Metallurgical Slags and Ore Fragments from the Kamenny Ambar Bronze Age Settlement (Southern Urals): a Key to Knowledge of Copper Sources

The paper presents the characteristics of metallurgical slags and copper ore fragments from the Kamenny Ambar settlement of the Bronze Age. According to the mineral and chemical compositions we have distinguished two types of the slags: Cr-rich spinel containing olivine slags and sulfide-containing olivine slags. The Cr-rich spinel containing olivine slags are the product of oxidized ore from the copper deposits in ultramafic rocks exploited in the early Sintashta-Petrovka period the settlement functioning. The sulfide-containing olivine slags are the result of the secondary sulfide ores from the massive-sulfide, and less likely copper porphyry deposits during the latter Srubnaya-Alakul period. A similar change in the copper ore raw material type was also recorded in other Bronze Age settlements in the Southern Urals. In the Kamenny Ambar settlement and analogs, we have defined the main indicating minerals which allow us to determine the source for the Cu raw metal in historical time: Cr-rich spinels, sulfides, and tourmalines. Keywords: metallurgical slags, Bronze Age, Kamenny Ambar, South Ural, copper ores, mineral inclusions Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation project No. 16–18– 10332‑P: analysis of slags and ores was carried out by M. N. Ankushev, V. V. Zaykov, A. M. Yuminov; the archaeological aspect of the work was analyzed by L. N. Koryakova, I. V. Molchanov (chronostratigraphic distribution of slags), S. E. Panteleeva (chronostratigraphic distribution of ceramics and ores). The authors are grateful to I. P. Alaeva, D. A. Artemyev, E. V. Belogub, A. V. Epimakhov, V. A. Kotlyarov, G. F. Lonschakova, M. S. Svirenko, L. G. Udachina. Filippova K. A., Khvorov P. V., Churin E. I., Sharapova S. V.