Project code: NSF 23-566

Project leader: Prof. Wayne Powell

Project promoter: The City University of New York, Brooklyn College, New York

Project’s partners: University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia – Assoc. Prof. Boris Kavur; Juniata College Pennsylvania – Prof. Ryan Mathur

Source of funding: US National Science Foundation

Research area (ARIS): 6.02 Humanities / Archaeology

Project duration: 01.08.2024–31.01.2027

Description:

The project will document the chemical and isotopic (Sn, Pb) composition of bronze artefacts in order to identify changing patterns of metal exchange from the mid-second to the mid-first millennium (1600-450 BCE) in the Carpathian Basin, including key entry and exit points into this space. The primary purpose of this dataset is to provide empirical data to test proposed models on the nature of tin trade networks and their relationship to cultural development. Given the scarcity of tin ores and their heterogeneous distribution across Eurasia, it can be argued that the emergence of tin bronze accelerated interconnectivity by requiring trans-regionally oriented trade, the expansion of regional spheres of commercial interaction and the strengthening of networks to meet essential needs. Researchers will pay particular attention to the study of tin and copper, two key metals for the production of bronze, which had a similar economic importance in the Bronze Age as oil and gas today. The research will shed light on how the need for these metals has stimulated the expansion of trade networks and the integration of different regions of Eurasia, from Central Europe to the Balkans and the Aegean.