Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.5, 2013

The Source of Tin and the “Copper-tin Road” of the Shang Dynasty in the Perspective of Archaeometry

(Abstract)

Yi Desheng

Lead isotopic archaeology reveals that many bronze vessels of the Shang dynasty contain anomalous lead. This offers a new perspective on the source of tin by using anomalous lead to trace tin-lead (tin-lead-copper) mineral deposits. Some tin-lead (tin-lead-copper) deposits in Jiangxi and Hunan Provinces contain anomalous lead, suggesting possible close ties between them and the bronze minerals of the Shang dynasty. When the possibility of valuable tin deposits in the Central Plains is excluded, we can infer from the perspectives of lead isotopic archaeology, historical mining geography and archaeological culture that the tin minerals necessary for excavated bronze wares of the Shang dynasty may have come from Jiangxi or Hunan Province. There were probably two transportation routes for the Shang bronze minerals. The first route was the northern line, with copper minerals directly coming from the copper ore district of Zhongtiao Mountains (e.g. the Yuanqu area). The other was the southern route, with tin minerals and some copper minerals coming from the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. These may be the so-called long “copper-tin road” of the Shang dynasty.