Spectroscopy and Spectral Analysis, Volume. 44, Issue 2, 446(2024)
A Study on Lead Sources of Bronze Spearheads From Cultural Relic Administration Center of Huili County, Sichuan Province by MC-ICP-MS
The Huili area of Liangshan Prefecture has become an important gateway for the Jinsha Ravers middle reaches to Yunnan since the pre-Qin period. The Huili bronze culture shows a strong local primitive cultural foundation, and in the process of historical development, there have been exchanges and interactions with regional cultures, such as the south of the Jinsha River, to varying degrees. Bronze spearheads are bronze weapons commonly unearthed in bronze culture tombs in southwest China. They usually have killing and ritual functions. In addition, because of their unique typological characteristics, they can be used as special tools to distinguish cultural factors. Since the smelting of bronze is restricted by metallurgical technology and the supply of metal ore, the production technology of bronze weapons and the mineral resource are a good example for discussing the exchanges between the bronze culture in southwestern China and the surrounding cultures. In this context, in order to explore the provenance of bronze spearheads unearthed in Huili from the Warring States Period to the early Western Han Dynasty and their interaction with the surrounding culture, this study used a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (pXRF), a multi-receiver inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) and other equipment to determine the composition and lead isotope ratios of four bronze spearheads unearthed from the Guojiabao cemetery. The bronze spearhead samples have willow-shaped leaves with a slight ridge in the middle. They have no ears on the sockets and have no pattern. This type of bronze spearhead is a typical local style. The scientific and technological analysis results show that spearhead samples alloy composition varies greatly, including Cu-Pb alloy, Cu-Sn-Pb alloy and Cu-Pb-Sb alloy. However, the lead contents of all samples are higher than 2%, which means that the lead material was artificially added. The lead isotopic ratio analysis results revealed that the ore sources of this batch of copper spear samples were divided into two distinct groups: ordinary lead and highly radioactive lead. By comparing the lead isotope data of lead ore in the surrounding areas, it can be seen that the Huili bronze spearhead used the local lead materials and used the lead ore from the Jinshachang in Huize, northeastern Yunnan. From the Warring States Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, the northeastern part of Yunnan belonged to the control area of the ancient Yelang bronze culture. It can be speculated that the Huili Bronze Culture and the Yelang Bronze Culture had close communication and connections.
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XU Jun-ping, YANG Ying-dong, WANG Xiao-ting, DU Jing, TANG Xiang, LUO Wu-gan. A Study on Lead Sources of Bronze Spearheads From Cultural Relic Administration Center of Huili County, Sichuan Province by MC-ICP-MS[J]. Spectroscopy and Spectral Analysis, 2024, 44(2): 446
Received: Sep. 29, 2022
Accepted: --
Published Online: Aug. 5, 2024
The Author Email: Wu-gan LUO (xiahua@ucas.ac.cn)