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.

研究人员正在重建该地区采矿和长途金属贸易的早期历史，该地区的冶金起源于公元 400 年至 1750 年左右。采矿和冶金是该地区现代经​​济的主要组成部分，但该地区的大多数居民。该地区并不知道在 19 世纪末欧洲殖民者开始商业采矿之前曾有过大量的金属开采或贸易，但在 20 世纪初就发现了许多前殖民时期的矿藏，但这些都是分散的历史矿藏。该项目的重点是通过比较来自过时考古遗址的物品的化学和铅同位素比率来间接重建铜和锡两种金属的前殖民时期采矿和贸易。来自该地区周围的铜矿和锡矿的矿石矿物对于该地区来说是相当新的，该项目的结果引起了新闻媒体的兴趣，他们应该被纳入高中和大学的历史课程中。研究员六个月密苏里大学对这些技术进行了高级培训。从大约公元 400 年的考古遗址出土的铜器中提取了小样本，当时使用金属的农民首次占领了该地区，并在 1220 年左右第一个国家 (Mapungubwe) 兴起。公元 1300 年左右崩溃，公元 1650 年左右出现新状态。密苏里大学测量了这些样本的化学成分和铅同位素比率，以鉴定其状态。由于考古遗址是通过放射性碳方法测年的，因此该项目揭示了各个铜矿的开采时间，该项目还确定了青铜（铜和锡的合金）首次出现在地区记录中的时间，以及目前最早的青铜和锡来自哪个矿井。最早的黄金——位于皇家墓地，但该项目检查是否存在更早期的青铜器。 总之，该项目提供了第一个直接证据，证明了区域金属开采的起源和早期历史以及前殖民时代国内长途贸易的发展。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。