Reconstructing the trade history
Provenance study of Han bronze mirrors in and out of Han China
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5255178 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Xiang Wang (0000-0002-2135-8576, University of Science and Technology of China), Ruiliang Liu (0000-0001-9628-827X), Jun Gao (0000-0002-1227-8857, Shandong University), A M Pollard (0000-0003-3757-4668, Oxford Archaeology), Anchuan Fan (0000-0001-6755-1737, University of Science and Technology of China), Fang Huang (0000-0003-1885-3311, University of Science and Technology of China), Ruiliang Li (0000-0001-5493-4771, Anhui Geological Museum, corresponding author), Shixuan Zhang (0000-0002-5723-9747, Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology), Fenglin Hua (0000-0002-6718-6490), Zhengyao Jin (University of Science and Technology of China) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Publication date | 2024-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1866-9557 • E-ISSN: 1866-9565 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s12520-024-02016-2 |
| OpenAlex | W4400246227 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 21 |
A rapidly increasing number of bronze mirrors dated to the Chinese Han dynasty (202 BC - AD 220), known for their unique decorative patterns and highly developed alloying techniques, have been widely discovered in both China and beyond, providing fresh materials and scientific data to revisit their geological provenance, production and circulation network along the ancient Silk Road. In this paper, 47 bronze mirrors unearthed in the southeastern provinces of China, including Zhejiang, Anhui and Fujian provinces, have been characterized by typo-chronology, lead isotopic analysis, compositional analysis and metallography. A much wider comparative study is also carried out through a combination of data from China, Japan, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia, leading to a more updated lead isotopic database of the Han mirrors spreading out of China in various directions. Compared with the traditional 'optimal' model based on the Han mirrors recovered in Japan, the current study contributes several key changes in the bronze mirror production of the Han dynasty. The systematic analysis of the alloy composition, trace elements and typological studies shows that the bronze mirror industry shifted towards a more standardized production in the middle to late Western Han Dynasty. In contrast to the substantial change of non-mirror bronze productions, the similar distribution of lead isotope data in early and middle to late Western Han mirrors suggests that the 'official monopoly of salt and iron' policy was less effective for the management of lead involved in mirror production. Bronze mirrors dated to middle to late Western Han discovered outside Han-China, such as Japan, Thailand, Afghanistan, Xiongnu and the ancient Dian Kingdom, appear to be subjected to a more specific type of lead as a result of the state-centralized policy of the Western Han court
Ancient history · Archaeology · Bronze · China · Geography · Pottery · Provenance · Western Zhou · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · Geological and Geochemical Analysis · History · Geology · Paleontology
Major and Trace Element Characteristics of Bronze Mirrors Excavated in Linzi and Their Implications for the Study of ‘Jin liuJi’
Bronze technology and metal resource circulation during the Han dynasty in the Lingnan Region
Bronze mirrors from Xi’an reveal central policy changes and regional trade details in the Han dynasties
Metallurgical economy, cultural shifts, and lead exposure
Circulation of bronze mirrors between China and Japan during the Western Han dynasty
High-precision chronology and scientific analysis of Panchi mirrors reveal the state policy impact in early Imperial China
Years of Bronze Provenance Studies
Exploring circulation dynamics in Han Dynasty China
From periphery to borderland
From diversity to monopoly
Chinese mirrors from the burials of the nomads of Eastern Europe of the second half of the 1st millennium BC-first centuries AD
Imported Mirrors in the Minusinsk Basin
How the metal supply for mintage shifts in the transforming monetary system of the Han Empire
Lead isotope reveals the mineral source change of late Bronze Age bronze mirrors excavated in Hunan Province, Southern China
More questions than answers
Form and flow
Scientific analysis and research on the Warring States bronze mirrors unearthed from Changsha Chu cemetery, Hunan province, China
Lead Isotope Analyses Revealed the Key Role of Chang'an in the Mirror Production and Distribution Network During the Han Dynasty
Lead Isotope Approach to the Understanding of Early Japanese Bronze Culture
Panlongcheng, Zhengzhou and the Movement of Metal in Early Bronze Age China
Wuchuan bronzes and cinnabar mining immigrants during the Qin and Han Dynasties-new perspectives from typological and lead isotope analysis
The social interaction between China and Japanese archipelago during Western Han dynasty
Predicting bronze casting recipes in ancient China
An Historical Atlas of China
Ancient Chinese Bronze Mirrors
Revisiting lead isotope data in Shang and Western Zhou bronzes
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |