Analyzing the Shang-Western Zhou Dynasty pottery from the Jinsha Site with multi-technique method

Pottery shards for daily use excavated from the Jinsha Site, a well-known archeological site in China, dated to the period from the late Shang Dynasty to the Western Zhou Dynasty (B.C. 1200-B.C. 771) in ancient China, were analyzed by making use of wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy (RS). The results show that these pottery shards are mainly composed of SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, K2O, P2O5, Na2O, TiO2 and CaO, as well as characterized by quartz (alpha-SiO2), feldspar (K- and NaAlSi3O8), calcite (CaCO3) and amorphous carbon. These pottery shards from different periods are similar in elemental composition and content, which probably suggests that there is not much difference in the raw materials used to produce these potteries for daily use. The identification of calcite indicates that the firing temperature of these potteries for daily use was probably less than 800 celcius, which implies that this type of pottery was probably fired in an open fire. The use of open firing method shows that the production technology of firing pottery for daily use was not advanced during the Shang and Zhou Dynasty. The complete study of these pottery shards is benefited by the application of multi-technique analytical method, which contributes to better understand the composition, the characteristic of the raw materials and firing method of pottery and provides the preliminary information for studying on the connection and difference of the pottery production technology between the Jinsha and Sanxingdui Site.

Automated summary

Pottery shards for daily use excavated from the Jinsha Site in China, dating back to the late Shang Dynasty to the Western Zhou Dynasty, were found to have similar elemental composition and content, with a firing temperature likely less than 800 degrees Celsius, indicating a primitive open fire method of production. This suggests that pottery production technology during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties was not advanced. The study benefitted from the use of multi-technique analytical methods.