Victor V. Zaykov, Elizaveta V. Zaykova
Institute of mineralogy Ural Department of Russian Academy of Sciences, Miass (zaykov@mineralogy.ru)
Keywords: minerals, Os group, gold, silver, indicators, archaeological sites, Ural, sources of precious metals.

The article considers mineralogical and geochemical indicators of ancient jewelry to identify the sources of raw materials. These include the compositional features of the gold objects, the presence and composition of high-temperature platinum group mineral (Os-Ir-Ru) inclusions. By the proposed indicators, probable sources of gold for archaeological sites, in which products contain inclusions of osmium, have been determined. The setting jewelry workshops, the conditions and the scope of gold mining in ancient times are discussed. Further work to identify specific sources of gold jewelry should deal with the identification of the natural analogues of abnormal composition of osmium minerals.