Social hierarchy and the choice of metal recycling at Anyang, the last capital of Bronze Age Shang China
Anyang, the last capital of the Chinese Shang dynasty, became one of the largest metal consumers in Eurasia during the second millennium BCE. However, it remains unclear how Anyang people managed to sustain such a large supply of metal. By considering the chemical analysis of bronze objects within a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Research
2020
|
| _version_ | 1826277825739489280 |
|---|---|
| author | Liu, R Pollard, AM Cao, Q Liu, C Sainsbury, V Howarth, P Bray, P Huan, L Yao, B Fu, Y Tang, J |
| author_facet | Liu, R Pollard, AM Cao, Q Liu, C Sainsbury, V Howarth, P Bray, P Huan, L Yao, B Fu, Y Tang, J |
| author_sort | Liu, R |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Anyang, the last capital of the Chinese Shang dynasty, became one of the largest metal consumers in Eurasia during the second millennium BCE. However, it remains unclear how Anyang people managed to sustain such a large supply of metal. By considering the chemical analysis of bronze objects within archaeological contexts, this paper shows that the casting and circulation of metal at Anyang was effectively governed by social hierarchy. Objects belonging to the high elites such as Fuhao, particularly the bronze ritual vessels, were made by carefully controlled alloying practice (primary) using very pure copper, whereas the lower elites only had access to bronzes made by secondary alloying practice and copper with more impurities. Such contrasts allow scholars to identify those objects which are less likely to have been made by mixing and recycling, which has very important implications for the chemical and isotopic determination of provenance for future studies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T23:34:44Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:6d42ecc9-1f36-4da8-bb0f-293b64294e5a |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T23:34:44Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | Nature Research |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:6d42ecc9-1f36-4da8-bb0f-293b64294e5a2022-03-26T19:16:43ZSocial hierarchy and the choice of metal recycling at Anyang, the last capital of Bronze Age Shang ChinaJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:6d42ecc9-1f36-4da8-bb0f-293b64294e5aEnglishSymplectic ElementsNature Research2020Liu, RPollard, AMCao, QLiu, CSainsbury, VHowarth, PBray, PHuan, LYao, BFu, YTang, JAnyang, the last capital of the Chinese Shang dynasty, became one of the largest metal consumers in Eurasia during the second millennium BCE. However, it remains unclear how Anyang people managed to sustain such a large supply of metal. By considering the chemical analysis of bronze objects within archaeological contexts, this paper shows that the casting and circulation of metal at Anyang was effectively governed by social hierarchy. Objects belonging to the high elites such as Fuhao, particularly the bronze ritual vessels, were made by carefully controlled alloying practice (primary) using very pure copper, whereas the lower elites only had access to bronzes made by secondary alloying practice and copper with more impurities. Such contrasts allow scholars to identify those objects which are less likely to have been made by mixing and recycling, which has very important implications for the chemical and isotopic determination of provenance for future studies. |
| spellingShingle | Liu, R Pollard, AM Cao, Q Liu, C Sainsbury, V Howarth, P Bray, P Huan, L Yao, B Fu, Y Tang, J Social hierarchy and the choice of metal recycling at Anyang, the last capital of Bronze Age Shang China |
| title | Social hierarchy and the choice of metal recycling at Anyang, the last capital of Bronze Age Shang China |
| title_full | Social hierarchy and the choice of metal recycling at Anyang, the last capital of Bronze Age Shang China |
| title_fullStr | Social hierarchy and the choice of metal recycling at Anyang, the last capital of Bronze Age Shang China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social hierarchy and the choice of metal recycling at Anyang, the last capital of Bronze Age Shang China |
| title_short | Social hierarchy and the choice of metal recycling at Anyang, the last capital of Bronze Age Shang China |
| title_sort | social hierarchy and the choice of metal recycling at anyang the last capital of bronze age shang china |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT liur socialhierarchyandthechoiceofmetalrecyclingatanyangthelastcapitalofbronzeageshangchina AT pollardam socialhierarchyandthechoiceofmetalrecyclingatanyangthelastcapitalofbronzeageshangchina AT caoq socialhierarchyandthechoiceofmetalrecyclingatanyangthelastcapitalofbronzeageshangchina AT liuc socialhierarchyandthechoiceofmetalrecyclingatanyangthelastcapitalofbronzeageshangchina AT sainsburyv socialhierarchyandthechoiceofmetalrecyclingatanyangthelastcapitalofbronzeageshangchina AT howarthp socialhierarchyandthechoiceofmetalrecyclingatanyangthelastcapitalofbronzeageshangchina AT brayp socialhierarchyandthechoiceofmetalrecyclingatanyangthelastcapitalofbronzeageshangchina AT huanl socialhierarchyandthechoiceofmetalrecyclingatanyangthelastcapitalofbronzeageshangchina AT yaob socialhierarchyandthechoiceofmetalrecyclingatanyangthelastcapitalofbronzeageshangchina AT fuy socialhierarchyandthechoiceofmetalrecyclingatanyangthelastcapitalofbronzeageshangchina AT tangj socialhierarchyandthechoiceofmetalrecyclingatanyangthelastcapitalofbronzeageshangchina |