Jun Gao, Wenbin Dong, Xiaotong Wu, Xiang Wang, Fang Huang, Quanyu Wang
{"title":"Technical and economic history of western Han dynasty revealed by bronze mirrors from Zonglvcheng cemetery, Linzi, China","authors":"Jun Gao, Wenbin Dong, Xiaotong Wu, Xiang Wang, Fang Huang, Quanyu Wang","doi":"10.1007/s12520-024-01977-8","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this study bronze mirrors from the Zonglvcheng cemetery in Linzi city, the unique bronze mirror production centre of the Western Han dynasty (WHD, 202 BCE-8 CE), were subjected to scientific examinations. Compositional and lead isotope ratio analyses on 41 bronze mirrors from different periods of WHD were conducted. For the first time, a mirror made of pure lead and another one made with highly radiogenic lead were identified. The compositional analysis revealed a roughly stable copper-tin-lead ratio of 14:5:1 for mirrors, providing insights into the standardised mirror production. The interpretation of isotope ratios was done by combining characteristic parameters and kernel density estimate methods, compiling a wide range of published data for comparison to mitigate the detrimental effects of the overlap effect. The results indicate that the majority of mirrors were produced within Linzi city, but their lead sources were likely from the Xiaoqinling metallogenic belt controlled by the Han Empire rather than local to Shandong province. This study demonstrates that changes in the alloy compositions and ore sources for bronze mirrors and other objects with time were influenced by state-intervention economic policies, providing a new perspective for the study of technical and economic history during the WHD.</p>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-024-01977-8","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ANTHROPOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In this study bronze mirrors from the Zonglvcheng cemetery in Linzi city, the unique bronze mirror production centre of the Western Han dynasty (WHD, 202 BCE-8 CE), were subjected to scientific examinations. Compositional and lead isotope ratio analyses on 41 bronze mirrors from different periods of WHD were conducted. For the first time, a mirror made of pure lead and another one made with highly radiogenic lead were identified. The compositional analysis revealed a roughly stable copper-tin-lead ratio of 14:5:1 for mirrors, providing insights into the standardised mirror production. The interpretation of isotope ratios was done by combining characteristic parameters and kernel density estimate methods, compiling a wide range of published data for comparison to mitigate the detrimental effects of the overlap effect. The results indicate that the majority of mirrors were produced within Linzi city, but their lead sources were likely from the Xiaoqinling metallogenic belt controlled by the Han Empire rather than local to Shandong province. This study demonstrates that changes in the alloy compositions and ore sources for bronze mirrors and other objects with time were influenced by state-intervention economic policies, providing a new perspective for the study of technical and economic history during the WHD.
期刊介绍:
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences covers the full spectrum of natural scientific methods with an emphasis on the archaeological contexts and the questions being studied. It bridges the gap between archaeologists and natural scientists providing a forum to encourage the continued integration of scientific methodologies in archaeological research.
Coverage in the journal includes: archaeology, geology/geophysical prospection, geoarchaeology, geochronology, palaeoanthropology, archaeozoology and archaeobotany, genetics and other biomolecules, material analysis and conservation science.
The journal is endorsed by the German Society of Natural Scientific Archaeology and Archaeometry (GNAA), the Hellenic Society for Archaeometry (HSC), the Association of Italian Archaeometrists (AIAr) and the Society of Archaeological Sciences (SAS).