The Early Bronze Age figurine from Hasanoğlan, central Turkey: new archaeometrical insights

Abstract

The following article discusses the archaeometrical dimension of a well-known Early Bronze Age metal figurine from Hasanoğlan, Turkey, on permanent display in the Anatolian Civilisations Museum in Ankara. The transfer of the object to a new display case allowed for an examination with a portable x-ray fluorescence (P-XRF) device in order to reveal the chemical composition of the statuette and its attached ornaments. The figurine was confirmed to be made of silver. However, it is alloyed with a small but still substantial amount of copper. The applications are basically made of gold, but with a suspected substantial (up to 23% ) amount of silver involved. The final section of the article is dedicated to a critical comparison with recently published figurines from Alaca Höyük, together with an archaeological and chronological reappraisal of this unique piece of art.