Unveiling diverse copper trace element profiles from a single smelting site through laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometric analysis

Junling Lin · Siran Liu · Guisen Zou

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Metallurgy and Cultural Artifacts Archaeological and Geological Studies Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis

Abstract

Abstract As an important provenance indicator, trace element profile has been widely used to reveal the origin and mixing history of archaeological bronzes. However, due to the lack of chemical characterization of raw copper from smelting sites, there has been little understanding about the variation of trace element concentration within one copper source. This has significantly confined discussion on copper circulation in prehistoric societies. This research developed a method to analyze copper prills embedded in smelting slag based on laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS). A series of tests have proved that a relative error of less than 20% can be achieved for most elements with appropriate choice of analytical parameters and reference materials. This method is then used to analyze the Early–Middle Shang (1500–1200 BC) period copper smelting slag from the site of Tongling in northern Jiangxi province, China. The results show that the copper smelted from different ores of the same site has systematically different trace element characteristics, and copper prills of this site are highly varied in terms of Ag, Ni, Co, As, and Bi content. When plotting Tongling prills together with the bronze artifacts from the Panlongcheng site, also in the Middle Yangtze River valley, it is found that the trace element concentration of these two sites correspond well with each other, and the Panlongcheng bronzes with highly varied trace element profile could have been manufactured with copper from one source. This analysis demonstrates the potentially heterogeneous nature of the copper trace element profiles produced at one smelting site, and calls for more analysis of copper prills using LA‐ICP‐MS to establish a new foundation for future discussions on copper provenance based on trace element data.

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References

2014Provenance Determination of Archaeological Metal Objects 2018The Provenance, Use, and Circulation of Metals in the European Bronze Age: The State of Debate 2020Geological constraints on the use of lead isotopes for provenance in archaeometallurgy 2015Characterising copper-based metals in Britain in the first millennium AD: a preliminary quantification of metal flow and recycling 2020LIA of Prehistoric Metals in the Central Mediterranean Area: A Review 2017Revisiting lead isotope data in Shang and Western Zhou bronzes 2018Beyond Provenance 2008LA–ICP–MS, SEM–EDS AND EPMA ANALYSIS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICAN COPPER‐BASED ARTEFACTS: IMPACT OF CORROSION AND HETEROGENEITY ON THE RELIABILITY OF THE LA–ICP–MS COMPOSITIONAL RESULTS*

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2026Pluralistic landscape of bronze production technology in the middle Shang period: Insights from metallurgical remains at a peripheral low-level settlement 2026Revisiting the Pb content threshold for copper provenance investigation in Early Bronze Age China

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