Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
We report on preliminary results of a program of rest-frame UV spectroscopy of z ≥ 4 QSOs. Despite their high luminosity and inherent youth, these objects exhibit spectra that are generally very similar to those of AGNs at lower z. We find some evidence that the z ≥ 4 systems are described by unusually strong O Iλ1304 emission, which may be a result of elevated metallicity or unusual prominence of the ‘intermediate-line region’. High metallicities are also signaled by strong N Vλ1240 emission, consistent with quasar behavior at z ≈ 2–3.