ELSLEY ZEITLYN LECTUREON CHINESE ARCHAEOLOGY AND CULTURECultural Inter - PDF document

1 ELSLEY ZEITLYN LECTUREON CHINESE ARCHAEO
ELSLEY ZEITLYN LECTUREON CHINESE ARCHAEOLOGY AND CULTURECultural Interaction between China andCentral Asia during the Bronze AgeNeedham Research Institute,CambridgeIntroductionHECULTURALRELATIONSHIPbetween China and Central AsiaBronze Age ofthe second and early Þrst millennia is a subject ofgreatinterest to scholars in the study ofearly China and Eurasia (Watson 1971,1997;Jettmar 1981;Jacobson 1988;Bunker .1997;Mair 1998).Overthe past several decades various views have appeared on whether earlyChinese civilisation was related to other early cultures in the west.Untilthe mid twentieth century it was widely held among western scholars thatÔearly Chinese civilisation had developed through,and in large partbecause of,inßuence from West AsiaÕ(Puett 1998:699Ð700).Archaeo-logical Þnds since the 1950s,however,have gradually revealed clear evi-dence showing the existence ofa number ofNeolithic and Bronze Agecultures in central northern China,which led K.C.Chang (1963) to argueforaninternalgrowthofChinesecivilisationfromanucleusintheYellowRiver valley.The argument for the indigenous autonomy ofChinese civil-isation became widespread during the 1970s and early 1980s,with great Proceedings ofthe British Academy,,1Ð39.© The British Academy 2003. Read at the Academy 24 October 2002.In this paper,the term ÔChinaÕis loosely used in the sense ofcultural history.For the period of,it refers to the areas covering the Central Plains ofChina and sur-rounding regions that include parts ofGansu and Qinghai provinces in Northwest China;whilethe term ÔCentral AsiaÕis deÞned as the area that covers Xinjiang,the largest provincial regionin current Northwest China,as well as Kazakhstan,Uzbekistan,Kirghizia,Altai,and southern 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 1 emphasis being put on the independent invention ofcopper-based metal-lurgy in China (Cheng 1974;Ho 1975:177Ð221;Barnard and Sato 1975;Sun and Han 1981;Barnard 1983).WhilethenotionthatChinesecivilisationisgenerallyofindigeno

2 usoriginseemedtohavebeenwellestablished,
usoriginseemedtohavebeenwellestablished,therehasbeenagrowingbodyofarchaeologicalevidencesincethelate1980s,showingsignsofearlyculturalcontactsbetweentheCentralPlainsofChinaandculturesinthecontiguousregions,orevenareasasfarawayasCentralAsia(Lin1986;Mair1990;Bunker1993;Fitzgerald-Huber 1995).Consequently,somescholarsareinclinedtoclaimwesternoriginsforsuchsigniÞcanttechnologicalinnovationsasbronzemetallurgy,chariotandironmakinginChina(Shaughnessy1988;An1993;Tang1993).Nowtheneedforare-evaluationoftheroleofoutsideinßuencesintheearlydevelop-mentofChinesecivilisationhasbeenwidelyappreciatedbothinChinaandoutside,stimulatinganewtrendofresearchthatfocusesontheearlyculturalinteractionbetweenChinaandCentralAsiawithina Jianjun Mei Keightley(1983:xx)statedthatÔthereisnowlittledoubtthat,whatevertheoriginofafewparticularelements,thecomplexofculturetraitsthatwerefertoasChinesecivilizationdevelopedinChinaÕ. Figure 1.A map ofnorthern China and eastern Central Asia. 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 2 widerEurasiancontext(Fig.1;Linduff1998,2002;DiCosmo1999:902Ð6;Mei2000:58Ð71).The present paper is intended to offer some preliminary observationson the early cultural relationship between China and Central Asia in thelight ofthe most recent archaeological discoveries from NorthwestChina.Rather than examining all relevant aspects ofthe subject,it willfocus the discussion on three major issues:the role ofoutside inßuencesin the beginnings and early development ofbronze metallurgy in China,the two-way trafÞc ofcultural inßuence along the prehistoric ÔSilk RoadÕ,and the shift to the ÔSteppe RoadÕ.It aims to show that early culturalinteraction between China and Central Asia was the crucial impetus forthe growth ofcivilisations in both regions.Early copper-based metallurgy in China:old question,new perspectiveThe origins ofbronze metallurgy in China are among the central issues incurrent studies ofearly cultural interaction between China and CentralAsia.Whethermetallurgywasintrodu

