Porcelain, Kilns, and Chiefs: LA-ICP-MS Analysis of Sherds in the Pre-Colonial Philippines and Southern China

Summary

This research examines issues of production and distribution of Chinese porcelains in the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties by comparing chemical signatures of porcelain sherds and clay collected from sites in Fujian, China both to each other and to sites of dispersal within Philippine chiefdoms in Tanjay, Cebu, and Manila. This research examines how patterns of long distance trade were negotiated within the Philippines at one end of the network and the variations in production strategies, distribution, and sources within Fujian kiln sites at the other. Chemical signatures, through the use of Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is used to distinguish patterns, examine ceramic homogeneity across the sites and regions, and begin to suggest porcelains kiln sites as sources of production within the network. This focus across various scales, and at both ends of this trade connection, allows for the examination of not just centers but also interior or ‘periphery’ groups which were likewise connected and interlinked into this porcelain exchange network.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage