TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hsu, Yiu-Kang
A1  - Klein, Sabine
A1  - O’Sullivan, Rebecca
A1  - Zhushchikhovskaya, Irina S.
A1  - Popov, Alexander N.
A1  - Kljuev, Nikolaj Aleksandrovič
A1  - Nikitin, Yury G.
A1  - Sidorenko, Elena
T1  - Provenance and distribution networks of the earliest bronze in the Maritime Territory (Primorye), Russian Far East
T2  - Journal of island and coastal archaeology
N2  - Metal artifacts from the Paleometal Epoch (ca. 1100 BC–400 AD) of the Primorye (Russian Far East) have shed new light on the introduction of the earliest bronzes into the Pacific coastal areas of prehistoric Eurasia. However, little is known about raw material circulation and the role of metal in the context of inter-regional exchange. This paper investigates 12 copper artifacts from major Paleometal settlements using alloy composition, trace elements, and lead isotopes to explore the metal sources and distribution networks. The results suggest that most objects are made of a copper-tin alloy, but some have arsenic as a significant minor element . Geologically, copper is unlikely to have come from local ore sources, but rather from the Liaoxi corridor and Liaodong Peninsula in Northeast China. This may indicate an inland route of metal trade across Northeast China or alternately, a coastal route via the northern Korean Peninsula. Archaeologically, the combined study of artifact typology and chemistry indicates two possible origins for the metal: the Upper Xiajiadian culture in Northeast China and Slab Grave culture in Mongolia/Transbaikal. Remarkably, the connection with Upper Xiajiadian communities parallels the transport route along which millet agriculture spread from Northeast China to the Primorye during the Neolithic.
KW  - Paleometal Epoch
KW  - bronze metallurgy
KW  - chemical and lead isotope analysis
KW  - provenance
KW  - Northeast Asia
Y1  - 2021
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/62805
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-628054
SN  - 1556-1828
N1  - This study was carried out at the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum (DBM) and received great support from Professor Thomas Stöllner’s project “Resources in Societies,” funded by the Leibniz-Gemeinschaft (SAW-2017-DBM-3).
N1  - FIERCE is financially supported by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, INST 161/921-1 FUGG and INST 161/923-1 FUGG), which is gratefully acknowledged. We are also grateful to the Office of China Postdoc Council via Jilin University, which provided financial support during the lengthy writeup of this article. Our Russian colleagues received funding from the Russian Science Foundation on the project “Archaeology of the Russian Far East” (N 20-18-00081) as well as the Russian Foundation for Basic Research on the project “Periphery focuses of culture-historical development in the Russian Far East, Northeast China and Korea peninsular during Paleometal epoch” (N 18-09-40101).
N1  - Early View: Online Version of Record before inclusion in an issue.
VL  - 2021
IS  - online version before inclusion in an issue
SP  - 1
EP  - 22
PB  - Routledge
CY  - London [u.a.]
ER  -