3 cedintoChinaorinventedinde-pendentlyhasb
cedintoChinaorinventedinde-pendentlyhasbeenhotlydebatedamongscholarsoverthepastÞftyyearsandstillremainsdisputed.ThefocusofthedebateishowtoevaluatemetalÞndsfromChinadatingasearlyasthefourthandthird,whichincludetwobrassobjectsfromtheYangshaocul-ture()sitesinShaanxiprovince,twobrassrodsfromaLongshanculture()siteinJiaoxian,Shandongprovince,twotinbronzeknivesfromthesitesofMajiayaoandMachangcultures()inGansuprovince(Figs.1&2:1,2),anddozensofcopperandbronzeobjectsfromtheQijiaculture CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE MaxLoehr(1949:129)assumedthatmetallurgywasintroducedintoChinafromtheout-sidebecauseÔprimitivestageshave,infact,nowherebeendiscoveredinChinauptothepres-entmomentÕ.Thisviewhasbeenchallengedsincethe1960sbymanyscholarswhoargue,onthebasisofnewarchaeologicalevidence,thatmetallurgyinearlyChinawasofindigenousorigin(Barnard1961;1983;BarnardandSato1975:1Ð16;Cheng1974;Ho1975:177Ð221;SunandHan1981;Ko1986:2;Suetal.1995:48Ð9).However,thenotedscholar,CyrilS.Smith(1977:81),remainsinfavourofthediffusiontheoryandÔÞndsitimpossibletobelievethatthebasicideasofmetallurgyweresoeasytocomebyadnuovoÕ.WilliamWatson(1985:335),too,pointsoutthatÔsofarmetaluseinnorthChinahasnotdifferedmuchfromthatoftheTurkmenianculturesÕ,andhintsattheexistenceofpossiblecontactbetweenChinaandCentralAsiasincethethirdmillennium.Foranexcellentreviewofthedebateofdiffusionvs.independentinvention,seeWagner1993:28Ð33.ForEnglishtranslationsofChinesepapersrelatingtothedebate,seeLinduffetal.2000. 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 3 )siteinGansuandQinghaiprovinces(Fig.2:3Ð19).WhilethosewhofavourtheideaofindependentinventiontaketheseÞndsassignsofprimitivestagesofChinesemetallurgy(SunandHan1997),otherseithercastseriousdoubtontheearlybrasspieces(An1981,1993)orseetheearlymetalsfromGansuasanindicationofcontactwiththewest(Watson1985:335). Jianjun Mei FordetailedinformationabouttheearlymetalÞndsinChinaandtheirculturalcontexts,seeAn1993:1110Ð13.AsMuhly(1988:16)putsit,Ô...thebeginningsofmetallurgyinChin

4 ahavenowbeenshowntobenotsomuchdifferentf
ahavenowbeenshowntobenotsomuchdifferentfromwhatcanbeseenelsewherethroughouttheancientworld.ThisneitherprovesnordisprovestheindependentinventionofmetallurgyineastAsia,butitdoesmovetheargumentintoamorecomprehensibleframeofreferenceandshouldeliminateonceandforalltheargumentthatChinesemetallurgicaltechnologydevelopedinwaystotallydifferent(andthusapartfrom)anythingknownintheWest.Õ Figure 2.Early copper and bronze artefacts found in Gansu and Qinghai:1.knife from theLinjia site ofthe Majiayao culture;2.knife from the JiangjiapingsiteoftheMachangculture;3Ð19.artefactsoftheQijiaculture(1,2.drawingsafterphotosinSunandHan1997:76,Þgures1,3;3Ð19.afterDebaine-Francfort1995:86,Þgure49;104,Þgure61;119,Þgure71). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 4 Indeed,for a better understanding ofthe early metals recoveredwithin the present borders ofChina,it is helpful to separate the earlyGansu Þnds from those found in the Central Plains ofChina.This is notjust because the number ofthe early Gansu metals is large but alsobecause their geographical location is signiÞcant.In light ofthe mostrecent archaeological evidence from Xinjiang,west ofGansu,it hasbecomequiteclearthatNorthwestChina(whichincludesGansu,Qinghai,andXinjiangprovinces,seeFig.1)shouldbeconsideredasadistinctregionintermsofearlycopper-basedmetallurgy.ThisdoesnotsuggestthattheearlymetallurgyintheCentralPlainsofChinahasnothingtodowiththedevelopmentsinNorthwestChina.Onthecontrary,myintentionistoapproachthebeginningsandearlydevelopmentofmet-allurgyinChinafromanewperspective,thatistoseekabetterunder-standingofregionaldevelopmentsaswellastheirinterrelations.Idonotclaimthatthisapproachwillimmediatelydeterminehowthecen-tresofmetallurgydevelopedincentralChina,butIsuggestthisisapracticalandconstructivewaytomovetowardsafullerunderstandingofthisissue.Now,letusturntothenorth-westernregionofChinaandseewhatfreshideassuchaperspectivemayprovide.Incomparisonwiththesitu-ationinthemid-1980s,thereareatleastthreemajoradvancesthathavedrama

