Provenance studies lead isotope

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. 

Gale, N. and Z. Stos-Gale (2000), Lead isotope analysis applied to provenance studies, in Ciliberto, E. and G. Spoto (eds.), Modern Analytical Methods in Art and Archaeology, Chemical Analysis Series, Vol. 155, Wiley, New York, pp. 503-584. 

Stos-Gale, Z.A., Maliotis, G., Gale, N.H. and Annetts, N. (1997). Lead isotope characteristics of the Cyprus copper ore deposits applied to provenance studies of copper oxhide ingots. Archaeometry 39 83-123. 

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... 

In contrast with conformable ore deposits, some vein-type ore deposits have variable lead isotope compositions that plot as linear arrays of data points in one or both lead isotope diagrams. Such anomalous, or multistage, ore deposits can sometimes cause difficulties for archaeological provenance studies (30-31). Fortunately, deposits of this type are not common in the region of the Mediterranean indeed, none have yet been found. Only in... 

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). 

The first neodymium-isotopic analyses aimed at characterizing the oceans closely followed the initial development of neodymium isotopes as a chronometer and tracer (Richard et al., 1976 DePaolo and Wasserburg, 1976a O Nions et al., 1977). O Nions et al. (1978) was the first to report neodymium (along with lead and strontium) isotopes in manganese nodules and hydrothermal sediments. They confirmed the distinction between continental and mantle provenances of lead in hydrogenous and hydrothermal manganese sediments, respectively. Consistent with the previous studies, they found that strontium in these deposits is derived from seawater. All of the neodymium-isotope ratios in their samples from the Pacific were similar and lower than the bulk... 

L/2 = 0.70 X 10 years), and ° Pb is formed from Th (ty2 =1-40 xlO years). By contrast, ° Pb has no long-lived radioactive parent isotope (10, 31, 32). The ° Pb/ ° Pb ratios (and ratios of other stable lead isotopes) have proven particularly useful for identifying the primary source of lead contamination in environmental and human samples (see Section V.F) (10, 31, 33). The stable isotope ° Pb (/ = i) has also proved to be useful for studying the lead nucleus using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy (see below). 

Lead also has several radioactive isotopes (notably Pb, Pb, and Pb). Lead-210 (6/2 = 22.5 years) has proven useful for dating relatively young environmental samples (33), much the way that dating (ti/2 = 5730 years) is used to assess the age of older samples of biotic origin (31). Radioactive isotopes of lead have also been used to study lead metabolism, but these studies have been relatively limited both because the half-lives of the common radioactive isotopes of lead are not ideal for metabolic studies (fi/2 of... 

Durali-Mueller, S., Brey, G.P., Wigg-Wolf, D., Lahaye, Y. (2007) Roman lead mining in Germany its origin and development through time deduced from lead isotope provenance studies. Journal of Archaeological Science, 54(10), 1555-1567. 

With LA, MC-ICP-MS isotope ratio measurements can be performed in just a few minutes per sample as compared with the several hours per sample required for TIMS analysis. In addition, LA-MC-ICP-MS can yield spatially resolved isotope ratio characterization. Thus, provenance studies of ceramic paints, glazes, and slips in situ by LA-MC-ICP-MS measurement of lead and/or other isotope ratios are obvious areas for future development. Hints of the potential of this approach are highlighted in a recent study by Huntley [74], which showed that interaction on different spatial scales can be detected via elemental analysis of paste together with lead isotope analysis of glaze paints on Zuni glazed wares. 

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. 

Renson, V., Coenaerts, J., Nys, K., Mattielli, N., Astrom, P., and Claeys, P. (2007) Provenance determination of pottery from Hala Sultan Tekke using lead isotopic analysis preliminary results, in Hala Sultan Tekke 12. Tomb 24, Stone Anchors, Faunal Remains and Pottery Provenance, Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology, Vol 45 (12) (eds. P. Astrom and K. Nys), Paul Astroms Forlag, Savedalen, pp. 53-60. 

I). A parallel study has been conducted to determine the isotopic ratios of lead in galenas (PbS) from known ancient mining sites with the hope that, by matching the sets of ratios, the provenance of the objects could be ascertained (2). The work has all been based on the fact that of the four isotopes of lead ( Pb, Pb, Tb, and Pb), the heaviest three are the stable end products resulting from the radioactive decay of 23 U, and 232Th. 

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