A Novel Approach to Lead Isotope Provenance Studies of Tin and Bronze
نویسندگان
چکیده
Lead isotopic ratios of cassiterite, the dominant tin ore, evolve after crystallization through decay of uranium and thorium to lead. We show that the lead isotopic ratios of smelted tin at Rooiberg, South Africa, form an isochron that matches the known geological age of the Rooiberg cassiterite deposits. Since the lead isotopic ratios of several prehistoric tin and bronze artifacts throughout southern Africa also fall on this isochron, we deduce that they were made with tin from the Rooiberg deposits. Implications of this approach for provenance studies of early tin and bronze in Eurasia are also examined.
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