Artificial Cengqing in the “Five Stones”

Archaeometric Evidence of Barium Copper Silicates From a Late Han Grave‐Quelling Jar

Bibliographic Data

ID24020037
AuthorsShasha Long (Shandong University of Science and Technology), Zhimin Li (0000-0002-1350-6022, Shandong University of Science and Technology), Blythe McCarthy (0000-0002-6427-3484, National Museum of Natural History), Heinz Berke (0000-0003-3917-3577, University of Zurich), Jiachang Chen (0000-0002-7488-1707, Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage), Qinglin Ma (0009-0004-8628-678X, State Administration of Cultural Heritage, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-07-31
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchaeometry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-813X • E-ISSN: 1475-4754
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/arcm.70195
OpenAlexW7172100058
LanguageEN
References cited27

Purplish‐blue granular materials from the “Five Stones” set excavated from a grave‐quelling jar in Late Han tomb M17 at Sanmenxia (Henan, China) were analyzed by OM, SEM‐EDS, and micro‐Raman spectroscopy. The results identify, for the first time, Chinese Purple, Chinese Blue, and Chinese Dark Blue as artificial Cengqing in a mortuary ritual context. Associated quartz, witherite, barite, tenorite, covellite, and minor calcite constrain possible raw materials and reaction residues, whereas dispersed gold and tremolite indicate deliberate cultural additions. Multiphase assemblages and residual reactants suggest incomplete, nonequilibrium high‐temperature processing, providing archaeometric evidence for early proto‐alchemical pyrotechnology in China.

Barium · Calcite · Copper · JAR · Mineral · Tremolite · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · Mineralogy and Gemology Studies

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