Bronze Age metal circulation in China

Abstract

Abstract

Primary research on the bronze technology of Lower Xiajiadian Culture in northeastern China

“…Interestingly, the published data of the LXC bronze artifacts from the Dadianzi cemetery site contained only tin bronze and pure copper with no trace of arsenic. Based on these data [11], it is traditionally argued that the LXC people did not use arsenical copper in contrast to the contemporary cultures in northwest China and the Eurasian Steppe [23,24]. The investigation of the Habaqila site presented here has further enriched our understanding of the metallurgical activities of the LXC people.…”

Beyond Provenance

“…An example of such a table is shown in CG4 (Cu + Ag), which is absent from the later periods. It also shows the relative similarity between the CGs used during the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties, which we have interpreted as continuity in the sources of copper used between the Shang and Western Zhou, but that some changes occurred between Erligang and Shang (Pollard et al 2017a). The same table also shows the ubiquity of Copper Groups at the site of Panloncheng, which is an Erligang period settlement on the Yangzi River.…”

“…In order to demonstrate this methodology and the application of the KS test, we give a worked example. We (and many others) have studied the patterns of continuity and change between the composition of Chinese Shang (c. 1600-1046 BCE) and Western Zhou (1046-776 BCE) bronzes -in particular in the practice of adding lead (e.g., Pollard et al 2017a). Figure 20 shows the cumulative frequency distributions of lead in bronzes during the Anyang period of the Shang dynasty (c. 1200-1046 BCE), separated into the four chronological phases identified at Anyang, namely Yinxu I to IV .…”

Fighting and burial: the production of bronze weapons in the Shu state based on a case study of Xinghelu cemetery, Chengdu, China

“…This method is part of the "Oxford system" proposed by the research team at the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art at the University of Oxford, led by Professor Mark Pollard. The method was designed to pursue the circulation of copper and copper alloys [12,13]. To be more specific, 16 copper groups were defined based on the presence/absence of arsenic, antimony, silver, and nickel using 0.1% as the cutoff.…”