Metallurgy in the Arc: Technological Choice and Resource Management Strategy during the Late Shang Period

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Resources and Society in Ancient China" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The concept of the Arc, proposed in 1980s by Tong Enzheng and further developed by J. Rawson in the last 10 years, refers to the vast landscape stretching from northeast to southwest China. Its unique geography incorporates both pastoralism and agriculture, vital to the communication between the Eurasian Steppe to the Central Plains of China in Neolithic and Bronze Age. In this paper, we have recharacterized the key metal assemblages in the Arc (e.g. Sanxingdui, Hanzhong, Northern Shaanxi) and compared them with those of Anyang. It reveals that the northern part of the Arc shows a rather different metallurgical tradition, with greater emphasis on mixing and recycling, whereas the Yellow and Yangtze groups appear to be more centralized, with an abundant supply of raw metal and well-selected alloying technologies for different social hierarchies.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Resources and Society in Ancient China   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39686.0