Many of the arguments for how and why people began to use iron in Southwest Asia rely on assumptions about the technology and relative organization of copper and iron smelting. However, research on the technological transformations of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age suffers from a lack of investigation of primary metal production contexts, especially in regions outside the Levant. The current research examines metal production debris from a large number of smelting sites in western Georgia, and addresses questions of technology and resource utilization through detailed examination of few select sites. Through the chemical and mineralogical analysis of slag samples, we demonstrate the existence of an extensive copper-production industry and reconstruct several key aspects of the smelting technology during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. Combining a statistical analysis of slag mineralogy with other lines of evidence, we argue that copper was extracted from sulfide ores through a process of roasting and smelting in deep pit furnaces. The data also suggest that metalworkers at different sites exploited different ore sources within the same ore body. These results form a fundamental basis for further examination of spatial and chronological patterns of technological variation, with implications for models of Near Eastern copper production in this crucial period. Intriguing evidence of bloomery iron smelting, though currently undated, reinforces the region’s potential to provide data on a key technological transformation.

A large number of glass beads were found within urns containing the cremated remains of children and occasionally animals from the Carthage Tophet, dating to the eighth to fourth century BC. The glass beads were analysed to determine their composition and microstructure to identify the alkali source used and assist with determining the likely provenance of the beads. The main analytical technique used was scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive microanalysis with additional techniques including X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy to more closely characterise the individual phases and matrix glass. This paper concentrates on the most common bead types, which were characterised by high iron contents and high levels of crystalline phases, including magnetite, hematite, wollastonite, wuestite, and barium sulfate. The glass was extrememly vessicular and contained remnant quartz and (rarely) feldspar. Many samples showed extensive alteration, evident from both the microstructure and the composition. These beads represent some of the earliest natron glass known from a firm context, although absolute dates are lacking. The most likely scenario for the manufacture of these beads is local production from imported glass, which was probably colored locally with iron-rich metallurgical waste.

Metallography, chemical analysis, and microhardness testing of copper-alloy objects from Anau, Turkmenistan (c. 3000-2400 B.C.), were undertaken to determine how technological choices influenced the properties of the finished objects. Additionally, this analytical program assessed the position of the Anau metals in the development of metallurgy in southern Central Asia. Metallographic analysis of three bladed objects, all copper-arsenic alloys with 1 % to 5% arsenic, showed that their edges had been cold-worked to a greater or lesser degree to create a blade that maintained a sharp edge, but also had flexibility to withstand impacts. Microhardness testing confirmed that the blade edges had a higher hardness than the interior metal. One of the objects had sulfur-rich inclusions in the metal matrix, suggesting the original charge had at least
some sulfide ore. Conversely, a curved rod, made from a copper-lead-tin alloy, was cast to shape and showed no additional working of the metal. Lead, visible as black particles in the microstructure, was likely added to make the molten metal flow more easily. The metallographic and chemical analyses showed that the Anau objects fit into the tradition of Southern Central Asian metallurgy, though the presence of tin in objects of this period is more rare here than in
later periods. Anau smiths displayed an ability to manipulate both physical and chemical properties of metal in order to produce functional objects with optimal characteristics.

In order to investigate the nature and organization of high-status ceramic production in the Late Bronze Age, samples of Nuzi Ware from four different sites were analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM–EDS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP–AES). Chemical and mineralogical evidence suggests that Nuzi Ware was produced in at least two distinct regions, one probably in the Adhaim Basin in northern Iraq and another possibly in the Orontes catchment in southeastern Turkey. The existence of individual production units probably developed in response to the local elites’ desire to imitate the tastes of the Mitanni aristocracy, resulting in a mapping of political relationships on to material culture .

Optical polarization, absorption, and scattering studies along with confocal microscopy reveal that Benzopurpurin 4B forms aggregates of micrometer size at very low concentrations in aqueous solution. A chromonic liquid crystal phase is stable at room temperature down to concentrations as low as 0.4 wt %, which can only be possible if the aggregates contain an ample amount of water. The kinetics of aggregate formation are extremely slow, with changes going on for days before equilibrium is reached. The stacking free energy change is estimated to be 10.3 ± 0.4 k_BT, which is in the higher range of values for recently studied chromonic liquid crystals. However, the very low concentration of the liquid crystal phase puts it in a different class, probably more similar to Scheibe or Jelly aggregates than the typical chromonic systems that are formed by simple stacks of molecules.