Analytical studies and typological attribution of the arsenical bronze knife found near the Erlygas settlement, Chelyabinsk region

The bronze knife found during reconnaissance works in the Kizilskoye district of the Chelyabinsk region was examined using the XRF, SEM-EDA and LA-ICP-MS methods. It was established that the knife was made of bronze with high quantities of arsenic (6,3 wt %) and a substantial level of nickel (0,24 wt %). The identified set of distinctive trace elements such as Fe-Co-Ni-As-Sb with high contents of correlating gold, silver, selenium and tellurium is consistent with the most common composition of trace elements in the Sintashta metal regarding most elements. Absence of substantial amounts of tin and lead, most likely, points to a copper ore source in the Urals; almost entire spectrum of trace elements (Fe, Ni, Co, Sb, Au, Se, Te) can be linked to additions of arsenicbearing ores from ultramafic ores to relatively pure copper ore. The typological analysis and the data on the metal composition suggest that the knife was made by Sintashta metalworkers.