First evidence for alloying practices in the Chalcolithic Southern Levant (4500–3800 BCE) as revealed by metallography

Heritage Science

Table 1 Key characteristics of the sampled metal items

Sample	Type	Metallographic group	Corrosion	Porosity	Unalloyed Cu	Quartz	Sulphides
F203	Standard (fragment)	polymet. high	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
F204	Mace head (fragment)	polymet. low	Yes	Yes	Metal + corrosion	No	Yes
F205	Crown (fragment)	polymet. low	Yes	Yes	Corrosion	No	No
F206	Axe (fragment)	polymet. low	Yes	Yes	Corrosion	No	Yes
F208	Mace head (fragment)	polymet. low	Yes	Yes	Corrosion	No	Yes
F217	Standard (fragment)	unalloyed copper	Yes	Yes	Corrosion	Yes, in some areas	No
F220	Mace head (fragment)	polymet. low	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
F231	Crown (fragment)	F231	Yes	Yes	Metal + corrosion	No	No
F234	Axe (fragment)	unalloyed copper	Yes	No	No	No	No
F236	Metal chunk	polymet. high	Yes	Yes	Metal + corrosion	No	Yes
F238	Crown (fragment)	polymet. high	Yes	Yes	No	no	yes
F241	Mace head (fragment)	polymet. low	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
F4-107	Axe	Unalloyed copper	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
F502	Axe (fragment)	F502	No	No	No	Yes	No
F703	Fragment	Unalloyed copper	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
F709	Metal chunk	Unalloyed copper	Yes	Yes	No	No	No

“polymet. low” and “polymet. high” denote polymetallic copper alloys with low and high levels of alloying elements, respectively