Forms of copper and alloying components in the slags of the ancient settlement Ustye (South Ural)

The Ustye Bronze Age settlement belongs to the Sintashta and Petrovka cultural-historical period, when arsenic and tin bronzes respectively dominated. The copper and alloying elements were examined during the analysis of metallurgical slags that manifested the alloyage of metals was carried out used the ‘ore-to-ore’ method. Partially, non-ferrous metals were included in non-metallic phases as followed: oxides, silicates, and sulfides that indicated high losses during the metallurgical process. The tin was widely used in bronzes that marks the usage of unusual ores for the Southern Urals. It is fair to consider the relationships with adjacent regions and suggest the routs.