical review of the available data was required. Besides, the contribution of a digital tool such as the Reflectance Transformation Imaging had to be tested.
A new systematic typology is established thereby, composed of eight styles of stelae: alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, eta and theta. Re-examination of finding contexts enables to clarify the chronology of these homogeneous iconographical entities which come one after another or stand along between 4600 and 2500 BC.
Internal comparisons, inspired from anthropological patterns, reveal a conceivable antagonism of two contemporaneous and neighbouring societies in the first half of the third millennium BC. The analogies observed elsewhere in Europe (especially in the south of the Iberian Peninsula) show the relevance of the anthropomorphic stelae as long-distance networks indicators.
Except their links to power and death, the nature and function of these objects still remain largely unknown. Nevertheless, they could take more part to the debates regarding the definition of regional Neolithic cultures.

Paper published in
PRÄHISTORISCHE ARCHÄOLOGIE IN SÜDOSTEUROPA
BAND 28
THE NEOLITHIC AND ENEOLITHIC
IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE
NEW APPROACHES TO DATING AND CULTURAL
DYNAMICS IN THE 6TH TO 4TH MILLENNIUM BC
Edited by
WOLFRAM SCHIER
and
FLORIN DRAŞOVEAN

International Symposium of Archaeometry - Los Angeles - Mai 2014

This communication concerns the third millennium BC copper metallurgy from the Pyrénées to the Western Alps. It focuses specifically on the Late Neolithic and Bell Beaker period by studying collection from various archaeological sites.
This research uses a representative data set characterized by elemental and lead isotope analyses.

In order to understand the links between
copper exploitation and the origins of the Kongo
and Teke kingdoms, the areas around Mindouli and
Mbé in the Republic of Congo have been surveyed.
Several sites with remains of copper metallurgy
have been found in the vicinity of Mindouli. Two
of them have been test excavated. These results and
the preliminary contact and surveys in the Mbé area
are promising for future archaeological research in
the country.

Just like the majority of the micro-zones in the Carpathian Basin, the Lower Mureş Valley and the Crişul Alb Valley follow the pattern of onset and development of the first metal objects. The first artifacts made of copper have been identified, in the area under study, at the peak of the Tisa-type manifestations. The number of such discoveries increases constantly until the arrival of Bodrogkeresztúr pottery and of the “Scheibenhenkel” pottery. The chronological horizon specific to the Cernavodă III-Boleráz pottery is characterized by the complete disappearance of artifacts made of metal. One can easily note, nevertheless, that with the end of the Coţofeni manifestations, metallurgy grew momentum again. The present study represents a general overview of the first artifacts made of copper in the Lower Mureş area and that of Crişul Alb.

RESUMEN: La metalurgia de cobre en el calcolítico peninsular es uno de los aspectos más interesantes de esta época, porque a diferencia de otros lugares se desarrolló como una técnica al servicio de la utilidad y no como método directo para la distinción social de las élites frente a los productores, no siendo por sí mismo un factor de complejidad social. Sin embargo, el cobre era un bien preciado por complementar los procesos en los que se utilizaba utillaje lítico u óseo y por el cual muchos grupos se desplazarían grandes distancias. Este mineral era posteriormente transformado en metal mediante el uso de vasijas de reducción, donde se produciría el fundido del metal para una posterior forja de distintas herramientas necesarias para la vida. ABSTRACT: The metallurgy of copper in the Iberian Chalcolithic is one of the most interesting aspects of this period, because unlike other places it was developed as a technique at the service of usefulness and not as a direct method of social distinction of elites versus producers, not being itself a factor of social complexity. However, the copper was a valued good for complementing the processes in which lithic or bone tools were used, and by which plenty of groups would travel great distances. This mineral was transformed into metal by using reducing basins, where the molten metal would be produced for a subsequent forge of various and necessary tools for life.

