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<p>Bronze was essential to the sustenance of prehistoric polities in China, even in metal-poor regions which had to rely on trade. However, raw materials and styles were not always transferred as a single package. This study presents an archaeometallurgical analysis (metallography, elemental, and lead isotope analyses) of 13 bronzes (771 BCE–220 CE) from Wanzhou, Chongqing, exploring the long-term material supply networks of this resource-poor region. Results indicate a sustained, high degree of dependence on external metal. During the Warring States period, Ba bronzes primarily utilised lead from the Nanling Mountains and western Henan (Chu cultural sphere). In the Han dynasty, lead sources shifted towards centrally controlled western Henan, alongside the first identification of highly radiogenic lead from Zhaotong, Yunnan. We propose that the Ba region likely engaged in a “dual economic strategy”: leveraging their geopolitical advantage in salt and cinnabar to acquire external metal raw materials and finished Chu goods. However, Ba artisans did not adopt Chu’s forging techniques for local cooking vessels, retaining traditional casting. This choice reflects a conservative tendency to maintain cultural boundaries and ethnic identity despite material dependency, illustrating how the Ba bronze industry was embedded within a broader, resource-driven political economy.</p>

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Exogenous metal dependence in the upper Yangtze: archaeometallurgical analysis of bronzes in the Ba area from the Eastern Zhou to the Han periods (771 BCE–220 CE)

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月11日

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  • Qiang Li,
  • Ruizhi Chenzuo,
  • Zongying Yue,
  • Linming Lu,
  • Marcos Martinón-Torres,
  • Haichao Li

摘要

Bronze was essential to the sustenance of prehistoric polities in China, even in metal-poor regions which had to rely on trade. However, raw materials and styles were not always transferred as a single package. This study presents an archaeometallurgical analysis (metallography, elemental, and lead isotope analyses) of 13 bronzes (771 BCE–220 CE) from Wanzhou, Chongqing, exploring the long-term material supply networks of this resource-poor region. Results indicate a sustained, high degree of dependence on external metal. During the Warring States period, Ba bronzes primarily utilised lead from the Nanling Mountains and western Henan (Chu cultural sphere). In the Han dynasty, lead sources shifted towards centrally controlled western Henan, alongside the first identification of highly radiogenic lead from Zhaotong, Yunnan. We propose that the Ba region likely engaged in a “dual economic strategy”: leveraging their geopolitical advantage in salt and cinnabar to acquire external metal raw materials and finished Chu goods. However, Ba artisans did not adopt Chu’s forging techniques for local cooking vessels, retaining traditional casting. This choice reflects a conservative tendency to maintain cultural boundaries and ethnic identity despite material dependency, illustrating how the Ba bronze industry was embedded within a broader, resource-driven political economy.