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Alloys from Anau: The Manipulation of Metallic Properties in 3rd Millennium B.C. Southern Central Asia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2011

Nathaniel L. Erb-Satullo
Nathaniel L. Erb-Satullo*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Peabody Museum, 11 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138
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Abstract

Metallography, chemical analysis, and microhardness testing of copper-alloy objects from Anau, Turkmenistan (c. 3000-2400 B.C.), were undertaken to determine how technological choices influenced the properties of the finished objects. Additionally, this analytical program assessed the position of the Anau metals in the development of metallurgy in southern Central Asia. Metallographic analysis of three bladed objects, all copper-arsenic alloys with 1% to 5% arsenic, showed that their edges had been cold-worked to a greater or lesser degree to create a blade that maintained a sharp edge, but also had flexibility to withstand impacts. Microhardness testing confirmed that the blade edges had a higher hardness than the interior metal. One of the objects had sulfur-rich inclusions in the metal matrix, suggesting the original charge had at least some sulfide ore. Conversely, a curved rod, made from a copper-lead-tin alloy, was cast to shape and showed no additional working of the metal. Lead, visible as black particles in the microstructure, was likely added to make the molten metal flow more easily. The metallographic and chemical analyses showed that the Anau objects fit into the tradition of Southern Central Asian metallurgy, though the presence of tin in objects of this period is more rare here than in later periods. Anau smiths displayed an ability to manipulate both physical and chemical properties of metal in order to produce functional objects with optimal characteristics.

Keywords

alloymetalmicrostructure
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1319: Symposium WW – Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology IX , 2011 , mrsf10-1319-ww08-02
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

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