Beaker and Early Bronze Age Tin Exploitation in Cornwall: Cassiterite Processing Identified through Microwear and pXRF Analyses
The appearance of Beaker pottery in Britain and Ireland during the twenty-fifth century bc marks a significant archaeological horizon, being synchronous with the first metal artefacts. The adoption of arsenical copper, mostly from Ireland, was followed by that of tin-bronze around 2200 bc . However,...
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2022
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2022.30 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1461957122000304 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/eaa.2022.30 2024-05-19T07:47:50+00:00 Beaker and Early Bronze Age Tin Exploitation in Cornwall: Cassiterite Processing Identified through Microwear and pXRF Analyses Carey, Chris Tsoraki, Christina Jones, Andy M. Harris, Oliver J.T. Crellin, Rachel J. Lyons, Peter 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2022.30 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1461957122000304 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ European Journal of Archaeology volume 26, issue 2, page 147-167 ISSN 1461-9571 1741-2722 journal-article 2022 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2022.30 2024-05-02T06:51:03Z The appearance of Beaker pottery in Britain and Ireland during the twenty-fifth century bc marks a significant archaeological horizon, being synchronous with the first metal artefacts. The adoption of arsenical copper, mostly from Ireland, was followed by that of tin-bronze around 2200 bc . However, whilst the copper mine of Ross Island in Ireland is securely dated to the Early Bronze Age, and further such mines in the UK have been dated to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, the evidence for the exploitation of tin ores, the other key ingredient to make bronze, has remained circumstantial. This article contains the detailed analyses of seven stone artefacts from securely dated contexts, using a combination of surface pXRF and microwear analysis. The results provide strong evidence that the tools were used in cassiterite processing. The combined analysis of these artefacts documents in detail the exploitation of Cornish tin during this early phase of metal use in Britain and Ireland. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ross Island Cambridge University Press European Journal of Archaeology 1 21 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
The appearance of Beaker pottery in Britain and Ireland during the twenty-fifth century bc marks a significant archaeological horizon, being synchronous with the first metal artefacts. The adoption of arsenical copper, mostly from Ireland, was followed by that of tin-bronze around 2200 bc . However, whilst the copper mine of Ross Island in Ireland is securely dated to the Early Bronze Age, and further such mines in the UK have been dated to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, the evidence for the exploitation of tin ores, the other key ingredient to make bronze, has remained circumstantial. This article contains the detailed analyses of seven stone artefacts from securely dated contexts, using a combination of surface pXRF and microwear analysis. The results provide strong evidence that the tools were used in cassiterite processing. The combined analysis of these artefacts documents in detail the exploitation of Cornish tin during this early phase of metal use in Britain and Ireland. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Carey, Chris Tsoraki, Christina Jones, Andy M. Harris, Oliver J.T. Crellin, Rachel J. Lyons, Peter |
spellingShingle |
Carey, Chris Tsoraki, Christina Jones, Andy M. Harris, Oliver J.T. Crellin, Rachel J. Lyons, Peter Beaker and Early Bronze Age Tin Exploitation in Cornwall: Cassiterite Processing Identified through Microwear and pXRF Analyses |
author_facet |
Carey, Chris Tsoraki, Christina Jones, Andy M. Harris, Oliver J.T. Crellin, Rachel J. Lyons, Peter |
author_sort |
Carey, Chris |
title |
Beaker and Early Bronze Age Tin Exploitation in Cornwall: Cassiterite Processing Identified through Microwear and pXRF Analyses |
title_short |
Beaker and Early Bronze Age Tin Exploitation in Cornwall: Cassiterite Processing Identified through Microwear and pXRF Analyses |
title_full |
Beaker and Early Bronze Age Tin Exploitation in Cornwall: Cassiterite Processing Identified through Microwear and pXRF Analyses |
title_fullStr |
Beaker and Early Bronze Age Tin Exploitation in Cornwall: Cassiterite Processing Identified through Microwear and pXRF Analyses |
title_full_unstemmed |
Beaker and Early Bronze Age Tin Exploitation in Cornwall: Cassiterite Processing Identified through Microwear and pXRF Analyses |
title_sort |
beaker and early bronze age tin exploitation in cornwall: cassiterite processing identified through microwear and pxrf analyses |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2022.30 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1461957122000304 |
genre |
Ross Island |
genre_facet |
Ross Island |
op_source |
European Journal of Archaeology volume 26, issue 2, page 147-167 ISSN 1461-9571 1741-2722 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2022.30 |
container_title |
European Journal of Archaeology |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
21 |
_version_ |
1799488312793104384 |