Elemental Constituents of Metal Artifacts Found at Sannyi Mys Burial (Western Transbaikalia. Bronze Age)

This article focuses on the results of trace-element analyses conducted for the metal artifacts found at a Bronze Age burial Sannyi Mys in western Transbaikalia, which were discovered on a rock mesa in front of a niche. We have analyzed 13 items using the SEMEDX method and divided the items of our collection into three metallurgic groups, namely straight bronze, tin-arsenical bronze, and lead-tin-arsenical bronze except for one lead item. Our typological, technological analysis and the data on the metal constituents enlarge the database available for ancient metal industry of the Bronze Age in western Transbaikalia. The research topicality is high in terms of introducing new archaeological materials analyzed by means of natural scientific methods.

Keywords: ancient metal industry, bronze alloy, elemental constituents, Bronze Age, western Transbaikalia.