5 ticallyinßuencedourunderstandingofearlym
ticallyinßuencedourunderstandingofearlymetallurgyinNorth-westChina.Firstly,numerousearlymetalÞndshavebeenmadeinGansuandQinghaiprovinces,datingtothelatethirdandearlysecond.Secondly,asigniÞcantnumberofarsenicalcopperobjectshavebeenidentiÞedscientiÞcallyamongtheearlyGansumetals.Thirdly,alargenumberoftinbronzeandarsenicalcopperobjectsdatingtotheÞrsthalfofthesecondmillenniumhavebeendiscoveredineasternXinjiang.TheearlyXinjiangmetalsareworthyofspecialattentionbecausetheyprovidetheÞrstconcreteevidenceforaconnectionbetweentheearlymetalsfromGansuandQinghaiandthosefromsitesfurtherwest.New Þnds ofearly metals from Gansu and QinghaiThe new Þnds ofearly metals that have come to light in Gansu andQinghai provinces since the mid-1980s are as follows: CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE ForageneralaccountofNeolithicandBronzeAgeculturesinGansuandQinghaiprovinces,suchasMachang,Qijia,andSiba,seeChang1986:138Ð50;280Ð5;An1992. 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 5 )an awl and a fragment,both belonging to the Machang culture),wererecoveredrespectivelyatthesitesofZhaobitan and Gaomuxudi in Jiuquan,western Gansu in 1987 (Li)four pieces ofornament were unearthed at the Zongri site oftheZongri culture () in Tongde county,Qinghai (Fig.3:1Ð3;OCR 1998:14);)four knives (two with bone handles) and two awls with bone handleswere found at the Zongzhai burial site ofthe Qijia culture) in Huzhu,Qinghai (Fig.2:19;QTC 1986:314);)a spearhead ofextremely unusual form and size (61 centimetres inlength)wasrecoveredattheShennasiteoftheQijiacultureinXining,Qinghai (Fig.4:1;EC 1997:no.38);)six hemispherical objects (2 centimetres in diameter),Þve rings(about 6 centimetres in diameter) and a knife fragment were found atthe Xinzhuangping site ofthe Qijia culture in Jishishan county,Gansu (Fig.3:4Ð6;Jia 1996:51); 6Jianjun Mei Figure3.CopperandbronzeornamentsfoundinQinghaiandGansu:1Ð3.ringsfromtheZongrisiteoftheZongricultureinQinghai;4Ð6.ringsandabuttonfromXinzhuangpingsiteoftheQijiaculturein

