Rings or daggers axes or fibulae have a different composition? A multivariate study on Central Italy bronzes from eneolithic to early iron age

摘要

BackgroundOne of the main concerns for archaeo-metallurgists and archaeologists is to determine to what extent ancient craftsmen understood the effect of metal alloy composition and were able to control it in order to produce objects with the most suitable features.This problem can be investigated by combining compositional analyses of a high number of ancient artefacts with correlation analyses of the objects’ age, production site, destination of usage etc. – and thus chemometric data treatment is carried out. In this study, multivariate analyses were performed on a matrix composed of elemental compositional data from 134 archaeological bronze objects, obtained by XRF analyses. Analysed objects have been dated back from the Eneolithic Period to the end of the Bronze Age including the early Iron Age and were excavated in Central Italy (mainly Abruzzo Region).