Mineralogical and Geochemical Indicators of the Sources of Gold for the Production of Ancient Jewelry Artifacts (The Case of the Urals)

Abstract

The article proposes mineralogical and geochemical indicators of ancient jewelry artifacts for determining raw material sources. These include the composition of gold and the presence and composition of inclusions of high-temperature platinum group elements (the minerals Os–Ir–Ru). The proposed indicators enable determining probable sources of the gold for archeological sites, items with inclusions of osmium. The location of jewelry workshops and the conditions and scale of extraction of gold in antiquity are discussed. Further work in establishing the concrete sources of gold artifacts requires determining the natural analogues of abnormal compositions of osmium minerals.