Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 52 (3) 2024   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2024.52.3.082-090

Annotation:  The Origin of H. s. denisovan and Their Dispersal Across Iran Methodological Issues in Pollen Analysis of Pleistocene Deposits in Denisova Cave Small Blade and Bladelet Production in Central Asia at the Turn of MIS 7 and 6: Cores from Kulbulak Identification of Adhesives for Repairing Ancient Ceramics: The Case of the Neolithic and Chalcolith Slag Inclusions in Iron Artifacts from Cemeteries at Kichigino I and Krasnaya Gorka, and the Metallu Radiocarbon Chronology and Isotope Data of Ust-Tartasskiye Kurgany Mound 51, the Baraba Forest-Stepp Raw Materials in the Paste of Ceramics of the Kulaika Culture Surgut Variant (Based on Samples from A Bronze Age Site on the Northern Coast of West Java Microstructural Study of Medieval Crucible Steels from Archaeological Sites in Central and Northwest Textiles from the Ust-Voikary Hillfort Site (Based on Materials from 2012–2016 Excavations) Shaman Tambourines of the Northern Ob Ugrians (18th to Early 21st Centuries) Principal Results of the Project Implemented by the Research and Educational Center for Altaic and T Bony Labyrinth in Upper Paleolithic Individuals Buried at Sungir The Structure of the Late Bronze Age Population of Western Siberia: Craniometric Evidence Affinities of the Sargat Population in the Baraba Forest-Steppe Application of the Decision Tree Method for Differentiating Human Groups   

Microstructural Study of Medieval Crucible Steels from Archaeological Sites in Central and Northwest Asia: Identifying the Bulat

N.M. Zinyakov

Kemerovo State University, Krasnaya 6, Kemerovo, 650000, Russia

The microstructure of 9th-15th century artifacts made of crucible steel, found at sites in Central and Northwest Asia, is described. Metallographic study of items from settlements and burials with precise data on chronology, location, and accompanying artifacts is important for reconstructing the history of bulat steel and the technology of melting and processing ultra-high-carbon crucible steel. The study of the macro- and microstructure, and the chemical analysis of such items indicate an extremely high content of carbon—1.7—2.1 %. The characteristic feature of their microstructure is a dark matrix with white inclusions of ledeburite and iron carbides. The combination of structural components is reflected in the patterned structure of the metal. These properties suggest that such metal is identical to bulat steel. Findings of macrostructural analysis extend our knowledge of the varieties of this metal, its structural features, phase composition of separate groups of ultra-high-carbon crucible steel, smelting technology, plastic and thermal treatment, and physical properties.

Keywords: Central and Northwest Asia, Middle Ages, ferrous metallurgy, metallographic analysis, crucible steel, bulat steel