Panlongcheng, Zhengzhou and the Movement of Metal in Early Bronze Age China (2025)

Bronze Age metal circulation in China

Antiquity, 2017

The Shang (c. 1500-1045 BC) and Zhou dynasties (c. 1045-771 BC) of China are famous for their sophisticated ritual bronze vessels. Sourcing the leaded tin-bronze has, however, proved to be a challenge. A new systematic approach to metal chemistry uses trace elements and isotopes to characterise the underlying circulation pattern. It reveals the complexity of the copper sources on which the late Shang capital at Anyang depended for its bronzes, suggesting the transport of copper from distant regions in the south, on the Yangtze, and from northeast China. The new interpretational system furthers our understanding of the network on which successive Chinese dynasties depended for copper, lead and tin, and attempts to give equal weight to the archaeological and chemical data.

Investigating the origins of metals used in the Early Shang capital of Zhengzhou

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2023

Lead isotope analysis of crucibles and a metal droplet has revealed new information about the provenance of the lead and copper resources used at Zhengzhou Shang City during the Upper Erligang period. The crucibles were found to be divided into three types and associated with copper smelting/refining, leaded tin bronze alloying, and bronze pouring. The copper smelting/refining crucible contains common lead (206 Pb/ 204 Pb = 18.12) and low Pb content in its slag layer. In contrast, the bronze processing crucibles mostly contained highly radiogenic lead (206 Pb/ 204 Pb ≥ 19). One bronze pouring crucible was found to have an exceptionally low 206 Pb/ 204 Pb ratio (≤17.2), indicating that it was made with recycled bronze from an earlier period. This research is the first to reveal the lead isotope characteristics of the copper material used during the Upper Erligang period, which is strikingly different from the dominant highly radiogenic lead reported in previous research. The Middle Yangtze River Valley is tentatively proposed as the geological source. This result also shows that the Upper Erligang Shang people had a complex metal supply network, including at least southern copper, highly radiogenic lead, and recycled early bronze.

Bronze production in the Ancient Chengdu Plains: A diachronic metallurgical perspective on a separate cultural region

Journal of Cultural Heritage, 2020

As one of the most important separate cultural regions in ancient China, the Chengdu Plains provide a unique example to explore the development of bronze production. We analysed 37 bronze objects from the Western Zhou period to the Tang Dynasty in the Chengdu Plains for elemental compositions, microstructure, and lead isotope ratios. We referred to bronze data from the Sanxingdui sacrificial pits to compare results that demonstrated that most samples from the Chengdu Plains were Cu-Pb-Sn alloys with variable tin and lead content. The alloy technique used in the Warring States period bronzes, which were uncovered in the Baishoulu cemetery, differed from the techniques used in other samples. Casting is the major technique used for all types of objects in different periods. The only cold-worked and annealed sample found so far was a Chu-style vessel. Different lead sources and a possible single copper source were constantly used in local bronze production from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Warring States period (more than 600 years). Some coins in Han and Tang Dynasty potentially also used these same lead sources. Comparison with Sanxingdui bronze suggests that both lead and copper sources of Sanxingdui bronzes are different from the later metal sources. We therefore propose that the Sanxingdui bronze might not have been locally made or was made with outside materials. Our study suggests that diachronic study on bronze production could provide clues to solve more archaeological questions other than the development of bronze production.

Recent Research on Early Bronze Metallurgy in Northwest China

2012

Over the past decade, several important archaeological discoveries have been made in Xinjiang and Gansu provinces in nmihwest China that throw new light on the early development of bronze metallurgy in the region. This paper first offers a brief review of studies made over the past several decades of early copper and bronze metallurgy in China. Then it highlights some recent archaeological discoveries of early metal objects in northwest China and presents preliminary examination results of some of these metal objects. Finally, it discusses a number of challenging issues in current studies, such as the significance of metal finds at the Xiaohe cemcteJy, the first identification of arsenical copper among the excavated Qijia metals, the discovery of early metallurgical production sites in Gansu, and the cultural connections between northwest China and the Eurasian steppe. It is argued that the region of Gansu-Qinghai played a crucial role in the early development of copper and bronze metallurgy in China.

Beyond linear narratives: Complex copper ore exploitation strategies in Early Bronze Age China revealed by geochemical characterization of smelting remains

