Provenance of Early Bronze Age metal artefacts in Western Switzerland using elemental and lead isotopic compositions and their possible relation with copper minerals of the nearby Valais

Cattin, Florence; Guénette-Beck, Barbara; Curdy, Philippe; Meisser, Nicolas; Ansermet, Stefan; Hofmann, Beda; Kündig, Rainer; Huber, Véra; Wörle, Marie; Hametner, Kathrin; Günther, Detlef; Wichser, Adrian; Ulrich, Andrea; Villa, Igor; Besse, Marie

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Title		Provenance of Early Bronze Age metal artefacts in Western Switzerland using elemental and lead isotopic compositions and their possible relation with copper minerals of the nearby Valais
Authors		Cattin, Florence Guénette-Beck, Barbara Curdy, Philippe Meisser, Nicolas Ansermet, Stefan Hofmann, Beda Kündig, Rainer Huber, Véra Wörle, Marie Hametner, Kathrin Günther, Detlef Wichser, Adrian Ulrich, Andrea Villa, Igor Besse, Marie show all authors [1 - 15]
Published in		Journal of Archaeological Science. 2011, vol. 38, p. 1221-1233
Abstract		Ten Early Bronze Age (BzA1, 2200e2000 BC) copper artefacts from the central Valais region from Switzerland were studied for their elemental composition and lead isotope ratios. In order to answer the archaeological question of a local copper supply, a database for copper minerals across the Valais (Switzerland) has been established. This database contains 69 data on lead isotope ratios as well as additional information on the minerals and geochemical associations for copper minerals from 38 locations in the Valais. Comparisons of the artefacts were also made with data pertaining to minerals from various deposits from Europe and Anatolia taken from the literature. The provenance of the materials is very diverse. Some of the data are compatible with the data from the copper mineral deposits of the Valais region. Moreover, three copper lunulae were identified as possibly Tuscan, which suggests contacts between Italy and the Valais region. This pattern also establishes a multiplicity of provenances for the metal and cultural influences in the Alpine environment of the Rhone Valley of Switzerland at the beginning of the Early Bronze Age.
Keywords		Europe — Archéologie — Suisse — Préhistoire — Campaniforme — Néolithique — Cuivre — Isotopes — Early bronze age Valais (Switzerland) — Copper artefacts — Copper ores — Material provenance — Lead isotope ratios — Elemental composition — ICP-MS inductively coupled plasma mass — Spectrometry — LA laser ablation
Stable URL		https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:15011
Full text		Article (Published version) (710 Kb) - Limited access to UNIGE
Identifiers		DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2010.12.016
Structures		Faculté des sciences / Section des sciences de la Terre et de l'Environnement / Département F.-A. Forel des sciences de l'environnement et de l'eau
Research group		Laboratory of Prehistoric Archaeology and Anthropology