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http://dx.doi.org/10.22807/KJMP.2021.34.4.219

Characteristics of Lead isotope ratios and Trace elements of Excavated Bronze weapons in Pre-historical Age  

Kim, So Jin (Conservation Science Division, National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage)
Hwang, Jin Ju (Conservation Science Division, National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage)
Han, Woo Rim (Gaya National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage)
Publication Information
Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology / v.34, no.4, 2021 , pp. 219-226 More about this Journal
Abstract
We examined component analysis and lead isotope ratio analysis to find out the relationship between the excavation and the production site of 25 bronze weapons from prehistoric ages. All 25 bronze weapons are ternary alloys of copper-tin-lead and lead is artificially added. The lead isotope ratios of 25 bronze weapons show that bronze are made by raw materials in the southern regions of the Korean Peninsula, including northern China. The raw materials of narrow-shaped bronze dagger are supplied in zone 1-3 and northern China. In addition, provenance of lead for bronze halberd and pearhead are the rest of the region except for zone 1 and zone 4. Silver are enriched in most samples and zinc and cobalt are deficient. Arsenic and antimony detected only specific samples and can be used as critical parameter for provenance study. Lead isotopes and trace elements of archaeological bronzes will provide conservation scientist with useful tool to study the provenance of raw materials
Keywords
Bronze; Weapon; Lead isotope ratios; Trace element; Provenance;
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