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Two alloying technology from the Muyushan site (Anhui Province, China): evidence for tin bronze and arsenic bronze smelting in the lower Yangtze River ca. 1100BC ~ 500 BC

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Abstract

The Muyushan site in Tongling City is the largest site of metallurgical production during the Bronze Age in the lower reaches of Yangtze River in Southern Anhui, China. Twenty-two samples of slag collected are analyzed with SEM–EDS. The examinations indicate that the Cu-Sn and Cu-As alloys were obtained at the site. We further discuss the two-step smelting process of bronze production and the source of tin materials. The technological process and importance of arsenic bronze metallurgy here are also discussed. It is worth noting that the copper diamond-shaped ingots popular in the early stage of Southern Anhui also have a strong production signal in Muyushan area. The paper has an important academic value of studying the earlier metallurgy technology and the industrial pattern in the lower reaches of Yangtze River, pointing that the arsenic bronze still produced in the lower Yangtze area during the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period (ca. 1100BC ~ 500 BC) is worthy of attention.

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Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (project approval number: 51174034).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Archaeology, National Museum of China, 16 East Chang’an Street, Beijing, 100006, China

    Chunpeng Cui

  2. Institute of History of Science and Technology & Cultural Heritage, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yanxiang Li & Chenyuan Li

  3. Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Hefei, 230061, China

    Xicheng Gong

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  1. Chunpeng Cui
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  2. Yanxiang Li
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  3. Chenyuan Li
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  4. Xicheng Gong
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Correspondence to Yanxiang Li.

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Cui, C., Li, Y., Li, C. et al. Two alloying technology from the Muyushan site (Anhui Province, China): evidence for tin bronze and arsenic bronze smelting in the lower Yangtze River ca. 1100BC ~ 500 BC. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 14, 140 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-022-01610-6

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