Metallurgists' tools in the Early Bronze Age of Brittany? Revealing the role of lithic macro-tools by associating the X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and traceological analyzes

• Main Authors: Hamon, Caroline, Reguer, Solenn, Brisotto, Vérane, Le Carlier de Veslud, Cécile, Donnart, Klet, Blanchet, Stéphane, Pailler, Yvan, Escats, Yoann, Bellot-Gurlet, Ludovic
• Other Authors: Trajectoires - UMR 8215, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Synchrotron SOLEIL (SSOLEIL), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap), Centre de Recherche en Archéologie, Archéosciences, Histoire (CReAAH), Le Mans Université (UM)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Ministère de la Culture (MC)-Nantes Université - UFR Histoire, Histoire de l'Art et Archéologie (Nantes Univ - UFR HHAA), Nantes Université - pôle Humanités, Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université - pôle Humanités, Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université (Nantes Univ), EVEHA (Etudes et valorisations archeologiques), De la Molécule aux Nanos-objets : Réactivité, Interactions et Spectroscopies (MONARIS), Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: French
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: XRF analysis; Portable XRF spectrometry (pXRF); X-ray fluorescence; Use-wear analysis; Brittany; Copper; Synchrotron radiation (Sy-XRF); Early Bronze age; Lithic tools; Metallurgy; métallurgie; cuivre; outillage lithique; âge du Bronze ancien; Bretagne; tracéologie; fluorescence des rayons X; spectroscopie XRF portable; rayonnement synchrotron; [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory; [CHIM.ANAL]Chemical Sciences/Analytical chemistry; Ross Island
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03554228

International audience The question of the emergence and development of copper and bronze metallurgies is a major issue in addressing the cultural and economic dynamics of the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age in Western Europe. This phenomenon is particularly relevant along the Atlantic coast, where the Armorican peninsula is central for better understanding how the control of these new productions contributed to the emergence of new elites and their chiefs, notably within the Armorican Tumulus culture (2150-1750 BC).However, evidence of Early Bronze Age mining activities and metallurgical production workshops remains scarce on the Atlantic coast, particularly in the Armorican Massif. The rare sources of copper ore are generally poor which have long suggested that the presence of metallic objects discovered in the rich burials of these periods, in particular in the tumuli of the Early Bronze Age, could only be the result of imports over more or less long distances. Recent work on the composition of some Armorican bronze objects has also highlighted a close proximity to ores from Ross Island in Ireland, suggesting that ores or ingots were imported from other regions, including across the Channel. Other works have nevertheless underlined that the exploitation of local copper veins could be envisaged in the Armorican Massif, especially as copper objects appear to concentrate in this area. Therefore, the discovery of direct or indirect evidence of copper metallurgy, particularly on settlement sites, is crucial for these periods. The presence of rare crucibles, moulds and ingots, as well as hearth structures and even furnaces, are precious clues for identifying possible episodes of metallurgical production. Stone tools constitute a second group of clues attesting metallurgical production throughout the Bronze Age, since they are now known to have been used at different stages of the operating chain, from the extraction and transformation of ores to the shaping and finishing of metal objects by hammering and ...