BCE events during 5500-5000. Spread of the food–producing economy from east-central to central Europe; Moravia, Bohemia, southern Poland, Germany, and Holland (the Linear Pottery culture). Beginning of copper metallurgy in Yugoslavia, Romania, and Bulgaria. Increase in size of villages and introduction of long timber houses [long

A treballs anteriors hem documentat processos metal·lúrgics prehistòrics, alguns de cronologia incerta i d'altres associats a la primera fase cultural registrada a Mallorca. Aquesta fase cultural es caracteritza per la presència de ceràmica amb decoració incisa de tradició campaniforme, i la situam a finals del III mil·lenni cal aC (al darrer terç) i, possiblement, al començament del següent (e.g., . No està clarament establert si aquesta fase pertany a l'edat del Bronze inicial o a l'edat del Coure tardana. L'existència d'una fase cultural anterior roman sense provar, d'acord amb l'evidència actual. Donada l'absència de documentació de fases culturals prèvies, associam la fase cultural amb ceràmiques incises amb l'arribada dels humans a Mallorca, la qual s'ha situat entre el 2350 i el 2150 cal BC (ALCOVER, enviat a publicar; BOVER & ALCOVER, en premsa). En definitiva, hem documentat que, com a mínim, des de moments propers a la primera arribada dels humans fins moments indeterminats del II mil·lenni aC (probablement fins moments de la segona meitat del II mil·lenni) a les muntanyes d'Escorca i de Pollença es va extreure mineral de coure, el qual es fonia sobretot al que hem anomenat "balmes metal·lúrgiques".

In 2015, we published a book (Cano Sanchiz 2015) on the English exploitation of the Cerro Muriano Mine (Córdoba, Spain) during the first two decades of the 20th century, which completed seven years of industrial archaeological research on that site. Because that monograph and most of our papers on the topic were published in Spanish, our results have had little impact on the international academic community. For this reason, and also to address the requests of many colleagues, the main aim of this article is to recapitulate, summarise and present to an international (English speaking) audience the main conclusions and advances in knowledge of our previous works on the mining and metallurgy of Cerro Muriano during the Contemporary Age. The research revealed that the mining and metallurgical sectors grew worldwide under a strong international interaction in that period. And this, ultimately, led to a certain globalisation process.

The paper will present the main results of 2003-2006 excavation refering to copper production. The various indicators of metallurgical activities will be presented and the production process will be explained according to the archaeological evidence.

Thirty-nine Neolithic and Early Bronze Age copper objects (primarily axe blades and daggers) from Central, southern and eastern Switzerland or eastern France were analysed typochronologically, chemically and with regard to their lead isotope ratios. This combination of methods allows for more differentiated and reliable conclusions about the provenances of the copper ores and metallurgies than the individual methods could provide in isolation. The primacy of the typochronological classification is paramount for assessing the scientific results appropriately. For the period between c. 4300 and c. 1800 BCE, there is evidence of at least seven different metallurgical traditions found in the Prealps, some of them stemming from far-away innovation hotspots. These metallurgies do not form part of a continuous tradition; instead, they emerge unexpectedly and disappear again just as abruptly. This could hint at the fragility and volatility of these strands of tradition and the groups who keep them. Between 4300 and 3500 BCE, there was a multitude of types, groups of copper compositions and isotope ratios. Arsenic plays an essential role in the composition of copper during this time. Such arsenic-enriched copper is generally referred to as ‘arsenic copper’. It is likely that a considerable share of the raw material used in arsenic copper from this first heyday of copper metallurgy originates from the Slovak or Saxon-Bohemian Ore Mountains. Nevertheless, it seems likely that arsenic copper was at least partially cast locally in the pile dwelling of the Prealps and forged into the shapes known from these areas. According to our analyses, the raw material of some of the objects found in the Swiss Prealps, whether they are arsenic copper or not, could also stem from the eastern Alpine region. Concentrations of crucible and axe blade finds are not necessarily evidence for ore deposits in close proximity, as was assumed in the case of Mondsee and Attersee; these finds could also be indicative of local salt sources, with the salt being exchanged for copper from other areas. The copper of the flanged axe blades from the last quarter of the 4th millennium BCE found mainly south of the Alps—in isolation also north of the Alps—is very similar to the early arsenic copper mentioned above. The axe blades’ distribution patterns and the ‘fingerprint’ of their lead isotope ratios suggest that this later arsenic copper has its origin in the metallurgical centres in South Tuscany. These innovations from the West Mediterranean inspired the metallurgical traditions in the South of France (e.g. Cabrières, Montagne Noire) and the south-western Alps (Massifs des Grandes Rousses, Saint Véran).

