Conclusions

The characteristics of zinc are such that its extraction and retention in an alloy require particular, refined processes during production. It seems unlikely that sites such as Thermi, Tepe Yahya, or Nuzi were centers of great metallurgical innovation, yet all three managed to acquire one of the most elusive alloys of the Bronze Age. Does this suggest that copper-zinc alloys were not as rare as previously thought, or could the lack of examples from the Bronze Age be a result of non-random sampling of metal collections - e.g., analysing large tools and weapons over small jewellery and personal ornaments? Future research has the potential to add much to this discussion, particularly on the relationship between zinc and tin, which are found both alloyed together and in association with one another at all three sites.

Requiring specific processing techniques and a deliberate investment of time and labour, the production of copper-zinc alloys indicates a high level of working knowledge of materials and material processing on the part of metalsmiths. Perhaps, as in the Medieval period of Europe, zinc was added to copper-tin alloys as a form of cheap bronze. Alternatively, copper-zinc alloys may have been highly valued due to their golden colour, distinct from bronze alloys, and thus their resemblance to objects fashioned from gold. Ultimately, evidence of brass production and the reconstruction of the components and production processes used in the manufacture of copper-zinc alloys indicates something about the methods used and the decisions and choices metalsmiths were making to result in the desired finished product.

The results of these recent studies provide evidence that copper-zinc alloys existed almost two thousand years before the date generally accepted for the development of the cementation process, suggesting that the history of brass is longer and more complex than is generally believed. Our role as archaeologists interested in metallurgy is to figure out how and why. Answers regarding the origins and development of early copper-zinc alloys in the Ancient Near East may be as elusive today as they were twenty years ago, but at least now we know to look for them.