Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Aarhus-Højbjerg, Denmark.
Curt-Engelhorn-Center for Archaeometry, Mannheim, Germany.
PLoS One. 2019 Jul 24;14(7):e0219574. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219574. eCollection 2019.
The rich and long-lasting Nordic Bronze Age was dependent throughout on incoming flows of copper and tin. The crucial turning point for the development of the NBA can be pinpointed as the second phase of the Late Neolithic (LN II, c. 2000-1700 BC) precisely because the availability and use of metal increased markedly at this time. But the precise provenance of copper reaching Scandinavia in the early second millennium is still unclear and our knowledge about the driving force leading to the establishment of the Bronze Age in southern Scandinavia is fragmentary and incomplete. This study, drawing on a large data set of 210 samples representing almost 50% of all existing metal objects known from this period in Denmark, uses trace element (EDXRF) and isotope analyses (MC-ICP-MS) of copper-based artifacts in combination with substantial typological knowledge to profoundly illuminate the contact directions, networks and routes of the earliest metal supplies. It also presents the first investigation of local recycling or mixing of metals originating from different ore regions. Both continuity and change emerge clearly in the metal-trading networks of the Late Neolithic to the first Bronze Age period. Artifacts in LN II consist mainly of high-impurity copper (so-called fahlore type copper), with the clear exception of British imports. Targeted reuse of foreign artifacts in local production is demonstrated by the presence of British metal in local-style axes. The much smaller range of lead isotope ratios among locally crafted compared to imported artifacts is also likely due to mixing. In the latter half of Nordic LN II (1800-1700 BC), the first signs emerge of a new and distinct type of copper with low impurity levels, which gains enormously in importance later in NBA IA.
富有而持久的北欧青铜时代在整个时期都依赖于输入的铜和锡。可以将 NBA 发展的关键转折点精确定位在新石器时代晚期的第二阶段（LN II，约公元前 2000-1700 年），因为此时金属的可用性和使用量明显增加。但是，在早期青铜时代到达斯堪的纳维亚的铜的确切来源仍然不清楚，并且我们对于导致南斯堪的纳维亚青铜时代建立的驱动力的了解是零碎和不完整的。这项研究利用了一个包含 210 个样本的大型数据集，这些样本代表了丹麦这个时期已知的几乎所有金属物体的 50%，使用基于微量元素（EDXRF）和同位素分析（MC-ICP-MS）的铜基制品与大量的类型学知识相结合，深入阐明了最早的金属供应的接触方向、网络和路线。它还首次调查了来自不同矿石地区的金属的本地回收或混合。在新石器时代晚期到第一个青铜时代期间，金属交易网络中的连续性和变化都清晰可见。LN II 中的文物主要由高杂质铜（所谓的 fahlore 型铜）组成，英国进口的文物除外。英国金属在当地风格的斧头中出现，表明了对外国文物的有针对性的再利用。与进口文物相比，本地制作的文物的铅同位素比值范围小得多，这也可能是由于混合造成的。在北欧 LN II 的后半段（公元前 1800-1700 年），出现了一种新的、独特的低杂质水平的铜的第一个迹象，这种铜在后来的 NBA IA 中变得非常重要。