Old European Neolithic summary, including Dniester-Bug. The advance of agriculture was from the lower and middle Danube basin (present Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Romania), the Marica plain (present central Bulgaria) and the Dniester-Bug area located northwest of the Black Sea. This expansion of the food-producing economies from east central to central-Europe included Moravia, Bohemia, southern Poland, Germany, and Holland (the Linear Pottery culture). With this expansion was the beginning of: copper metallurgy in Yugoslavia, Romania, and Bulgaria; increase in the size of villages and introduction of long timber houses; emergence of sacred script for use in the religious cults; plus the rise of the Vinca, Tisza, Lengyel, Butmir, Danilo, and Karanovo cultures. (COG: 35-41, 48, 436; CB: 250; RGS). (RGS: 6500-5500, Neolithic Expansion of Eastern Europe).

In this work, the origin and development of the copper metallurgy within the Chalcolithic of Portuguese Estremadura is discussed. In the portuguese territory, the southern origin of copper metallurgy is supported by absolute chronology. This situation is compared with the one related to the trade of external material sources, like anfiboloschists, that compose the majority of polished stone artefacts of estremaduran region. There is thusan evidence of a trans-regional commerce of these materials in exchange for silex, which is abundant in Estremadura. Infact, silex is the prime material of many artefects in Alentejo and Beira Interior, where this rock does not exist. All these facts suggest the existence of a trade net for long distances, stable and time lasting, related to the chalcolithic economic intensification.

he site of Le Planet (Fayet) occupies the side of a small, heavily wooded valley in South Aveyron (France). It was identified in 2015 thanks to the discovery of a statue-menhir (Tauriac group). A probing carried out 25 m from the stele, on a slightly raised area, revealed archaeological horizons preserved under powerful anthropic and colluvial deposits. A thick stratigraphy, with more than 3 m of sediment, revealed more than twenty levels of occupation marking the final Neolithic (Treilles group, dated between 2850 and 2580 BC). The site yielded numerous open-air housing structures, remains of architectural features and earthworks, and for ancient horizons two stone (pebbles) wall constructions. The greatest interest of the site lies in a set of installations for the metallurgical treatment of copper, in an exceptional state of conservation (pyro-metallurgical furnaces, waste pits, slag...). Several types of ore were treated: malachite, tetrahedrite and bournonite (ore composed of lead, antimony and copper). This ancient chalcolithic metallurgy exploiting copper ore from neighbouring mines also produced lead. This article is an opportunity to present and characterize for the first time the different elements of the extractive metallurgy “chaine opératoire” found on the site.

