Abstract
In the paper, the results of an investigation into trace elements found in slag sulfides from 14 archaeological Bronze Age settlements of the Cis-Urals, Trans-Urals, and North and Central Kazakhstan are presented. The study used Cu-(Fe)-sulfides as indicator minerals. Cu-(Fe)-S minerals in slags are primarily represented by covellite and chalcocite, as well as by rarer bornite and single chalcopyrite grains. Slag sulfides formed relic clasts and neogenic droplets of different shapes and sizes. Supergenic ores in the Bronze Age in Urals and Kazakhstan played a significant role in the mineralogical raw material base. In sulfides, the main indicator elements, Fe, Co, Ni, As, Se, Te, Sb, Ag, Pb, and Bi, are important markers of copper deposit types. Sulfides from olivine Cr-rich spinel containing slags of Ustye, Turganik are characterized by As-Co-Ni high contents and confined to copper deposits in ultramafic rocks. Olivine sulfide-containing slags from Kamenny Ambar, Konoplyanka and Sarlybay 3 are characterized by Co-Se-Te assemblage and confined to mafic rocks. Glassy sulfide-containing slags from Katzbakh 6, Turganik, Ordynsky Ovrag, Ivanovskoe, Tokskoe, Bulanovskoe 2, Kuzminkovskoe 2, Pokrovskoe, Rodnikovoe, and Taldysay are characterized by Ag-Pb-(Ba)-(Bi) assemblage and confined to cupriferous sandstone deposits. High As, Sb, Sn, and Ba contents found in slags can be seen as indicators of alloying or flux components in primary copper smelting. These include samples from Ustye, Katzbakh 6, Rodnikovoe, and Taldysay sites, where high Ba and As slag contents are identified. The compilation of a database with a broad sample of sulfide compositions from Bronze Age slags and mines in the Urals and Kazakhstan will permit the further identification of ore types and raw materials associated with a particular deposit.
Highlights
During much of the Bronze Age, the South Urals, including the southern tip (Mugodzhary) and Central Kazakhstan, was the most significant mining and metallurgical region of Central Eurasia [1].This region, which comprises over 1 million square kilometers containing numerous copper deposits, is characterized by forest, forest-steppe, steppe, and semi-arid zones suitable for pastoralism
In Bronze Age slags of the South Urals, we found relict inclusions and neogenic Cu-(Fe)-sulfides [5], represented by covellite, chalcocite, and bornite
Copper sulfides in investigated Uralian and Kazakhstan slags are presented by the mixture of covellite (CuS)–chalcocite (Cu2 S) (Table 2)
Summary
During much of the Bronze Age, the South Urals, including the southern tip (Mugodzhary) and Central Kazakhstan, was the most significant mining and metallurgical region of Central Eurasia [1]. This region, which comprises over 1 million square kilometers containing numerous copper deposits, is characterized by forest, forest-steppe, steppe, and semi-arid zones suitable for pastoralism. The first evidence of metal working in this region is referred as the pastoral societies of the Early Yamna culture of Volga Region and Cis-Urals [2] These cultures initially used metal imported from the Caucasus, from 4000 BCE onwards, locally produced copper started to become widespread [2,3].
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