Ethnic identification of late shang bronze wares from the Guanzhong Plain: scientific analysis of bronze artifacts from M90 at the Xitou Site, Xunyi county, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province

Abstract

The Guanzhong Plain has always been significant in ancient China, particularly during the late Shang period, when the Predynastic Zhou (pre-Zhou) culture and Shang culture intermingled. In order to discuss the ethnicity of some late Shang period bronzes by scientific methods, this study selects bronze wares and casting cores from M90 of the Xitou site in the northwestern Guanzhong Plain. Metallography, SEM–EDS, MC-ICP-MS, LA-ICP-MS and WD-XRF were used to investigate the techniques, metal sources, and casting workshops of the bronze wares. By integrating these findings with published materials from other contemporary sites, the technological analysis can help identify ethnic affiliations between the Shang and pre-Zhou cultures in the Guanzhong Plain during the late Shang period. The samples from M90 with a lead content exceeding 2% generally have higher lead levels and likely to use lead from North China geochemical province. Additionally, the copper ore contains lower zinc levels. The results also indicated that one sample was not locally cast and probably originated from the Yinxu site. Therefore, M90 is closer to the Shang culture of Yinxu in terms of resources and technology, with interaction with the Guanzhong Shang culture. This discovery provides a valuable reference for determining cultural affiliations of bronze in the Guanzhong region during the late Shang period, particularly for incomplete artifacts from severely looted tombs without sufficient typological characteristic.