The Archaeometry and Archaeology of Ancient Chinese Glass: a Review

This paper provides a new review of archaeometric research carried out on glass found in China, set in an archaeological context, from its earliest occurrence to the Song dynasty. It is set within a broad geographical context taking the terrestrial and maritime Silk Road contacts into account. We discuss chemical and isotopic compositional contrasts in glasses from different periods found in different parts of China, the glasses that were almost certainly made in China and those that were imported. A theme that runs through the paper is the problem of provenancing glass found in China, along with a lack of evidence for primary glass‐making sites and minimal evidence for secondary glass production. We discuss the glass artefacts that are of typical Chinese types and contrast these with imports; the structure reflects this contrast. We discuss potential new scientific and archaeological approaches to Chinese glass.     

周陵贺家战国秦墓出土紫色八棱柱的科学检测

目前,对我国出土的紫色八棱柱形文物的研究内容主要集中在材质和制作工艺上,对其形制来源、功能用途等方面的系统论述相对较少。为探究周陵贺家战国秦墓出土的一件紫色八棱柱器物的表面特征、颗粒形态、材质成分、制作工艺等信息,利用超景深三维视频显微系统、偏光显微镜、X射线荧光光谱仪(XRF)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、激光拉曼光谱仪(Raman)等分析方法进行了检测。并在此基础上对八棱柱形制的来源与演变、材质的来源、功能用途等方面进行初步推测,结果表明该紫色八棱柱微观形态为紫色和黄色晶体颗粒夹杂分布,主要成分为中国紫(硅酸铜钡),推测为二到三次烧制而成。通过文献查阅及梳理,推测八棱柱的形制受中国本土道家文化的影响较大,其主要功能为口含或窍塞。本工作对于我国出土紫色八棱柱的系统研究具有重要的借鉴意义。     

A Discussion on the Emergence and Development of Ancient Chinese Artificial Barium Copper Silicate Pigments from Simulation Experiments

The ancient Chinese barium copper silicate minerals mainly comprise Chinese purple (BaCuSi₂O₆) and Chinese blue (BaCuSi₄O₁₀), which were widely used from the late Warring States Period to the late Eastern Han Dynasty. In order to clarify the raw material of the pigment, a series of simulation experiments was conducted to produce Chinese purple pigment under varying mineral conditions. The minerals that we applied in the experiment were quartz as the source of silicon, malachite and copper oxide as the sources of copper, barite and witherite as the sources of barium and lead oxide as the source of lead. Simulation experiments showed that the barium copper silicate minerals and the purple pigment can be produced easily when witherite is used as the barium‐containing raw material. From the perspective of mineral resources, the birth of the ancient Chinese pigment associated with a unique barium mineral resource. The Chinese copper‐based pigments are assumed to have been developed independently and are presumably an outcome of historical developments in glazing techniques.     

C4‐Plant Foraging in Northern Italy: Stable Isotopes,Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca Data of Human Osteological Samples from Roccapelago (16th–18th Centuries AD)

Human osteological samples (n = 23) taken from different anatomical parts of 11 individuals from the early modern (16th–18th century AD) site of Roccapelago (Modena, Italy) were systematically analysed for δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and trace elements to investigate their diet. δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N correlate and show a high variability between individuals, attesting to the dietary contribution of C₄ plants. This is supported by pollen analysis of the burial site samples, which revealed the presence of maize. δ¹⁵N correlates with Sr/Ca, suggesting that the main protein source could have been milk and dairy. We therefore interpret the strong correlation between δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N as evidence for C₄‐plant foraging practice and the exploitation of livestock for meat and milk, combined with possible direct intake of C₄ plants. The Roccapelago site represents an important case study to track the evolution of the post‐medieval diet and the introduction of maize cultivation in southern Europe, as also attested by historical sources.     

Identification of PbO (BaO) faience from an early and middle Warring States period cemetery at Zhaitouhe,northern Shaanxi,China

Low‐temperature vitreous materials fluxed with lead (and barium) appeared in the early Warring States period (c.fifth century bce ) in ancient China. A range of lead vitreous products fluxed with the same agent, including faience/glass beads, glazed pottery and Chinese blue (purple) pigment, were developed subsequently. This study carries out scientific analysis of six vitreous beads unearthed from the Zhaitouhe cemetery site in northern Shaanxi dating to the early and middle Warring States period to investigate their chemical composition, microstructure and coloration. The lead (and barium) vitreous beads identified here are some of the earliest lead vitreous materials discovered in China so far, and therefore important for the study of the development of lead vitreous technologies in ancient China. This paper also points out that it is meaningful to evaluate the lead glass, glazed pottery and barium copper silicate pigments as a whole technological assemblage given their close relationships.