From Mesopotamia to Taiwan: Early Plant Ash Glass in the South China Sea

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Elemental Analysis Facility at the Field Museum: Celebrating 20 Years Serving the Archaeological Community " session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Plant ash glass was common around the South China Sea from the eighth century CE onward. While this “late” plant ash glass was mostly found in the form of vessel fragments of Islamic origin, “early” plant ash glass appeared before the mid-first millennium CE, predominantly in the form of glass beads. Unfortunately, little is known about the provenance of this early plant ash glass. We present a recent analysis of glass ornaments made of plant ash glass from Daoye, Daoye South, and Wujiancuo in Taiwan, dating between the first and eighth centuries CE. LA-ICP-MS and SEM-EDS analyses indicate these artifacts likely originated from Mesopotamia. A close comparison of Al2O3, CaO, MgO, K2O, and P2O5 concentrations reveals similarities to the Mesopotamia Type 1 sub-group from the Sassanian territories, and they contain less MnO than the later Islamic period. The presence of magnesiochromite further supports their Mesopotamian origin. This research shows that the early plant ash glass in the mid-first millennium CE was likely produced in Mesopotamia and reached Taiwan through maritime routes passing the Sasanian territories, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. The findings shed light on the early circulation of plant ash glass in the South China Sea region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• The Elemental Analysis Facility at the Field Museum: Celebrating 20 Years Serving the Archaeological Community

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38380.0