Spectroscopy and Spectral Analysis, Volume. 45, Issue 6, 1693(2025)

Scientific Exploration of Jade Artifacts From the Dawenkou Culture Unearthed at the Jiaojia Site, Shandong, China

WANG Qiang1, WANG Fen1、*, GU Xian-zi2,3, ZHENG Xin-yu2, BIAN Rong-wei1, and DENG Zi-xu3
Author Affiliations
  • 1School of Archaeology, Shandong University,Jinan 250000, China
  • 2Shanghai Mesuem, Shanghai 200003, China
  • 3School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China
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    The Jiaojia site in Zhangqiu, Shandong Province, was one of the “National Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries” in 2017, featuring a large number of jade artifacts dating from the middle to late Da Wenkou culture. In this study, 85 representative samples excavated from the Jiaojia site were analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (p-XRF). The results show that there are seven kinds of materials used: tremolite, serpentine, turquoise, mica jade, marble, talc, and silicomalachite, and the material combinations are relatively consistent in each archaeological cultural section, and tremolite jade accounts for a relatively small proportion of the material; the tremolite jade used is of the marble type, and the characteristics of the Sr content do not match with the known Meiling jade from Liyang in Jiangsu Province, which may have come from Hebei, Liaodong, and other places; the serpentine jade used can be seen as both marble-type and ultrabasic rock type, which are multi-origin sources, and part of the ultramafic serpentine jade is consistent with the characteristics of Shandong “Taishan Jade”, so it is a nearby material; Jiaojia site used turquoise for a long time. Considering that there is no turquoise mine in Shandong and the results of archaeological research, we speculate that the turquoise raw material may originate from the eastern part of the Qinling Mountains. It is assumed that the acquisition of turquoise raw materials resulted from material and cultural exchanges. In conclusion, this study makes up for the lack of scientific research on jade materials in Dawenkou culture, confirms the ability of the Haidai region in prehistory to obtain scarce resources represented by jade, and is of great historical significance for a complete understanding of the level of productivity development and regional exchanges in the Dawenkou culture period.

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    WANG Qiang, WANG Fen, GU Xian-zi, ZHENG Xin-yu, BIAN Rong-wei, DENG Zi-xu. Scientific Exploration of Jade Artifacts From the Dawenkou Culture Unearthed at the Jiaojia Site, Shandong, China[J]. Spectroscopy and Spectral Analysis, 2025, 45(6): 1693

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    Paper Information

    Received: Jul. 6, 2024

    Accepted: Jun. 27, 2025

    Published Online: Jun. 27, 2025

    The Author Email: WANG Fen (wangf@sdu.edu.cn)

    DOI:10.3964/j.issn.1000-0593(2025)06-1693-07

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