Collaborative Research: The Role of Long-distance Metallurgy Trade in Establishing Social Complexity

合作研究：长途冶金贸易在建立社会复杂性中的作用

• 批准号: 2317293
• 负责人: Jay Stephens
• 金额: $ 18.09万
• 依托单位: University of Missouri-Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-15 至 2025-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2317293&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Role; Long; distance

Researchers are reconstructing the early history of mining and long-distance trade of metals within a region which saw the origins of metallury between about 400 and 1750 AD. Mining and metallurgy are major portions of the modern economies in the region, but most residents of the region are not aware that there was significant mining or trade of metals before the late nineteenth century, when European colonists began commercial mining. Many precolonial mines were noted at the beginning of the twentieth century, but these scattered historical records are largely forgotten, and almost of these mines have since been destroyed. This project focuses on indirectly reconstructing precolonial mining and trade of two metals – copper and tin – by comparing the chemical and lead isotopic ratios of objects from dated archaeological sites with those of ore minerals from copper and tin mines around the region. This approach is quite new for the region, and the results of the project are of interest to news media. They should be incorporated into high school and university history classes. This award funds a young researcher for six months of advanced training in these techniques at Missouri University.Small samples are extracted from copper objects excavated from archaeological sites dating from ca. 400 AD, when metal-using farmers first occupied this region, through the rise of the first state (Mapungubwe) around 1220 AD, its collapse around 1300 AD, and the emergence of a new state around 1650 AD. The chemical compositions and lead isotope ratios of these samples are measured at Missouri University. To identify the mines from which these metals derived, the lead isotope ratios of the samples are matched to a database of ore minerals from mines throughout the broader region. Since the archaeological sites are dated by the radiocarbon method, this project reveals when individual copper mines were exploited, and how far the copper from them was distributed. The project also determines when bronze (the alloy of copper and tin) first appears in the regional record, and from which mine(s) the tin came. At present the earliest bronzes along with the earliest gold – are in the royal cemetery but the project examines whether there are earlier bronzes. In summary, this project provides the first direct evidence of the origins and early history of regional metal mining and of the development of internal long-distance trade in the precolonial era.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

研究人员正在重建一个在公元400年至1750年之间的冶金起源的区域内采矿和长途贸易的早期历史。采矿和冶金是该地区现代经​​济的主要部分，但是该地区的大多数居民都不知道在19世纪后期之前，欧洲殖民者开始商业采矿之前，有大量的采矿或贸易。在20世纪初，人们注意到了许多殖民地的矿山，但是这些分散的历史记录在很大程度上被遗忘了，此后几乎这些地雷被摧毁了。该项目的重点是通过比较已档案存档的地点的化学和铅同位素比与该地区周围铜和锡矿的矿石矿物的物体的化学和铅同位素比进行比较，从而间接地重建两种金属的殖民地采矿和贸易 - 铜和锡。这种方法对该地区来说是非常新的，并且该项目的结果应将其纳入高中和大学历史课上。该奖项为密苏里大学的这些技术进行了六个月的高级培训，为一名年轻研究人员提供了资金。小型样品是从CA的档案中挖掘出的铜物体中提取的。公元400年，当金属农民首先占领该地区时，在公元1220年左右的第一个州（Mapungubwe）的崛起，公​​元1300年左右倒塌，以及公元1650年左右的新州出现。这些样品的化学成分和铅同位素比在密苏里大学测量。为了确定这些金属得出的矿山，样品的铅同位素比与来自整个较宽区域的矿山的矿石矿物数据库相匹配。由于存档的位点是通过放射性碳方法的日期，因此该项目揭示了何时探索它们的单个铜矿，以及分布铜的距离。该项目还确定何时首次出现青铜（铜和锡的合金）在区域记录中，而锡罐从中出现。目前，最早的青铜以及最早的黄金 - 在皇家公墓中，但该项目考试是否早期有青铜。总之，该项目提供了第一个直接证据，证明了区域金属采矿的起源和早期历史以及前殖民时代内部长距离贸易的发展。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准通过评估来评估的。