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2024

Despite decades of efforts to reconstruct the bronze production and metal distribution systems of the Shang period in Bronze Age China, there remains limited understanding of the ore choices and smelting practices of the Shang people. This study addresses this research gap by conducting a detailed investigation of Shang period copper ores and smelting remains uncovered at the Tongling site in the Middle Yangtze River valley. The results of lead isotope, copper isotope, trace element, and rare earth element (REE) pattern help to classify the slags from this site into two groups, associated with smelting sulphidic (Group A) and oxidic (Group B) copper ores, respectively. This finding not only serves as the first physical evidence of the use of sulphidic copper ores in Early Bronze Age China but also provides pivotal details of the copper resource exploitation strategies of the Shang people. It challenges the traditional narrative that the Shang people moved to this area solely for the high-grade supergene deposits. The parallel use of both supergene and hypogene ores at the same site complicates the notion of a linear, technological evolution from simpler to more advanced copper sources. Despite the presence of hypogene ores, the study reveals that the Shang people maintained labour-intensive smelting practices, including crushing slag to recover trapped metallic prills, to meet the demands of large-scale bronze casting. This nuanced approach to copper resource exploitation reflects a complex, context-dependent strategy rather than a technological revolution. By highlighting these intricate metallurgical choices, this research contributes to a broader rethinking of early technological development, underscoring the diversity and adaptability of ancient craft industries and their role in shaping Shang society.

Indigenous production and interregional exchange: late second-millennium BC bronzes from the Hanzhong basin, China (Chen et al 2016, Antiquity 90)

Traditional studies of early bronze metallurgy in China have focused on typology, decoration and production methods. The application of new analytical techniques to investigate chemical composition, however, is offering important new insights. The use of one such method (electron probe microanalysis) to study bronze artefacts from the Hanzhong basin in central China shows a level of diversity that implies much greater complexity in the extended landscape networks of the Bronze Age than was previously thought. The ability to appreciate these finds from a new perspective allows progression beyond older, simplistic models, and demonstrates that the Hanzhong region held greater importance within the power structure of Bronze Age Central China than has previously been recognised.

Provenancing copper in the middle Shang period through isotopic analysis of metallurgical remains

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2024

Archaeological investigations recently conducted at the site of Tajiasi, a Middle Shang bronze casting workshop, have led to the discovery of abundant metallurgical micro-remains from various stages of bronze production processes. Lead isotope analysis of these samples has given fresh insights into the discussion about the origin of the metal sources employed during this period. The copper melting and refining slags, characterized by 206 Pb/ 204 Pb around 18.0 and very low lead concentrations (＜4,000 ppm), provided the first reliable indicator about the geological origin of copper used in the Middle Shang period. It is suggested the Jiurui metallogenic district in the Middle Yangtze River, home to the Shang period copper smelting site of Tongling, was the copper source for the Taijiasi site. On the other hand, alloying slags and bronze objects bearing highly radiogenic lead (206 Pb/ 204 Pb > 19.0) show an elevated, but still relatively low Pb content (＜2 wt%), suggesting that the source of tin introduced Pb which was characterized by HRL. Items including alloying slags, dross, spillages and bronze objects have similar HRL characteristics to the Middle Shang bronzes from other sites. This result indicated the Taijiasi site was involved in a multi-line metal circulation during this period, and elucidated the complexity and multiplicity of supply networks for different kinds of metals in the Middle Shang period. It also highlighted the great potential of copper melting and refining slags for detecting the copper provenance.

Indigenous production and interregional exchange: late second-millennium BC bronzes from the Hanzhong basin, China

Hanzhong Beijing 0 km 2000 N Traditional studies of early bronze metallurgy in China have focused on typology, decoration and production methods. The application of new analytical techniques to investigate chemical composition, however, is offering important new insights. The use of one such method (electron probe microanalysis) to study bronze artefacts from the Hanzhong basin in central China shows a level of diversity that implies much greater complexity in the extended landscape networks of the Bronze Age than was previously thought. The ability to appreciate these finds from a new perspective allows progression beyond older, simplistic models, and demonstrates that the Hanzhong region held greater importance within the power structure of Bronze Age Central China than has previously been recognised.

The bronze artifacts from the Yejiashan site and the political presence of the Zhou dynasty in the middle Yangtze Plain: an application of lead isotope analysis

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2017

Lead isotope ratios of 15 Chinese bronze artifacts from the Yejiashan site (Suizhou City, Hubei Province) were analyzed and compared with copper ores across China. This study attempts to provide a new perspective to discuss the role that Zeng State played among all the vassal states in the early Zhou dynasty (ca. 1046-977 BC). The political presence of the Zhou dynasty in the middle Yangtze Plain is another main content of this paper. The lead isotopic characteristics of Chinese bronze artifacts between different historical periods are also in the scope of the study. By comparison, the lead isotopic ratios of the tested bronzes and copper deposits in the north Jiangxi Province show numerous overlaps. It indicates that the tested bronzes might have a single ore source, and this source was in the south of the Zhou dynasty. Combined with history and archaeological records, it is highly likely that the middle Yangtze Plain might be a part of the Zhou dynasty since the very beginning. Moreover, Zeng State might have a great influence in the ancient middle Yangtze Plain, and the nobles of Zeng State might even have authority to supervise certain area extending to Jiujiang. As lead isotopes of the bronzes appear to show a clear relation to chronology, the change of lead isotope patterns across times may further serve to distinguish the bronzes of the Western Zhou dynasty from the late Shang ones.

Archaeology of the Chinese Bronze Age: From Erlitou to Anyang