2. Topografie des Unter suchungsgebietes-14 3. Der urnenfelderzeitliche Bronzedepotfund vom Brandgraben im Kainischtal (Cnr. 15)-18 Fundortbeschreibung und Fundgeschichte-19 Fundobjekte aus Bronze-28 Gusstechnisches/Rohmaterial-44 Lederbehältnis-48 Untersuchungen von organischen Resten aus dem Brandgrabendepot-50 Katalog Bronzedepotfund Brandgraben-52 Zusammenfassung und zeitliche Einordnung-62 4. Der urnenfelderzeitliche Bronzedepotfund 9 Raben wand aus dem Kainischtal (Cnr. 14a)-70 Fundortbeschreibung und Fundgeschichte-71 Fundobjekte aus Bronze-71 Gusstechnisches/Rohmaterial-77 Katalog Bronzedepotfund 9 Rabenwand-77 Zusammenfassung und zeitliche Einordnung-77 5. Der urnenfelderzeitliche Bronzedepotfund 8 Raben wand aus dem Kainischtal (Cnr. 14b)-78 Fundortbeschreibung und Fundgeschichte-79 Fundobjekte aus Bronze-82 Gusstechnisches/Rohmaterial-93 Computertomografische Untersuchung von zwei Bronzefunden aus dem Depotfund 8 Rabenwand-93 Katalog Bronzedepotfund 8 Rabenwand-94 Zusammenfassung und zeitliche Einordnung-94 6. Der urnenfelderzeitliche Armreifdepotfund aus dem Kainischtal (Cnr. 4a)-96 Fundortbeschreibung und Fundgeschichte-97 Fundobjekte aus Bronze-97 Katalog Armreifdepotfund aus dem Kainischtal-97 Zusammenfassung und zeitliche Einordnung-97 7. Der Gussfragmentehort aus dem Kainischtal (Cnr. 4b)-98 Fundortbeschreibung und Fundgeschichte-99 Gusstechnisches/Rohmaterial-99 Katalog Gusskuchendepotfund aus dem Kainischtal-99 Zusammenfassung und zeitliche Einordnung-99 8. Das Depot 1 Radlingpass aus Bad Aussee (Cnr. C)-100 Fundortbeschreibung und Fundgeschichte-101 Fundobjekt aus Bronze-101 Gusstechnisches/Rohmaterial-101 Katalog Depotfund 1 Radlingpass-101 Zusammenfassung und zeitliche Einordnung-101 9. Das Depot 2 Radlingpass aus Bad Aussee (Cnr. D)-104 Fundortbeschreibung und Fundgeschichte-105 Fundobjekt aus Bronze-105 Gusstechnisches/Rohmaterial-105 Katalog Depotfund 2 Radlingpass-105 Zusammenfassung und zeitliche Einordnung-105 10. Der urnenfelderzeitliche Bronzedepotfund 1 aus PichlKainisch (Cnr. A)-106 Fundortbeschreibung und Fundgeschichte-107 Fundobjekte aus Bronze-107 Gusstechnisches/Rohmaterial-107 Katalog Depotfund 1 Pichl-Kainisch-107 Zusammenfassung und zeitliche Einordnung-107 11. Der urnenfelderzeitliche Bronzedepotfund 2 aus PichlKainisch (Cnr. B)-110 Fundortbeschreibung und Fundgeschichte-111 Fundobjekte aus Bronze-111 Gusstechnisches/Rohmaterial-111 Katalog Depotfund 2 Pichl-Kainisch-112 Zusammenfassung und zeitliche Einordnung-112 12. Das Phänomen der urnenfelderzeitlichen »Streudepots«-114

Content

EUROPE ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE FOURTH MILLENNIUM 

S. Kadrow (Kraków, Poland)
The Dawn of the Eneolithic in Northern Outskirts of the Late Danubian World on the Turn of 5th and 4th Millennia BC17
S. N. Korenevskiy (Moscow, Russian Federation)
Challenging Situations of the “Post-Ubeid Period” in the Ciscaucasia (4500—3500 BC)37
M. Yu. Videiko (Kiev, Ukraine)
Dniester-Dnieper Interfluvial Region at the Turn of V—IV Millennia BC.63
V. I. Balabina, T. N. Mishina (Moscow, Russian Federation)
Chalcolithic Settlement and Necropolis at Tell Yunatsite: 15 years later81
L. Nikolova (Salt Lake City, USA)
Toward a Complex Cultural Model of the Genesis of Bronze Age in the Balkans (4th millennium cal BCE): Accumulation of Wealth99
T. Saile (Regensburg, Germany)
The Earthworks at Altheim: Built by Many for Many105

