Elemental and Lead Isotopic Analysis of Bronze Colonial Mission Bell Fragments from Spanish Colonization Era

Few geochemical analyses have been conducted on bronze colonial mission bells fromthe Spanish Colonization Era. The use of mission bells in daily Spanish colonial life served as timekeeping devices and reinforced power dynamics of colonialism. Revolts by Indigenous groups led to destruction of many of these bells. This study of more than 200 bronze fragments from two separate geographic regions, the America Southwest and Southeast, has been completed at the Center for Applied Isotopes Studies (CAIS). Lead isotopic analyses via multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) is used in conjunction with elemental analysis acquired by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to link individual bell fragments to the parent bell they originated from. Isotopic analysis shows the possibility of at least four bells from New Mexico and five from Georgia, but when combined with elemental data, results become ambiguous and will require further study in artifact analysis to understand casting methods during this era.