A bronze assemblage consisting of weapons, tools, ornaments, and horse furnishings from many Early Iron Age (EIA) sites of Central Kazakhstan was examined for microstructure and chemical compositions. All of the objects under investigation were made of copper alloys with the addition of either tin or arsenic or both, but no lead. Tin served as the preferred alloying element for making key functional and prestige items as opposed to arsenic primarily in service to meet a large demand for various horse trappings. Strong evidence has been found of a new method implemented for the mass production of copper alloys containing up to approximately 10% arsenic based on mass. This high arsenic technology was apparently introduced in keeping with the increased demand for bronze, particularly in horse-related objects, as a means to spare costly tin for use in making more important objects in functional and social perspectives. The use of arsenic in this case is indicative of significant technological and social transformations occurring in Central Asian EIA communities. We will present a detailed account of the analytical results to propose that these changes signified the establishment of mature mobility-based societies in the steppes that encompassed more people and larger territories within a setting of enhanced conflicts and social stratification.

中文翻译：

---

哈萨克斯坦中部环境影响评估铜基物体中锡和砷的歧视性使用的技术和社会意义

对哈萨克斯坦中部许多早期铁器时代（EIA）地点的武器，工具，装饰品和马具组成的青铜组合进行了微观结构和化学成分检查。所有要研究的物体都是由铜合金制成的，其中添加了锡或砷或两者均添加，但不含铅。与主要用于服务的砷相比，锡是制造关键功能和威望物品的首选合金元素，而砷主要用于满足对各种马具的大量需求。已发现有力的证据表明一种新方法可用于批量生产含砷量约为10％的铜合金。显然，这种高砷技术是为了满足对青铜的需求增加而特别是在与马相关的物品中使用的，以此来节省昂贵的锡，以便从功能和社会角度制造更重要的物体。在这种情况下使用砷表明中亚EIA社区正在发生重大的技术和社会变革。我们将对分析结果进行详细介绍，以提出这些变化标志着草原上建立了以流动性为基础的成熟社会，在冲突加剧和社会分层的情况下，该社会涵盖了更多的人和更大的领土。