The bronze artifacts from the Yejiashan site and the political presence of the Zhou dynasty in the middle Yangtze Plain: an application of lead isotope analysis

• Published in: Archaeological and anthropological sciences 2018-10, Vol.10 (7), p.1547-1555
• Main Authors: Mu, Di, Luo, Wugan, Huang, Fengchun, Song, Guoding
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anthropology; Archaeology; Bronze; Chemistry/Food Science; Copper; Dynasties; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Geography; Isotopes; Life Sciences; Ores; Original Paper
• ISSN: 1866-9557; 1866-9565
• DOI: 10.1007/s12520-017-0478-5

Lead isotope ratios of 15 Chinese bronze artifacts from the Yejiashan site (Suizhou City, Hubei Province) were analyzed and compared with copper ores across China. This study attempts to provide a new perspective to discuss the role that Zeng State played among all the vassal states in the early Zhou dynasty (ca. 1046–977 BC). The political presence of the Zhou dynasty in the middle Yangtze Plain is another main content of this paper. The lead isotopic characteristics of Chinese bronze artifacts between different historical periods are also in the scope of the study. By comparison, the lead isotopic ratios of the tested bronzes and copper deposits in the north Jiangxi Province show numerous overlaps. It indicates that the tested bronzes might have a single ore source, and this source was in the south of the Zhou dynasty. Combined with history and archaeological records, it is highly likely that the middle Yangtze Plain might be a part of the Zhou dynasty since the very beginning. Moreover, Zeng State might have a great influence in the ancient middle Yangtze Plain, and the nobles of Zeng State might even have authority to supervise certain area extending to Jiujiang. As lead isotopes of the bronzes appear to show a clear relation to chronology, the change of lead isotope patterns across times may further serve to distinguish the bronzes of the Western Zhou dynasty from the late Shang ones.