Provenance of Zhou Dynasty bronze vessels unearthed from Zongyang County, Anhui Province, China: determined by lead isotopes and trace elements

Heritage Science

Danchun Wang¹  Guofeng Wei²  Qiang Li²  Yanjie Wang²  Xiaoping Zheng³ 

[1] Anhui Museum;School of History, Anhui University;Wenzhou Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology;

关键词: Bronze vessels;    Mining and smelting;    Lead isotopes;    Trace elements;    Provenance;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40494-021-00566-5

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Thirteen Zhou Dynasty bronze vessels and two slags from Zongyang County along the north bank of the Yangtze River in Anhui were analyzed by LA-MC-ICP-MS and EDXRF. The results of lead isotope analysis showed that there were two kinds of lead materials in the Zongyang bronzes. Vessels in Class I, thought to have originated from the Wannan region were primarily used during the Western Zhou and the following Spring and Autumn period; while those in Class II, possibly from the local mines in Zongyang County, were mainly present during the Warring States period. Such a shift in the ore material sources is also revealed by the trace element analysis of the Zongyang bronzes. With reference to the relevant historical documents, we suggest that the transformation of the bronze material sources might have been associated with the changes of the political situation during the Zhou Dynasty.

【 授权许可】

Unknown