https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-024-05540-1
Regular Article
Scientific analysis and research on the Western Han Dynasty lead objects unearthed from Xi’an city, Shaanxi province, China
1
Xi’an Institute of Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeology, 710068, Xi’an, China
2
Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
3
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origin of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, 100049, Beijing, China
c
chendian@ucas.ac.cn
d
xiahua@ucas.ac.cn
Received:
15
April
2024
Accepted:
6
August
2024
Published online:
13
August
2024
Lead objects constitute a significant category of metal funeral artifacts from the Western Han Dynasty. However, there has been a notable absence of scientific analyses dedicated to this subject. In this study, ten lead objects dating back to the Western Han Dynasty, sourced from the Dabaiyang sites in Xi’an, were examined. The analysis employed metallurgical observations, SEM–EDS, and LA-MC-ICP-MS methods. These objects were found to be cast without annealing or forging. Composed entirely of pure lead, they exhibited minor soil impurities and sporadic metallic elements introduced during incomplete separation or from accompanying copper. The lead isotopic characteristics of artifacts from the same tomb are very similar, indicating they may have been batch-produced. The lead isotope ratios are divided into three groups: two likely from the Xiaoqinling area near Xi’an, and the other from Hunan, slightly farther away, matching the pattern between the lead isotopes and different ages previously discovered. Based on archeological findings and lead isotope data, we suggest that lead minerals from Hunan were locally collected and smelted during the early Western Han Dynasty and then transported to Xi’an through Nanyang.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
