Tianshanbeilu is the largest Bronze Age site in eastern Xinjiang, China. Stretching across the entire second millennium BC, it performed a prominent role in connecting the Hexi corridor, Central China and the steppe. ...Tianshanbeilu is the largest Bronze Age site in eastern Xinjiang, China. Stretching across the entire second millennium BC, it performed a prominent role in connecting the Hexi corridor, Central China and the steppe. A further insight into the metallurgical tradition and the metal supply network is of vital importance to improve our understanding of its multi-connected nature. This paper offers a new set of chemical and isotopic data on the copper-based objects at Tianshanbeilu, including alloying elements, trace elements(impurities) and lead isotopes. Combining the concentrations of arsenic and antimony reveals that arsenic was introduced to copper partially due to the use of specific minerals tethrahedrite-tennantite. Lead isotopes demonstrate that multiple sources of copper were employed at Tianshanbeilu and a majority of them are characterized by common lead, which appears rather different from those of the Central Plains and the Hexi corridor, but highly consistent with local ores. Surprisingly, one object at Tianshanbeilu contains the well-known highly radiogenic lead. This object undoubtedly marks the westernmost boundary of the distribution of the highly radiogenic lead. We also anticipate that more lead isotopic analyses in NW China will further contribute to the study of the highly radiogenic lead in Central China.展开更多
The use of lead, some of which is characterized by a highly radiogenic signature, sharply distinguishes Bronze Age China from the rest of Eurasia. Scholars have long hypothesized that silver can offer an independent p...The use of lead, some of which is characterized by a highly radiogenic signature, sharply distinguishes Bronze Age China from the rest of Eurasia. Scholars have long hypothesized that silver can offer an independent proxy to characterize lead minerals. The summary of silver distribution associated with Shang and Western Zhou bronzes in this paper reveals an important difference between the south(Sanxingdui, Hanzhong, Jinsha, Panlongcheng, Xin’gan) and the Central Plains. Correlating silver with lead content as well as with the isotopic signature indicates that south China and the Central Plains had different lead sources during the late Shang period, and also that the highly radiogenic and common lead used at Anyang come from geochemical environments which cannot be distinguished by the level of silver.展开更多
基金This work is funded by ERC advanced project FLAME(Flow of Ancient Metal Across Eurasia,670010),Social Science Research Fund of Shaanxi Province China(2014H02)academic fund of Wolfson College(University of Oxford).
文摘Tianshanbeilu is the largest Bronze Age site in eastern Xinjiang, China. Stretching across the entire second millennium BC, it performed a prominent role in connecting the Hexi corridor, Central China and the steppe. A further insight into the metallurgical tradition and the metal supply network is of vital importance to improve our understanding of its multi-connected nature. This paper offers a new set of chemical and isotopic data on the copper-based objects at Tianshanbeilu, including alloying elements, trace elements(impurities) and lead isotopes. Combining the concentrations of arsenic and antimony reveals that arsenic was introduced to copper partially due to the use of specific minerals tethrahedrite-tennantite. Lead isotopes demonstrate that multiple sources of copper were employed at Tianshanbeilu and a majority of them are characterized by common lead, which appears rather different from those of the Central Plains and the Hexi corridor, but highly consistent with local ores. Surprisingly, one object at Tianshanbeilu contains the well-known highly radiogenic lead. This object undoubtedly marks the westernmost boundary of the distribution of the highly radiogenic lead. We also anticipate that more lead isotopic analyses in NW China will further contribute to the study of the highly radiogenic lead in Central China.
基金This work has been partially supported by European Research Council Horizon 2020 Advanced Project FLAME(ERC AdG 670010Flow of Metal Across Eurasia).
文摘The use of lead, some of which is characterized by a highly radiogenic signature, sharply distinguishes Bronze Age China from the rest of Eurasia. Scholars have long hypothesized that silver can offer an independent proxy to characterize lead minerals. The summary of silver distribution associated with Shang and Western Zhou bronzes in this paper reveals an important difference between the south(Sanxingdui, Hanzhong, Jinsha, Panlongcheng, Xin’gan) and the Central Plains. Correlating silver with lead content as well as with the isotopic signature indicates that south China and the Central Plains had different lead sources during the late Shang period, and also that the highly radiogenic and common lead used at Anyang come from geochemical environments which cannot be distinguished by the level of silver.
