Connected in diversity: Isotopic analysis refines provenance for Islamic plant-ash glass from the eastern Silk Roads.

ABSTRACT: Our understanding of glass production in Eurasia has been built mostly on evidence from Europe and the Mediterranean. Here, we investigate the occurrence and organization of plant-ash glass production in the eastern continental Islamic region, focusing on an 11^th-12^th century assemblage unearthed in Shadyakh, Nishapur, Iran. Through Sr-Nd isotope analysis and by examining geochemical contexts and mixing patterns, we find that distinct silica and ash sources originating from Tigris-Euphrates Basin, Central Asia, and potentially Iran were used to make these objects. Zagros-derived silica and Central-Asian-type silica were likely important silica sources for Islamic plant-ash glasses from east of the Tigris. Furthermore, we show that Central Asian glass can be characteri

SUBMITTER: Lu QQ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10758870 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature