A Study on Mineral Material Sources of Multi-Style Bronzes Collected by Cultural Relic Administration Center of Huili County, Sichuan Province With MC-ICP-MS
BI Yan-qi1, 2 , YANG Ying-dong3, DU Jing4, TANG Xiang5, LUO Wu-gan1, 2*
1. Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins，Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology，Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044，China
2. Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049，China
3. Center of Scientific Archaeology in Chengdu Archaeological Institute, Chengdu 610000，China
4. National Cultural Heritage Administration, Beijing 100009，China
5. Cultural Relic Administration Center of Huili County, Huili 615100, China
Abstract The provenance of raw materials of bronzes and the cultural interactions between regions embodied in them are the key issues that archaeologists focus on. Huili County, Sichuan Province, is located at the “crossroads” between the Eurasian Steppes, the Central Plains of China, South Asia and Southeast Asia, and is on the famous “Tibet-Yi Corridor”. The bronzes unearthed from Huili also contains a variety of cultural factors. However, previous studies on bronze culture in this area have mostly focused on the cultural interactions embodied in the shape of tombs and the types and decorations of burial objects, with little discussion on the provenance of minerals of multi-style bronzes and the specific modes of cultural interaction between regions. In this work, 8 multi-style bronzes collected by the Cultural Relic Administration Center of Huili County were analyzed using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (pXRF), and multi-receiver inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS). On this basis, the lead isotope data of copper and lead mines and related bronzes were collected and compared to archaeological typology to grasp the interaction between different regions and bronze cultures. The composition results obtained by pXRF show that these samples have various alloy types, including pure copper, tin bronze, lead-tin bronze and tin-lead bronze. The lead isotope ratios results obtained by MC-ICP-MS indicate that the two Shizhaishan style drums and Yanyuan culture style tree-shape bronzes should be importation which used the lead material from south central Yunnan province. The results of previous studies on several Shizhaishan style bronze drums show that the mineral materials are all from south central Yunnan, indicating that the raw mineral and production of bronze drums, which symbolize power and status, are relatively unique and may be monopolized by the ruling class. While the Shizhaishan style bell is, an imitation used the copper material from Huili County. The results indicate complex culture interaction modes, including spiritual level and material objects among Huili, Shizhaishan, Yanyuan and other surrounding bronze cultures. This study also shows that using pXRF and MC-ICP-MS to clarify the composition and the source of mineral materials of bronzes combined with documentary records and archaeological typology can provide positive evidence support for in-depth exploration of specific modes of cultural interactions between regions.
Key words：Bronzes;Multi-style;Mineral material sources;Culture interaction modes;MC-ICP-MS
Corresponding Authors:
LUO Wu-gan
E-mail: xiahua@ucas.ac.cn
Cite this article:
BI Yan-qi,YANG Ying-dong,DU Jing, et al. A Study on Mineral Material Sources of Multi-Style Bronzes Collected by Cultural Relic Administration Center of Huili County, Sichuan Province With MC-ICP-MS[J]. SPECTROSCOPY AND SPECTRAL ANALYSIS, 2023, 43(04): 1140-1146.
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