6 Gansu(1Ð3.afterOCR1998:14,Þgure35;4Ð6.af
Gansu(1Ð3.afterOCR1998:14,Þgure35;4Ð6.afterJia1996:51,Þgure6). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 6 )a socketed axe and a back-curved knife were recovered at the Xinglinsite ofthe Qijia culture in Minxian,Gansu (Fig.2:14,15;Yang1985:979);)more than seventy metal objects were unearthed at the sites ofDonghuishan and Xihuishan in Minle,Ganguya in Jiuquan,Ying-woshu in Anxi,all being located along the Hexi Corridor in Gansuand belonging to the Siba culture () (Fig.5;GPI1998:139;Li and Shui 2000:36). CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE Figure 4.Copper and bronze spearheads found in China,Altai,and Siberia:1.from Xining,Qinghai;2.from Shaanxi;3.from Shanxi;4Ð7.from Rostovka,southern Siberia;8.fromCharysh,Altai (1,2,4Ð8.after Takahama 2000:122,Þgure 3;3.drawing after a photo inZhang and Li 1999:18). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 7 These new Þnds have made a great impact on our understanding ofthe development ofearly metallurgy in the Gansu-Qinghai region.Thetwo Machang metal objects found in Jiuquan provide further evidence,together with the previously known Machang knife recovered at Jiangji-aping,Yongdeng county (Fig.2:2),to conÞrm the use ofmetals in Gansuduring the late third millennium .The geographical location ofthisÞnd is also signiÞcant because it suggests that the Machang culture mayhave extended westwards along the Hexi Corridor (Li 2001:132).In light 8Jianjun Mei Figure 5.Copper and bronze artefacts ofthe Siba culture found in Gansu:1Ð5.arrowheads;6.ring;7Ð8.buttons;9Ð14.earrings and rings;15Ð19.ornaments;20Ð9.knives;30Ð1.socketedaxes;32Ð3.awls;34.macehead (after Bai 2002:29,Þgure 3). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 8 ofthe recent archaeological discoveries in Xinjiang,this evidence hasimportant implications for possible links between western Gansu andeastern Xinjiang during the second halfofthe third millennium enabling us to suggest that there may have been contact between theMachang culture and the Afanasievo cultu

7 re from southern Siberia (Mei2000:62).Th
re from southern Siberia (Mei2000:62).The increasing evidence for the use ofcopper and copper alloys withinthe Qijia context further demonstrates the crucial position ofthe Qijiaculture in the early development ofmetallurgy in Northwest China.Together with previously reported metal Þnds,we now have had morethan seventy metal objects excavated or recovered at various Qijia sites(Sun and Han 1981:287Ð8;Debaine-Francfort 1995:320Ð1;Mei 2000:62).These objects show a wide range oftypes,including knives,awls,rings,axes,mirrors,plaques,and a spearhead.The possible link oftheQijia metals with the west has recently come to be discussed seriously.An(1993:1117) speculates that the ÔsuddenÕappearance ofmetal objectswithin the Qijia context probably resulted from cultural inßuence fromthe west through the prehistoric Silk Road.Debaine-Francfort (1995:324Ð6) notices that some Qijia implement types,such as the socketed axesand the back-curved knife,generally parallel those from the Eurasiansteppe culture.Fitzgerald-Huber (1995:43Ð52,1997:265Ð7) has con-ducted a detailed investigation ofthe issue.In her opinion,a variety ofQijia metal objects,notably the socketed axe and the handled knife withcurved back from Xinglin (Fig.2:14,15),the knife handle from Huang-niangniangtai (Fig.2:9),as well as the small mirror and the socketed axefrom Qijiaping (Fig.2:11,12),suggest an exogenous origin,having theirclosest correlation in the Seima-Turbino complex in Siberia.Zongzhai awl and knife blade,each inserted into bone handles (Fig.2:19),exhibit a method ofhafting which has parallels in the Okunev cul-ture in southern Siberia.She also considers such aspects ofthe Qijia cul-ture as the wide range ofdomesticated animals,the use ofstone circles asburial markers,and the practice ofsuttee as indicative ofcontact withnorthern nomadic cultures. CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE TheSeima-Turbinocomplexortransculturalphenomenonhasbeenusedtodescribealargenumberofearlybronzeremainswide

