ABSTRACT
Analysis of oriental metalwork is usually requested by archaeologists either as an adjunct to stylistic study to establish typological groups based on composition or to provide evidence of provenance. It is important first to be aware that the chemical composition of a metal ore undergoes radical change during smelting and that without a knowledge of the various stages of ore processing, smelting and refining at each potential site, serious errors are possible. The first stage in alloying the metal on its arrival in the urban metalworking centre, well away from the mines and smelters, was refining. Besides tin bronze there are occasional instances of arsenical copper and antimony bronzes and even cupro nickel although these are all very rare. The chapter considers the occurrence of copper alloys with several percent of zinc which seem to make their first appearance at the end of the second millennium BC in the Near East.
