Scientific Investigation on Bronze Swords from Spring-Autumn and Warring States Period

1. Introduction The bronze swords were somewhat important in ancient China. Its alloy constituent analysishas been carried out by some scientist with modern technique. Afterwards, a series of work havebeen published. The main results are: (1) the sword materials are Pb-Sn-bearing bronze with tincontent at 15～19%; (2) it is cast alloy mainly; (3) the rhombus pattern on the sword of Yue King

Diversified manufacturing processes and multiple mineral sources:Features of Warring States bronze vessels excavated from Chutai Cemetery M1,Anhui Province

Northern Anhui was an important region for diverse bronze culture convergence and extensive metal resource circulation in the Pre-Qin Period.In this paper,metallographic microstructure analysis,chemical composition analysis,and lead isotope ratio analysis were conducted on 12 samples of 6 Warring States Period(476–221 BCE)bronze vessels excavated from Chutai Cemetery M1,Fuyang,Anhui Province,revealing the integrated application of diversified manufacturing processes,such as casting,forging,cold working,and welding and multiple metal minerals.The analytical results showed that 2 Ding vessels(鼎)were made by casting,and 2 He vessels(盒)and 2 Dui vessels(敦)were made by forging followed by cold working.These two types of bronze vessels made by different manufacturing processes have significantly distinct alloy ratios and mineral sources,among which the Cu and Sn contents of the 2 cast bronze vessels are lower and the Pb content is higher,while the Cu and Sn contents of the 4 forged bronze vessels are higher and the Pb content is lower.The lead minerals of the two types of bronze vessels might come from Western Henan and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River,respectively.In addition,the 3 pieces of solder used to weld bronze vessels were all made of pure Sn,their metal minerals should come from the densely distributed area of tin ore in Southern China,and Sn solders were mainly discovered in the Chu culture area during the Eastern Zhou Period.

Footprint on the Sand： An Analysis of the State of Nature in Robinson Crusoe

Thomas Hobbes(1588-1679)put forward"state of nature",a term of political theory which had completely changed the Western political philosophy. Deeply influenced by this concept, Daniel Defoe(1660-1731) showed us an island of the state of nature in his Robinson Crusoe. A print of man's foot on the sand, which evoked Robinson's fear, had become a symbol of the state of nature for Robinson's life on the island, and finally brought him a"state of war".

Relationship between archaeological sites distribution and environment from 1.15 Ma BP to 278 BC in Hubei Province

A total of 1362 archaeological sites from the Paleolithic Age to the Warring States time in Hubei Province increase gradually from west to east and from high land to low land.The number of Paleolithic sites with altitude of 50-500 m account for 78% of the whole,while 71%-95% of sites from the Neolithic Age to the Warring States time mainly distribute at the areas of 0-200 m.The temporal-spatial distribution of archeological sites in this area is affected by two factors.For one thing,the human beings of every period need to choose the first or the second terrace as living sites which are near water source and are easy to withstand flood.Additionally,affecting by the regional tectonic uplift since the Holocene,down cutting of rivers can form new river valley,and lateral erosion and accumulation of river in stable time of tectonic movement can result in increasing of many new terraces.So,the human beings migrated to adapt to the change of terrace location,leading to the sites increase gradually in the lower areas of the central and eastern parts of this province.For other things,the temporal-spatial distribution of archeological sites in this area is affected by the climate condition.The Paleolithic sites mostly distribute in the Hanshui River Valley in northeastern Shiyan,southeast of Jinzhou and east of Jinmen,which is because rivers distributed in higher areas in this period.During the Chengbeixi Culture period,the sites are rare in the quondam Paleolithic sites distribution area,but increase obviously along the Yangtze River near the southwest Yichang.The spore-pollen record of Dajiuhu Basin indicates that only 23 Chengbeixi cultural sites may be related to more precipitation and flood during the Holocene wet and hot period.The Daxi Culture,Qujialing Culture and Shijiahe Culture are corresponding to middle and top of the Dajiuhu spore-pollen Zone Ⅳ,during which the climate is in order as a whole and is propitious to agricultural development.In the Qujialing Culture period,32 of original 34 Daxi cultural sites disappeared,while 90 sites increase abruptly in the higher highlands in the north of Xiangfan-Jinmen-Xiaogan,which may respect with enlarging of water areas.The Chu Culture period is corresponding to Dajiuhu spore-pollen Zone V,which is in warm and dry Holocene phase,but it seems that the climate condition is still propitious to agricultural cultivation and the number of archeological sites increase heavily to 593.In addition,there are the least archaeological sites in the lake areas of southeast Hubei Province because of low-lying topography with altitude of 0-50 m and the severest flood.

Relationships between Microstructures and Properties of Chinese Ancient Bronzes

The typical morphology of alloy lead（Pb） in ancient bronzes made in the Spring-Autumn Warring States Period（770 B.C.-221 B.C.）,China,was examined by using electron microscopic techniques.We propose that the main purposes for adding metallic Pb in a large quantity into ancient bronzes,such as arrows and ritual vessel-Ding,were for increasing weight and economical reasons.In order to promote adding efficiency and improve casting quality for getting homogenously distributed Pb particles in the bronzes,a process through inserting Pb rod into the mold is supposed to be used during casting,which provided a process for preventing Pb sinkage.Scanning electron microscope（SEM） observations from the fracture surface of the bronzes revealed that the Pb particle possessed a ＂hollow-cored bubble＂ structure,which was formed due to absorbing casting gases during solidification and therefore indirectly eliminated the casting porosity and loosen.