2022/01/12 by Jonathan R. Wood · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Computer Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis #Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/arcm.12756
openalex publication_date 2022/01/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
Abstract Any archaeological artefact made from recyclable material may have been recycled before deposition. Three approaches are presented which have identified recycling in the archaeological record: (1) the application of log ratio analyses to investigate compositional data indicates that Roman glass was recycled and reapplied as a glaze on Parthian pottery, thereby suggesting that the paucity of Parthian and Sasanian glass in the archaeological record is due to recycling; (2) linear mixing lines on plots that combine compositional and isotopic data suggest that most silver found in the Iron Age hoards of the southern Levant was mixed, with vertical mixing lines indicating that some of it was melted down hastily in times of unrest; and (3) histograms of compositional data provide evidence of recycling accompanied by dilution of cobalt‐blue glass in New Kingdom Egypt, potentially because the colourant was not available in later periods, thereby questioning the accepted provenance of the cobalt source. It is considered that application of these approaches can contribute to a better understanding of the motivations behind recycling in prehistory.