ARCHAEOMETALLURGICAL STUDIES OF SPEAR HEADS AND ARROW HEADS OF THE MIDDLE BRONZE AGE SITES OF AZERBAIJAN

Abstract

Quantitative spectroscopy analysis of spear heads and arrow heads of Middle Bronze Age sites of Azer- baijan (second part of the III to the middle of the II millennium BC) has been made to determine the type of the alloy taking into account the accepted limits of natural impurity in metals ( - 0.5% and more). The anal- yses have shown that copper is the basic materials in all of them. Metallurgical classification the results of sixteen analysis spear heads have shown three of them made of arsenic copper, eight of tin bronze, two of arsenic tin bronze, two of lead tin bronze. Analytical investigations of seventeen arrow heads shown: four of them made of arsenic copper, seven of tin bronze, two of lead tin bronze, one of arsenic tin bronze, two of copper and one of copper lead alloys. Analysis of spear heads and arrow heads shown seven artefacts made of arsenic copper. It shown, that in the Middle Bronze Age on the territory of Azerbaijan continued smelting arsenic copper. But great part of artefacts made of tin bronze, containing tin in the range 2.6 – 12 %. Spear heads from burial mould dating of XVIII - XVII centuries BC of South – West Azerbaijan nearly Iran, Asia Minor contain 12 % tin. Arrow heads from admit burial dating XX - XIX centuries BC there are south-east on the Azerbaijan near border Iran, contain 8.15 % tin. It is shown, that tin on the territory of Azerbaijan in the study period, was available and deriving from territories of Iran, Asia Minor. Known, as ancient tin mining are absent on the Caucasus. Ancient tin mining found on the territory of Iran, Asia Minor, Afghanistan and Central Asia, mostly used in the beginning of the III millennium BC. Sumerian texts dated of III millennium BC position the origin of tin somewhere east of Mesopotamia, so that Iran and its neighboring countries Susa at the late part of the III millennium BC participated in the tin trade, where tin brought to Mesopotamia and there was widely trade. Tin also was imported on the South Caucasus from Mesopotamia, because through that territory trade route existed between Near East with North Caucasus-Maykop. At the final stage of the study period XVI - XV centuries BC expensive import of tin was supplemented by lead from local deposits. Lead was used as an alloying component in five investigated artifacts. The present study has shown that most of spear heads and arrow heads, were melt from raw materials of local origin with addition of import- ed tin.