Metal provenance studies, lead isotope

Recent reviews (11-12) make it unnecessary to do more than draw attention to some salient points of lead isotope archaeology. For many years, comparative lead isotope studies of ancient metals and ores from the appropriate ore deposits have been in the forefront of metal provenance studies in archaeology (13-15). The earliest lead isotope studies by Brill (17-18) and... 

As LA-MC-ICP-MS becomes more accessible, provenance studies may begin to combine elemental and isotopic characterization. Some time ago, Stos-Gale [114] suggested that metal provenance studies could be based on combined lead isotope and trace element analyses, and the same kind of combined approach would seem desirable in the case of turquoise as well as other, seldom analyzed materials such as ceramic glazes. Cooper et al. [115] combined trace element and LA-MC-ICP-MS lead isotope analysis of native copper from North America, but found that the lead isotopes were of little use in source discrimination. 

Trace-element analysis of metals can give indications of the geographic provenance of the material. Both emission spectroscopy (84) and activation analysis (85) have been used for this purpose. Another tool in provenance studies is the measurement of relative abundances of the lead isotopes (86,87). This technique is not restricted to metals, but can be used on any material that contains lead. Finally, for an object cast around a ceramic core, a sample of the core material can be used for thermoluminescence dating. 

Seven years ago we started the first systematic research program on the application of the lead isotope techniques to provenance studies in archaeology. Particular stress was placed on the sources of metals in the Mediterranean Bronze Age. For the first 2 years we worked mostly on the sources of lead and silver in Bronze Age Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt (32-36). In 1982, we pioneered the application of the lead isotope method for prove-nancing copper-based artifacts (15, 37-38). 

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