8 lydistributedacrossnorthernEurasia.Forad
lydistributedacrossnorthernEurasia.Foradetaileddiscus-sionofthephenomenon,seeChernykh1992:215Ð34.Alsocf.Gimbutas1956;Parzinger2000.The Okunev culture is a Bronze Age culture found in the Minusinsk basin on the MiddleYenisei river,being considered later than the Afanasevo culture and earlier than the Andronovoculture ofsouthern Siberia.For a general account ofthese cultures,see Chernykh 1992:182Ð5; 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 9 Fitzgerald-HuberÕsargumentforcontactbetweenQijiaandSeima-TurbinoseemstobesupportedfurtherbytheÞndofthesocketedspear-headatShennainXining,Qinghai(Fig.4:1).Thesizeofthisspearheadisunusuallylarge,being61centimetresinlength.Itsformischaracterisedbyadownwardhookandasmalllooponeithersideofthesocketrespective-ly.ItisofgreatinterestthatthisunusualtypeofspearheadwasfoundalsoinAltaiandSiberia,suchasonepiecefromCharysh(Fig.4:8)andfourpiecesfromtheRostovkaburialsitenearOmskintheMiddleIrtyshriver(Fig.4:4Ð7;ChernykhandKuzminykh1989:67Ð70).BycomparisonwiththeShennaspearhead,theCharyshandRostovkapiecesareallsmaller(lessthan40centimetresinlength),withanarrowbodyandasharppoint.AnothernotabledifferencefromtheShennapieceisthattheirhookandloopareplacedonthesamesideofthesocket.TheRostovkacemeteryisoneofthemostimportantsitesoftheSeima-Turbinoculture,whichhasgenerallybeendatedtothemiddleofthesecondmillennium(Chernykh1992:215Ð33).ThespearheadsfromRostovkaandCharysharecompara-bleinformandsizetothosefromotherSeima-Turbinosites,thoughotherspearheadsdonothaveadownwardhook.Thelargenumberofspear-headsfromtheSeima-TurbinocontextindicatesthattheyareoneofthecharacteristictypesoftheSeima-Turbinoculture(ChernykhandKuzminykh1989:63Ð90).TheappearanceofthistypeofspearheadatShennainQinghaiisunexpectedandindeedsurprising.Evenmorecuri-ousareitsunusuallylargesizeanditsbluntend,whichsuggestthatitwouldprobablybeusedasaritualobjectratherthanafunctionalone.AsTakahama(2000:114)haspointedout,themanufacturingoftheShennaspearheadmostlikelyimitatedaRostovkaprototype.It is w

9 orth noting that spearheads ofa form sim
orth noting that spearheads ofa form similar to that oftheShenna piece have also been recovered in northern China.Two exampleshave so far come to our attention.One is in the collection ofthe ShaanxiHistorical Museum,and was reported by S.V.Kiselev (1960:261),who vis-ited the Museum during the late 1950s.This spearhead is 35 centimetreslong,similartothosefromRostovkabutshorterthantheShennapiece(Fig.4:2).TheotheroneisinthecollectionoftheShaanxiProvincial Jianjun Mei Takahama(2000:113Ð14)istheÞrstscholartodrawattentiontotheShaanxispearheadinKiselevÕspublication.HehasalsoundertakentheÞrstcomprehensivecomparisonbetweentheShennaspearheadandthosefromSiberiaandAltai.IamgratefultoProfessorZhangTianÕenoftheShaanxiProvincialInstituteofArchaeol-ogyforhelpingwithmyinquiryaboutthespearheadinquestiontotheShaanxiHistoricalMuseum(SHM).HehasconÞrmedtomethatthespearheadisastrayÞndandenteredintothecollectionoftheShaanxiProvincialMuseumin1952.ItisheldnowinthecollectionoftheSHM(personalcommunication,20July2002). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 10 Museum and is also a stray Þnd.It is 34.6 centimetres long and 10 cen-timetres wide,very close in size to the Shaanxi and Rostovka pieces,though a part ofits hook is broken and missing (Fig.4:3;Zhang and Li1999:18,119).While the body ofthe Shanxi spearhead seems to be closerto the Shenna and Shaanxi pieces,the position ofits hook and loop,how-ever,is different.Like the Rostovka spearheads,they are placed on thesamesideofthesocketratherthanoneithersideofit.Thefullimplicationsofthesetypologicalfeaturesneedfurtherresearch.Althoughthearchaeo-logicalcontextsoftheShaanxiandShanxispearheadsarelacking,theirappearanceinnorthernChinamaystillbeimportantforanunderstandingofpossiblecontactwiththesteppesduringthemid-second millennium or even earlier.Their chronological discrepancy is a problem for arguments aboutcontacts between Qijia and Seima-Turbino.The Qijia culture is radiocar-bon dated to about 2000 (Zhang 1987:158),while the generallya