ECO-SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTIONS IN ARCHAEOLOGY 

A. V. Tsybriy, V. V. Tsybriy (Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation), A. F. Gorelik (Bochum, Germany)
“One Protracted Fishing-Season”: Neolithic Fishing and Riverine Gathering in the Lower Don Basin (a Case Study of Razdorskaya II Site)133
O. V. Demchenko (Odessa, Ukraine)
The Natural Environment and Adaptive Strategy of the Population of the Dnieper Rapids Region in the Late Mesolithic — Neolithic Period175

ARCHAEOLOGY OF REPRESENTATIONS 

A. V. Varenov (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation)
On the Chinese Neolithic Roots of Stag Stones of Mongolian-Trans-Baikal Style and Their Social and Semantic Interpretation195
A. N. Seredin (Zaporizhia, Ukraine)
Archaeological Semiotics and Typology in the Studies of Anthropomorphic Stelae Symbolism in the Eneolithic and Bronze Age of Europe213
V. I. Stefanov (Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation), S. V. Kuzminykh (Moscow, Russian Federation), Yu. P. Chemyakin, I. O. Koryakov (Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation)
Evolution of the Ancient Game of Dice: Sources from the Late Bronze Age235
D. V. Panchenko (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation)
The Night Sky God of the European Bronze Age255

ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDIES 

V. F. Kashibadze (Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation), O. G. Kashibadze (Nizhny Arkhyz, Russian Federation)
Phene Geography of Dental Markers in Populations from Eurasia and Eastern Europe in the Bronze Age267
A. A. Khokhlov (Samara, Russian Federation), E. P. Kitov (Moscow, Russian Federation), A. I. Nechvaloda (Ufa, Russian Federation)
The Bronze Age People of the Arkaim Valley (problem of continuity of population from the Yamnaya to the Sintashta culture)277

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

List of Abbreviations 285
Submissions 287

Содержание

ЕВРОПА НА ПОРОГЕ IV ТЫСЯЧЕЛЕТИЯ 

С. Кадров (Краков, Польша)
Начало энеолита на северных окраинах поздних дунайских культур на рубеже V и IV тысячелетий до н.э.17
С. Н. Кореневский (Москва, Россия)
Проблемные ситуации «пост-убейдского периода» в Предкавказье (4500—3500 лет до н. э.)37
М. Ю. Видейко (Киев, Украина)
Днестро-Днепровское междуречье на рубеже V и IV тысячелетий до н. э.63
В. И. Балабина, Т. Н. Мишина (Москва, Россия)
Поселение и некрополь эпохи халколита на телле Юнаците: взгляд 15 лет спустя81
Л. Николова (Солт-Лейк-Сити, США)
К вопросу о комплексной культурной модели генезиса бронзового века на Балканах (IV тыс. до н. э.): накопление богатства99
Т. Зайле (Регенсбург, Германия)
Сооружение в Альтгейме: построенное многими для многих105

ЭКО-СОЦИАЛЬНЫЕ РЕКОНСТРУКЦИИ В АРХЕОЛОГИИ 

А. В. Цыбрий, В. В. Цыбрий (Ростов-на-Дону, Россия), А. Ф. Горелик (Бохум, Германия)
«Затянувшаяся путина»: Неолитическое рыболовство и собирательство на Нижнем Дону (по материалам исследований поселения Раздорская II)133
О. В. Демченко (Одесса, Украина)
Природное окружение и адаптивная стратегия населения Днепровского Надпорожья в позднем мезолите — неолите175

