Circulation Dynamics in Han Dynasty China: Insights from Isotopic Analysis of Lead Glazed Pottery

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This study investigates lead provenance and circulation patterns in Han Dynasty (202BC-220AD) China through the analysis of lead glazed pottery. Four objects from Harvard Art Museums were studied using a combination of typological study, elemental chemistry and lead isotope ratio analysis. The results for each object were compared with databases of ‘lead mining districts’ (lead ore provinces and deposits) and ‘lead usage districts’ (lead-containing artifacts unearthed in different spatial and temporal ranges) by Density Estimates Method. This helped assess the lead sources for each sample and provided a spatial-temporal context for lead resource use. Three distinct groups of lead and their possible circulating spatial-temporal scales are identified across six samples in this study. A possible shift in lead supply networks between the Western Han Dynasty (202BC-9AD) and the Eastern Han Dynasty (25AD-220AD) is proposed. Additionally, changes in lead resource movement from the Han to the Tang Dynasty (618AD-690AD) indicate advancements in long-distance transport and economic exchange. These findings offer new insights into the economic and political dynamics of the Han Dynasty, highlighting the role of lead isotope analysis in tracing resource movement and illuminating the broader patterns of ancient Chinese trade and exchange.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52688