Natural Science in Archaeology

7.8 Tin (Sn) Minerals 173
contain several tin-producing districts, but there is little evidence of how early these
were exploited. The first direct evidence for mining in the Erzgebirge dates to the
close of the twelfth century. Penhallurick (1986) addresses the question by stating,
“. . . but tin mining there must have been in the Erzebirge during the Bronze Age, for
without it, the achievements of European metallurgists before the discovery of the
Cornish ores cannot be explained.” McGeehan-Liritzis and Taylor (1987) have suggested
that Yugoslavian tin deposits may have been a Bronze Age source. However,
until the basic geology of these deposits is understood in the light of requirements
for Bronze Age exploitation, such suggestions are highly speculative.
A source of tin in the Taurus Mountains of Turkey for the Bronze Age of the
eastern Mediterranean has been widely argued (Yener and Ozbal 1987; Yener et al.
1989). However, in the company of Yener, Ozbal, and others on the Yener team, the
author was able to visit this deposit, enter the mine, study the local geology, and
assess the potential of this deposit as a source of Bronze Age tin. No cassiterite was
observed anywhere. Although the “mine” was occupied by Bronze Age peoples, it
has much more the characteristics of a natural cave. For a summary of the history of
the investigations of ancient mining in Turkey see Kaptan (1995).
The latest work on tin deposits in Egypt and the Czech Republic is reported in
Rapp et al. (2000; Fig. 7.9). Until recently, many scholars have assumed that the
Erzebirge, Czech Republic cassiterite deposits, could not have been exploited prior
to the last two millennia. However, see Bouzek et al. (1989) and Taylor (1983). At
the time of writing, the actual sources of the tin for eastern Mediterranean and Near
Eastern Bronze Age metallurgy are not accurately known. For a brief summary of
aspects of this problem, see Muhly (1985). Unlike the Eastern Mediterranean region
the sources for tin [as well as copper] for the Bronze Age of China are well known
(Chang 1980; Needham 1999). There are 28 copper and 16 tin deposits within a
350 km radius of the great Late Shang capital of Yinxu at Anyang.
Fig. 7.9 Cassiterite in riffles,
Mine Mueilha, Egyptian
Eastern Desert