中国早期冶金的本土化与区域互动

Localization and Regional Interaction of Early Metallurgy in China

中国早期冶金术是中国和欧亚草原考古研究中备受关注的课题。本文在简要梳理近期考古学和冶金考古研究成果的基础上,提出并探讨冶金术在中国早期发展中的本土化和区域技术交流等问题。本文指出,在认识到远距离交流和外来技术影响的同时,应该重视研究冶金生产的本土化过程,尤其是当地社群作为冶金生产和技术传播的主体所发挥的重要作用。西北地区本土化冶金生产实践及其对技术体系的改造,为早期冶金术的继续发展和东向传播奠定了基础。而在中原地区同样可见本土化的进程,冶金技术知识融入已有的社会、经济和文化传统,生产体系被再次重塑,形成了中国青铜时代独特的冶金传统。

The beginning and development of metallurgy in China have been one of longstanding hot topics in Chinese and Eurasian archaeology. This paper evaluates archaeological/archaeometallurgical evidence and explores diachronic and diverse developmental processes of China’s early metallurgy in different areas. The authors points out that while the importance of long-distance interaction and exogenous technological stimulation has been widely recognized,attention should also be paid to the adoption and adaption process of metallurgy to a local context and the role of local communities as the major agents of the metallurgical production and technology transmission. It is argued that the modification of metallurgy through the localised practice in northwest China played a crucial role in its further eastward transmission and the ultimate establishment of a new metallurgical tradition in the Central Plains of China, which was achieved through a process of incorporating new technology into the existing social, cultural and economic contexts.