Rethinking the Context of Production through an Archaeological Study of Ancient Salt Production in the Sichuan Basin, China

Abstract

Excavations at a salt-production site named Zhongba in the Three Gorges region of China document a complex system of intersecting activities that changed gradually over a long period of time. As the salt production became much larger in scale during the Bronze Age, the context of this production shifted from one for which there is no archaeological evidence for attachment between producers and those who control the products to a situation in which the exchange of salt to other regions seems to have been controlled, or at least directed, by an emergent elite whose authority was based in part on divinatory ability and the control of ritual knowledge. This study examines the concept of context in relation to the organization of salt production at this site and argues that multiple lines of evidence must be considered if we are to avoid simplified assumptions concerning the nature of products and the production processes through which they are made.

Towards a Spatial Archaeology of Crafting Landscapes

“…Only some of these power relationships are subsumed within the narrowest definitions of attached production, frequently defined as producers giving up the ‘rights of alienation’ in exchange for support by elite patrons (Clark & Parry 1990, 298; Earle 1981; Lewis 1996, 366). Attached craft specialists produce goods—frequently prestige items, but not always (Flad 2007)—for elites rather than the open market. There are reasonable arguments for why the terms ‘attached’ and ‘independent’ should refer to binary categories (Flad 2007, 111).…”

“…Attached craft specialists produce goods—frequently prestige items, but not always (Flad 2007)—for elites rather than the open market. There are reasonable arguments for why the terms ‘attached’ and ‘independent’ should refer to binary categories (Flad 2007, 111). Equally, there is value in recognizing that control and administration of production varies widely in both form and degree (Costin 2001, 299).…”

Bone-artefact production in late Neolithic central China: evidence from Pingliangtai

“…The study of craft production is fundamental to archaeological investigations of the role of material culture in day-to-day, social and ritual life and is central to the explication of sociocultural evolution (Costin 2005). Yet the relationships between craft production and complex societies are diverse and can only be well understood within discrete environmental and social contexts (Childe 1950;Brumfiel & Earle 1987;Sinopoli 2003;Flad 2007;Hou et al 2018;Wang et al 2022). The Longshan period (c. 2500-1800 BC) in central China was a formative stage of state formation and civilisation, associated with a population increase, the emergence of walled settlements, newly introduced resources and technologies, a higher level of craft production and intensified social stratification (Liu et al 2004;Liu & Chen 2012;Zhao 2013).…”

“…The study of craft production is fundamental to archaeological investigations of the role of material culture in day-to-day, social and ritual life and is central to the explication of socio-cultural evolution (Costin 2005). Yet the relationships between craft production and complex societies are diverse and can only be well understood within discrete environmental and social contexts (Childe 1950; Brumfiel & Earle 1987; Sinopoli 2003; Flad 2007; Hou et al 2018; Wang et al . 2022).…”

Salt production in pre-Funan Vietnam: archaeomagnetic reorientation of briquetage fragments

“…Localized exploitation of brine springs including the heating of the brine to drive evaporation is reported from Zhongba (central China) where salt production during the Neolithic and Bronze Age was the key to the development of the Upper Yangtze region (Flad et al, 2005;Flad, 2007). Along the coast of the Yellow Sea settlers in the region of Shandong were producing sea salt since the Late Shang phase (1250-1046 BC) (Underhill et al, 2008).…”