ABSTRACT The amount of prehistoric metal items discovered in the Maltese archipelago during the BronzeAge very limited in number. The majority of the artifacts are traditionally considered Aegean imports from nearby Sicily. Nineteen objects, currently on display in the National Archaeological Museum of Valletta, and dated between the 17th and 12th century BCE, represent the main evidence of metalwork in Malta during the Bronze Age. Daggers, axes, vessels, rings, pins and an ingot were found in Early and Middle/Late Bronze Age sites and were traditionally interpreted as made from bronze solely on the account of a direct visual exam. The aim of this contribution is to present the results of research carried out on those artifacts applying non-destructive portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF) in order to ascertain their chemical composition, to compare the data with those available for Sicily and the Aegean and discuss the archaeological implications of such outcomes. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

中文翻译：

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马耳他群岛中铜基冶金的兴起：考古学的角度

摘要在青铜时代，马耳他群岛发现的史前金属物品数量非常有限。传统上，大多数文物被认为是爱琴海从附近西西里岛进口的。目前在瓦莱塔国家考古博物馆中展出的十九个物件的历史可追溯到公元前17至12世纪之间，代表了青铜时代马耳他金属制品的主要证据。在早期和中晚期青铜时代的遗址中发现了匕首，斧头，器皿，戒指，大头针和铸锭，传统上仅根据直接的视觉检查就将其解释为由青铜制成。这项贡献的目的是介绍使用无损便携式X射线荧光光谱法（pXRF）对那些人工制品进行的研究结果，以确定其化学成分，将数据与可用于西西里岛和爱琴海的数据进行比较，并讨论这种结果的考古学意义。图形概要