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There has been widespread concern about the provenance of proto-porcelain in previous studies, which is fundamental in determining the origin of porcelain. However, there are still different opinions on the provenance of proto-porcelain. To discuss this question, this study analyzed 21 proto-porcelain shards, excavated from the Yejiashan Cemetery, on the basis of typology, petrography, and LA-ICP-AES methodologies. Three shards from the Panlongcheng site were also collected for comparative analysis. The typological analysis showed that the majority of proto-porcelain samples from the Yejiashan Cemetery were similar to those from Northern China in type, shape, decoration,and glaze color, while 2 shards showed typical Southern characteristics. The petrographic analysis indicated that there were two different patterns of distribution for quartz particles in the collected samples, which suggested the potential existence of at least two different origins. The LA-ICP-AES analysis results also supported two different origins for Yejiashan proto-porcelain and suggested that one may originate from Zhejiang Province in Southern China. In summary, our study has demonstrated the existence of at least two distinct provenance areas for the proto-porcelain sourced from the Yejiashan cemetery. This distinction is founded upon disparities in typological characteristics, distribution patterns of quartz particles, and chemical compositions. This conclusion contributes to a better understanding of cultural exchange between the Zeng state and neighboring regions and can shed light on the manufacturing industry of the early Western Zhou Dynasty (1046–771 BC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As typical artifacts of the Ba-Shu culture, bronze dagger-axes have always been highly valued by academia. Underneath-blade bronze dagger-axes were utilized widely in both the Central Plains and southwest China. However, opinions differ on whether these underneath-blade bronze dagger-axes which excavated from Ba-Shu culture were produced locally. Combined with archaeological typology study, p-XRF and MC-ICP-MS were used to analyze 12 underneath-blade bronze dagger-axes unearthed from Shuangyuan Village Site, an Eastern Zhou cemetery in Chengdu city, Sichuan Province, Southwest China in order to investigate the cultural exchange and integration centered on the Shu culture. The composition results show that the majority of samples were made from copper, tin, and lead ternary alloy. The data on lead isotopes indicate that underneath-blade bronze dagger-axes have different mineral sources. The lead isotope ratio 206Pb/204Pb of 18.3 can draw the conclusion to be used as one of the bases for judging that underneath-blade bronze dagger-axes originated in the Chengdu Plain or the Central Plains which was consistent with the typology. The southern China lead materials of underneath-blade bronze dagger-axes in the Ba-Shu and Central Plains style probably came from southern Sichuan; while the rest of underneath-blade bronze dagger-axes in the Central Plains style might use lead materials in the western Hunan-western Hubei area. The Shu culture which was represented by Shuangyuan Village Site in Chengdu Plain during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty had close cultural communication with the Central Plains and Chu cultures. This study reveals that Ba-Shu had a direct exchange of minerals or metal products with the Central Plains and Chu, as well as an imitation based on the identification of the foreign culture and the belief in the local Shu cultural traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ancient and well-developed late Shu culture was discovered in the Sichuan Basin in southwest China. For a long time, the evolution of the resource utilization of the late Shu culture has been shrouded in mystery, and it is under considerable controversy when it comes to the relationship between the late Shu culture and the Chu culture of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Therefore, in this paper, bronze poleaxes with characteristics of different periods, which were excavated from the Shuangyuan cemetery of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in the Chengdu Plain, were studied by archaeological typology, portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF), and multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). In contrast to previous studies, this paper achieves a further distinction among the mineral sources of a very short historical period within the long history of the late Shu culture by analyzing the local bronze poleaxes. The results show that the Shu ancestors used the same kind of lead material from the early Warring States Period to the early stage of the middle Warring States Period. However, the mineral sources of the late Shu culture underwent a significant shift in the late stage of middle Warring States Period, which was closely related to the historical background of cultural exchanges between Chu culture and Shu culture. This work indicates that the exchange between Shu and Chu gradually deepened over time during the Warring States Period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]