Stay with the green: New insights into ancient copper smelting in the Tonglüshan site, China

被引：1
作者：
Yang, Fan [1 ]
Chen, Shuxiang [2 ]
Liu, Siran [1 ]
Chen, Kunlong [1 ]
机构：
[1] Univ Sci & Technol Beijing, Inst Cultural Heritage & Hist Sci & Technol, Beijing 100083, Peoples R China
[2] Hubei Prov Inst Cultural Rel & Archaeol, Wuhan 430062, Peoples R China
来源：
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE-REPORTS | 2024年 / 59卷
关键词：
Copper smelting; Slag analysis; Oxidic ore; Technological evolution; Ancient China; SLAGS;
D O I：
10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104790
中图分类号：
K85 [文物考古];
学科分类号：
0601 ;
摘要：
This paper presents new archaeometallurgical analyses from the Tongl & uuml;shan site, a famous ancient mining and smelting site in China. Results show that the primary phases in slag samples from two sites (Sifangtang and Lujia'nao) are all of a vitreous matrix, interspersed with fayalite crystals, w & uuml;stite, and hercynite. The trapped metallic particles in the slag are mainly raw copper with few sulfides present, which indicates a direct reduction process of oxidic ore. Iron-rich minerals were likely to be added as flux implied by the few unreacted inclusions in the slag samples. The extremely low copper content in the slag samples demonstrates a high rate of copper recovery, indicating that the copper smelting technology in the region had reached a considerably advanced level. In the meantime, the variations in metal content in slag samples from different periods reveal the diachronic changes in this copper smelting technology. The Tongl & uuml;shan site, with its millennia of ancient mining and metallurgical activities, provides an excellent material base for detailed studies on technological evolution.
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页数：11
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