АРХЕОЛОГИЯ ПРЕДСТАВЛЕНИЙ 

А. В. Варенов (Новосибирск, Россия)
О китайских неолитических корнях оленных камней монголо-забайкальского стиля и их социально-семантической интерпретации195
А. Н. Середин (Запорожье, Украина)
Археологическая семиотика и типология в изучении символизма антропоморфных стел Европы периода энеолита и бронзового века213
В. И. Стефанов (Екатеринбург, Россия), С. В. Кузьминых (Москва, Россия), Ю. П. Чемякин, И. О. Коряков (Екатеринбург, Россия)
Эволюция древней игры в кости: источники позднего бронзового века235
Д. В. Панченко (Санкт-Петербург, Россия)
Бог ночного неба в Европе позднего бронзового века255

АНТРОПОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ЭТЮДЫ 

В. Ф. Кашибадзе (Ростов-на-Дону, Россия), О. Г. Кашибадзе (Нижний Архыз, Россия)
Феногеография одонтологических маркеров в популяциях Евразии и Восточной Европы эпохи бронзы267
А. А. Хохлов (Самара, Россия), Е. П. Китов (Москва, Россия), А. И. Нечвалода (Уфа, Россия)
Люди бронзового века Аркаимской долины (к вопросу о преемственности населения от ямной к синташтинской культуре)277

ДОПОЛНИТЕЛЬНАЯ ИНФОРМАЦИЯ 

Список сокращений 285
Авторам Stratum plus
Требования к материалам, предоставляемым в редакцию журнала «Stratum plus» 287

A variable proportion of finds from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic of 'Old Europe' has come from places outside settlements, cemeteries, production sites, ritual sites, or caves. Such finds tend to be described as 'chance/ isolated/single/stray' finds or, when in groups, as 'hoards'. The frequent, modernist cause invoked for these finds is that they were either 'hidden' in times of mortal danger, represented a 'gift to the gods', or simply 'lost'. One reason for these explanatory shortcomings is the over-attention to the types of objects deposited in the landscape and the frequent lack of attention to the often-distinctive place of deposition. We believe that we have misnamed, overlooked, or not accurately characterised an entire class of sites, which we term 'landscape deposition sites', whose defining feature was the transformation of a place by the deposition of a significant object or group of objects to create a qualitativ...

Neolithic Expansion. The advance of agriculture was from the lower and middle Danube basin (present Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Romania), the Marica plain (present central Bulgaria) and the Dniester-Bug area located northwest of the Black Sea. This expansion of the food–producing economies from east central to central–Europe included Moravia, Bohemia, southern Poland, Germany, and Holland (the Linear Pottery culture). With this expansion was the beginning of: copper metallurgy in Yugoslavia, Romania, and Bulgaria; increase in the size of villages and introduction of long timber houses; emergence of sacred script for use in the religious cults; plus the rise of the Vinca, Tisza, Lengyel, Butmir, Danilo, and Karanovo cultures. (COG: 35-41, 48, 436; CB: 250.)

We present the results of the archaeological excavations at the fortified Chalcolithic settlement of Outeiro Redondo, Sesimbra in 2013 and 2014. These two campaigns continued the excavations performed there between 2005 and 2008. The defensive and housing structures were identified. The defensive structures corresponds to two constructive phases belonging to the Full / Late Chalcolithic. The housing structures corresponds also to two constructive phases, one of the Early Chalcolithic, the other of the Full / Late Chalcolithic. Thus, we may conclude that the first moment of this chalcolithic site corresponds to an open, unfortified settlement. An abundant and diversified set of artifacts were recovered during the excavations, pointing out to this settlement’s economic activities and the intensity of the human successive occupations of the place. Copper metallurgy stands out as a main economic activity in this site. A large entrance devoid of functional characteristics facing the sea, suggests the existence of ritual practices. In fact, the importance of the sea is confirmed by a foundational ritual, with the concealment, in a small cavity excavated in the substrate, of a mussel shell of exceptional dimensions. This shell seems to emphasize the importance of marine resources in the economy and daily life of the first community installed there, during the transition from the first to the second half of the 3rd millennium BC.

