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Mineralogical and Geochemical Features of the Final Bronze Age Copper Slag in the Saryarka Metallurgical Center (Central Kazakhstan)

  • METHODS OF NATURAL SCIENCES IN THE STUDY OF CULTURAL HERITAGE OBJECTS
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Abstract

Investigation of the mineralogy and geochemical features of copper metallurgical slags and ore fragments from the settlements Kent, Kamal, Saurambay, and Shokpartas in Central Kazakhstan of the Final Bronze Age is carried out. AMS radiocarbon dates are obtained for the Saurambay (3170 ± 20 BP) and Kamal (2890 ± 20 BP) settlements, which determine their metallurgical horizon at the Final Bronze Age. Most of the metal smelted in the settlements is copper, often with admixtures of Fe and Mn. Sporadic smelting was carried out to obtain Sn−As and As−Sb bronzes. For the smelting of copper, oxidized ore concentrates were used to a greater extent, with the minor importance of sulfide ores. The impurities of manganese in the slag and manganese ore fragments at the Saurambay and Shokpartas settlements testify to the active use of manganese minerals as fluxes.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to A.V. Epimakhov for consultations on radiocarbon chronology issues.

Funding

The reported study was funded by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) and Iran National Science Foundation (INSF), project number 20-59-56007.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. South Urals Federal Research Centre of Mineralogy and Geoecology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Miass, Russia

    M. N. Ankushev, I. A. Blinov, P. S. Ankusheva, D. A. Artemyev & P. V. Khvorov

  2. Buketov Karaganda University, Karaganda, Republic of Kazakhstan

    V. V. Varfolomeev

  3. South Ural State Humanitarian and Pedagogical University, Chelyabinsk, Russia

    P. S. Ankusheva

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  1. M. N. Ankushev
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  2. V. V. Varfolomeev
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  3. I. A. Blinov
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  5. D. A. Artemyev
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  6. P. V. Khvorov
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Correspondence to M. N. Ankushev.

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Translated by A. Bulaev

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Ankushev, M.N., Varfolomeev, V.V., Blinov, I.A. et al. Mineralogical and Geochemical Features of the Final Bronze Age Copper Slag in the Saryarka Metallurgical Center (Central Kazakhstan). Nanotechnol Russia 18, 680–691 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S263516762360030X

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