This grant permits Drs Todd and her colleagues to conduct metallurgical analyses on a large series of samples from Eastern Europe. These include copper ores, lead ores, slags, copper artifacts and crucibles. Most of these are securely dated to the Neolithic period. The investigators will employ microstructural observation using optical and scanning electorm microscopy to make detailed characterizations. Electron probe microanalyses will also be conducted and if appropriate further Positron Induced Xj. ray Emission studies will be used. On this basis it should be possible to determine if the slags and metals produced are consistent with the ore samples and whether deliberate additions of fluxing agents appear to have been made. In order to gain familiarity with the conditions required for copper and lead smelting, laboratory experiments will be undertaken using copper carbonate, sulphide and lead minerals. This research has two goals. The first is to trace the process by which metallurgy developed in Eastern Europe. Given the investigators excellent access to relevant collections, they have ammassed a series of samples which should allow them to address this question. The second goal is methodological. Because smelting, by its very nature, changes the composition of materials, it is very difficult to relate finished products either to the possible ores from which the metal is derived or the slag which is the byproduct of the smelting process. This project will attempt to develop means to accomplish this. Archaeologists want to understand how complex societies such as our own appear and are maintained. While many factors are involved, the development of technological competence plays a major role. In this context the ability to smelt metals is important. This study will not only develop analytic techniques applicable in a wide range of situations, but also shed light on the development of social and technological complexity.