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 (southern Poland), whose operation is confirmed in sources from 1469, copper was probably refined as well as silver was separated from copper. Based on the change of chemical and soil phase content and also taking cartographic and historical data into account, considering the restrictions resulting from the modern land use the area was determined whose geochemical mapping can point to the location of the 15 th century Jan Thurzo's smelter in Mogiła near Krakow. Moreover, using the same approach with the samples of this kind here as with hazardous waste, an attempt has been made to assess their impact on the environment. Thereby, taking the geoenvironmental conditions into account, potential impact of the industrial activity has been assessed, which probably left large scale changes in the substratum, manifested in the structure, chemical content and soil phase changes. Discovering areas which are contaminated above the standard value can help to identify historical human activities, and finding the context in artefacts allows to treat geochemical anomalies as a geochronological marker. For this purpose the best are bed sediments, at present buried in the ground, of historical ditches draining the area of the supposed smelter. Correlating their qualities with analogical research of archeologically identified slags and other waste material allows for reconstructing the anthropopressure stages and the evaluation of their effects. The operation of Jan Thurzo's smelter is significant for the history of mining and metallurgy of Poland and Central and Eastern Europe.

In this paper we propose a sociological concept of innovation capable of transcending the limitations faced by the approaches of common theories of action. The concept was formulated by Ulrich Oevermann and is based upon Max Weber’s theory of charismatic authority. We apply this concept to archaeological data, using the example of Neolithic copper metallurgy in central Europe, and discuss the importance of analyzing innovations that failed to materialize even though they might have been ”in the air” at the time. The concept sketched here enables the scientific study of such a phenomenon.

In diesem Beitrag wird zum einen ein soziologisches Modell von Innovation vorgestellt, das die handlungstheoretischen Beschränkungen der gängigen Innovationstheorien zu überwinden vermag. Dieses von Ulrich Oevermann entwickelte und auf dem Charisma-Konzept Max Webers basierende Modell applizieren wir exemplarisch auf archäologisches Material zur neolithischen Kupfermetallurgie Mitteleuropas. Dabei wird zum anderen der Blick auf ‚ausgebliebene‘ Innovationen gerichtet, das heißt auf solche, die gewissermaßen ‚in der Luft‘ lagen, aber nicht verwirklicht wurden. Auch diese Phänomene lassen sich mit dem hier vorzustellenden Modell differenziert betrachten und einordnen.

"Se presentan nuevos análisis sobre la composición de metales de distintas cronologías pre-islámicas de yacimientos de Marruecos. La técnica empleada es la espectrometría por fluorescencia de rayos X (ED-XRF). Destaca el elevado número de objetos manufacturados en cobre sin alear, incluso en periodos más recientes, aunque también se detectan bronces y latones. We present a new set of elemental analysis from several pre-Islamic archaeological sites in Morocco, using non-destructive ED-XRF techniques. The main feature is the high number of objects made of unalloyed copper, even in recent periods when bronze alloy is usual. Some copper-tin and brass alloys have been detected."

A variable proportion of finds from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic of ‘Old Europe’ has come from places outside settlements, cemeteries, production sites, ritual sites, or caves. Such finds tend to be described as ‘chance/isolated/single/stray’ finds or, when in groups, as ‘hoards’. The frequent, modernist cause invoked for these finds is that they were either ‘hidden’ in times of mortal danger, represented a ‘gift to the gods’, or simply ‘lost’. One reason for these explanatory shortcomings is the over-attention to the types of objects deposited in the landscape and the frequent lack of attention to the often-distinctive place of deposition. We believe that we have misnamed, overlooked, or not accurately characterised an entire class of sites, which we term ‘landscape deposition sites’, whose defining feature was the transformation of a place by the deposition of a significant object or group of objects to create a qualitatively different place. The creation of such landscape depos...

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 (southern Poland), whose operation is confirmed in sources from 1469, copper was probably refined as well as silver was separated from copper. Based on the change of chemical and soil phase content and also taking cartographic and historical data into account, considering the restrictions resulting from the modern land use the area was determined whose geochemical mapping can point to the location of the 15