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<p>This study examines five bronze <i>pushouxianhuan</i> coffin ornaments excavated from Eastern Han Dynasty tombs at the Maba cemetery in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. To further explore funerary practices, two additional <i>Mingqi</i>, identified as fragments of <i>yaoqianshu</i>, were also analysed. Metallurgical technology, elemental composition, and raw material provenance were investigated through metallographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, and lead isotope ratio analysis. The results indicate that these ornaments were mainly produced from a copper-tin–lead ternary alloy, which can be classified into two compositional types: one with low levels of tin and lead, and the other with high levels of tin and lead. Variations in mercury content within the gilded layers suggest the use of the gold and mercury amalgam technique. Lead isotope data show that most artifacts contain highly radiogenic lead, such isotopic signatures are compatible with those of ore deposits in the Zhaotong region of northeastern Yunnan province. This finding is consistent with contemporary assemblages from neighboring areas, indicating that a cross-regional metal circulation network had already developed in southwestern China during the Eastern Han Dynasty, in which northeastern Yunnan played an important role as a key supplier of raw materials. From an archaeometallurgical perspective, the use of gilding technology and trans-regional metal resources also demonstrates the profound materialization of the Eastern Han funeral concept of “treating death as life.”</p>

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Treating death as life: an archaeometallurgical analysis of coffin ornaments of the Eastern Han dynasty excavated from the Maba cemetery, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月3日

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  • Xiaoxiao Teng,
  • Zishu Yang,
  • Qiang Li,
  • Chihao Ma,
  • Ming Zhu

摘要

This study examines five bronze pushouxianhuan coffin ornaments excavated from Eastern Han Dynasty tombs at the Maba cemetery in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. To further explore funerary practices, two additional Mingqi, identified as fragments of yaoqianshu, were also analysed. Metallurgical technology, elemental composition, and raw material provenance were investigated through metallographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, and lead isotope ratio analysis. The results indicate that these ornaments were mainly produced from a copper-tin–lead ternary alloy, which can be classified into two compositional types: one with low levels of tin and lead, and the other with high levels of tin and lead. Variations in mercury content within the gilded layers suggest the use of the gold and mercury amalgam technique. Lead isotope data show that most artifacts contain highly radiogenic lead, such isotopic signatures are compatible with those of ore deposits in the Zhaotong region of northeastern Yunnan province. This finding is consistent with contemporary assemblages from neighboring areas, indicating that a cross-regional metal circulation network had already developed in southwestern China during the Eastern Han Dynasty, in which northeastern Yunnan played an important role as a key supplier of raw materials. From an archaeometallurgical perspective, the use of gilding technology and trans-regional metal resources also demonstrates the profound materialization of the Eastern Han funeral concept of “treating death as life.”