A partial prehistory of the Southwest Silk Road: Archaeometallurgical networks along the sub-Himalayan corridor

Historical phenomena often have prehistoric precedents, with this paper we investigate the potential for archaeometallurgical analyses and networked data processing to elucidate the progenitors of the Southwest Silk Road in Mainland Southeast Asia and southern China. We present original microstructural, elemental and lead isotope data for 40 archaeological copperbase metal samples, mostly from the UNESCO-listed site of Halin, and lead isotope data for 25 geological copper-mineral samples, also from Myanmar. We combined these data with existing datasets (N=98 total) and compared them to the 1000+ sample late prehistoric archaeometallurgical database available from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan. Lead isotope data, contextualised for alloy, find location and date, were interpreted manually for intra-site, inter-site and inter-regional consistency, which hint at significant multi-scalar connectivity from the late 2nd millennium BC. To test this interpretation statistically, the archaeological lead isotope data were then processed using regionally-adapted productionderived consistency parameters. Complex networks analysis using the Leiden community detection algorithm established groups of artefacts sharing lead isotopic consistency. Introducing the geographic component allowed for the identification of communities of sites with consistent assemblages. The four major communities were consistent with the manually interpreted exchange networks and suggest southern sections of the Southwest Silk Road were active in the late 2nd millennium BC

Dataset for "Community structure of copper supply networks in the prehistoric Balkans: An independent evaluation of the archaeological record from the 7th to the 4th millennium BC"

The dataset includes trace element analyses for 410 copper-based objects from the Balkans (c. 7th - 4th mill BC), with PCA scores calculated out of log-normalised values, altogether accompanied with relevant archaeological, chronological and geographical data. The article abstract: Complex networks analyses of many physical, biological and social phenomena show remarkable structural regularities, yet, their application in studying human past interaction remains underdeveloped. Here, we present an innovative method for identifying community structures in the archaeological record that allow for independent evaluation of the copper using societies in the Balkans, from c. 6200 to c. 3200 BC. We achieve this by exploring modularity of networked systems of these societies across an estimated 3000 years. We employ chemical data of copper-based objects from 79 archaeological sites as the independent variable for detecting most densely interconnected sets of nodes with a modularity maximization method. Our results reveal three dominant modular structures across the entire period, which exhibit strong spatial and temporal significance. We interpret patterns of copper supply among prehistoric societies as reflective of social relations, which emerge as equally important as physical proximity. Although designed on a variable isolated from any archaeological and spatiotemporal information, our method provides archaeologically and spatiotemporally meaningful results. It produces models of human interaction and cooperation that can be evaluated independently of established archaeological systematics, and can find wide application on any quantitative data from archaeological and historical record

Chinese Mirror from the Late Sarmatian Site Cherny Yar

This paper provides the description and results of interdisciplinary research into the Chinese mirror from the elite Late Sarmatian burial mound Cherny Yar, located in the south of the Orenburg region (oblast) in the southern Urals, and dated by the 2nd – 3rd cc. AD. The mirror was found in a wooden case made of wooden twigs rolled in a spiral. It is a circular disc with a diameter of 17 cm with a loop-shaped handle in the center, and its outer surface is decorated with a complex ornament and symbols. We’ve conducted X-ray fluorescence analysis, optical and scanning electron microscopy with an energydispersive spectrometer, as well as linguistic analysis. The metallographic examination shows that the mirror was produced by casting in a low-heat-conducting clay mould or a stone mould, while its microstructure was characteristic for cast high-tin bronzes with lead. The object was cast and, most likely, quickly cooled. There are no traces of silver or tin coating on the mirror. The addition of lead was necessary to reduce porosity and improve fluidity, as well as to obtain the desired pattern from the mould. Both methods of studying microstructure (metallography and electron microscopy) confirm that, when it comes to mirror manufacturing technology, this sample could not be produced in the Sarmatian culture environment, but had analogies in other territories, such as China, in particular. This is also confirmed by a characteristic ornament and the presence of symbols on the mirror. The inscriptions on the mirror refer to the style of Zhuangshu, to its simplified version – Xiaozhuan. Symbols on the mirror show 12 signs, the so-called earthly branches, which are associated with 12 animals of the annual cycle, some of which are depicted side by side

The Provenance, Use and Circulation of Metals in the European Bronze Age: The state of debate

Bronze is the defining metal of the European Bronze Age and has been at the center of archaeological and science-based research for well over a century. Archaeometallurgical studies have largely focused on determining the geological origin of the constituent metals, copper and tin, and their movement from producer to consumer sites. More recently, the effects of recycling, both temporal and spatial, on the composition of the circulating metal stock have received much attention. Also, discussions of the value and perception of bronze, both as individual objects and as hoarded material, continue to be the focus of scholarly debate. Here, we bring together the sometimes diverging views of several research groups on these topics in an attempt to find common ground and set out the major directions of the debate, for the benefit of future research. The paper discusses in turn issues of: geological provenance of new metal entering the system and how to determine and interpret it; the circulation of extant metal across time and space, and how this is seen in changing compositional signatures; and some economic aspects of metal production. These include the role of metal-producing communities within larger economic settings, quantifying the amount of metal present at any one time within a society, and aspects of hoarding, a distinctive European phenomenon that is less prevalent in the Middle Eastern and Asian Bronze Age societies.Funded by the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Researc