Doctoral Research: Patterns in Metal Selection and Processing in Middle Sican Copper Technology, AD 900-1100: Multi-Dimensional Analysis

在David Kingery博士的指导下，MS Aniko Bezur将为她的博士论文收集数据。她将对一系列在秘鲁北部海岸的中四川时期（公元900-1100年）制造的铜制品进行取样和分析。多年来，在岛田泉博士的指导下，一个考古研究项目追踪了四川国家的兴起和随后的衰落，并挖掘了大量的铜制品，如针、镊子和金属钟。四川人民掌握和完善了铜的加工艺术，该项目发现了冶炼厂的遗迹和与此过程相关的副产品。通过实验，许多制造过程已经重建，MS Bezur将通过成品的成分分析来增强这项工作。样品将被安装在环氧树脂中，抛光，然后用电子探针分析，以确定样品表面的平均成分。微观结构中砷含量的变化也将通过元素测绘来确定。这些信息以及光学图像将提供原始凝固是如何发生的，以及工件在生产过程中经历的热处理历史。中子活化分析也将在密苏里大学的反应堆上进行。该项目有几个目标。这将有助于确定四川冶金学家所拥有的复杂程度和控制程度。先前的工作表明，在铜中加入少量砷可以提高其性能，砷的百分比因物体而异。然而，科学家们不知道史前工匠是否认识到砷所带来的好处并相应地控制配方，或者砷是否是作为无意的副产品加入的。砷的含量可能因人工制品类型而异，因此MS Bezur将分析各种工具。考古学家不知道冶金在古代秘鲁扮演了多么重要的角色，也不知道它在多大程度上促进了该地区早期国家一级组织的兴起。迄今为止的研究只集中在坟墓和其他仪式环境中发现的文物上，而且它的一般用途尚不清楚。贝祖尔的研究将把这项技术置于更广阔的文化背景中。这个项目之所以重要，有几个原因。它将为许多考古学家提供感兴趣的数据。它将增进对技术和社会组织之间关系的了解，并协助培训有前途的青年科学家。

Under the direction of Dr David Kingery, MS Aniko Bezur will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. She will sample and analyze a series of copper artifacts which were manufactured during the Middle Sican period (900-1100 AD) on the northern coast of Peru. For a number of years an archaeological research project under the direction of Dr. Izumi Shimada has traced the rise and subsequent decline of the Sican state and has excavated large numbers of copper objects such as needles, tweezers and metal bells. Sican peoples mastered and refined the art of copper working and the project has uncovered remains of smelters and byproducts associated with this process. Through experimentation much of the manufacturing procedure has been reconstructed and MS Bezur will augment this work through the compositional analysis of finished products. Samples will be mounted in epoxy, polished and then analyzed by electron microprobe to determine the average composition of the sample surface. Variation of arsenic content within the microstructure will also be determined through elemental mapping. This information, along with optical images will provide insight into how original solidification took place as well as the history of thermal treatments that the artifact underwent during production. Neutron Activation Analysis will also be conducted at the University of Missouri reactor.The project has several goals. It will help to determine the degrees of sophistication and control that Sican metallurgists possessed. Prior work has indicated that addition of small amounts of arsenic to copper can increase its performance capabilities and that percentage of arsenic varies among objects. However scientists do not know whether prehistoric artisans recognized the advantages which arsenic conferred and controlled the formula accordingly or whether arsenic is incorporated as an unintentional byproduct. It is possible that amount of arsenic varied by artifact type and MS Bezur will analyze a variety of kinds of tools for this reason. Archaeologists do not know how important a role metallurgy played in ancient Peru and the extent to which it contributed to the rise of early state level organizations in the region. Studies to date have focused on artifacts recovered in tombs and other ritual contexts only and its general usage is not understood. MS Bezur's research will set this technology in a broader cultural context.This project is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists. It will increase understanding of the relationship between technological and social organization and assist in training a promising young scientist.