10 ccepted date for the Seima-Turbino cultu
ccepted date for the Seima-Turbino culture is around the middle ofthe,although some Russian scholars are in favour ofan earlier or later date (Chernykh 1992:217).Fitzgerald-Huber (1995:49Ð50) is inclined to place the Seima-Turbino a few centuries earlier onthe basis ofthe new calibrated carbon-14 dates for a Sintashta-Petrovkaburial,which fall within the range of2135Ð1904 .However,it has to beadmitted that the cultural context ofthe Seima-Turbino,as well as itsrelationship with the Sintashta-Petrovka culture,is still far from clear.Further research is needed to clarify the chronological position oftheSeima-Turbino culture.Ontheotherhand,therearecertainsignsindicatingthatsomeoftheQijiaremainsmaybedatedlaterthanpreviouslythought.ThecloseresemblanceintypologyanddecorationbetweentheQijiamirrorfromGamatai,Qinghai,andthosefromtheFuhaotomboftheShangdynastyinAnyang,Henan(Fig.6)hasledtospeculationthatthelowerdatefortheQijiaculturemayextendto1600orevenlater(An1993:1113).ConsideringthecloselinksbetweenQijiaandSiba,whichhasbeendatedto1950Ð1550,itwouldseemreasonableandcomfortabletoplaceatleastthelaterpartofQijiaculturewithintherangeof.ThisnewchronologicalviewonQijiawouldsupportargumentsfortheQijiaÕslinkswiththeSeima-Turbinoculture,aswellasothersteppecultures. CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE ForanaccountoftheSintashta-PetrovkacultureanditsrelationshipwiththeSeima-Turbinophenomenon,seeChernykh(1992:227Ð33). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 11 When compared with the cases ofthe Machang and Qijia Þnds,thenew Þnds ofthe Siba culture have an even stronger impact on our under-standing ofearly metallurgy in the Gansu region.Our knowledge oftheSiba culture remained rather poor until fairly recently.Previously,it wasdated to the mid-second millennium and was thought to be contem-porary with the latter part ofthe Qijia culture (An 1992:323).With infor-mation about new sites,such as Ganguya in Jiuquan,Donghuishan inMinle,and Yingwoshu in Anxi now available,it ha

11 s come to be recog-nised that the Siba c
s come to be recog-nised that the Siba culture can be dated to the early second millennium,thus to a large extent overlapping with the Qijia culture (Li 1993:103).There is some evidence showing that the Machang culture is the majorpredecessor ofthe Siba culture,and inßuence from Qijia can also benoted (GPI 1998:134Ð6).As the Siba sites found so far are mostly dis-tributed along the western part ofthe Hexi Corridor (Fig.1),it appearsthat Siba may have played a vital role in linking Qijia with the cultures tothe west.The importance ofthe Siba culture is clearly demonstrated by theÞnds ofmore than 270 copper and bronze objects,among which over 200were unearthed from the Huoshaogou cemetery in Yumen,forty-eightfrom Ganguya,sixteen from Donghuishan and seven from Yingwoshu.These objects exhibit a wide range oftypes,such as knives,axes,awls,bracelets,plaques,earrings,buttons,tubes,mirrors,arrowheads,spear-heads,and a macehead (Fig.5;Li and Shui 2000:36Ð7).Many Sibaobjects,such as ring-pommelled knives with curved backs,socketed axes,awls with bone handles,earrings with ßared or trumpet-shaped ends,and 12Jianjun Mei Figure6.EarlybronzemirrorsfoundinChina:1.fromtheGamataisiteoftheQijiaculturein Qinghai;2.mirrors ofthe Shang dynasty from Anyang,Henan (after Debaine-Francfort1995:323,Þgure 136). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 12 button-shaped ornaments,exhibit strong typological and stylistic con-nections with the northern Eurasian steppe (Li 1993:105).The axes withan open socket (Fig.5:30Ð1) are ofspecial interest since they parallelthose recovered in Xinjiang and eastern Kazakhstan and associated withthe Andronovo context (Mei 2000:14,27).The earrings with trumpet-shaped or ßared ends (Fig.5:9Ð13) are also very interesting Þnds,becauseearrings ofsimilar form and date have been found not only in Altai,west-ern Siberia,and western Central Asia,mostly from the Andronovo con-text,but also in northern China,from the Lower Xiajiadian context(Bunker 1998:611;Taka

12 hama 2000:111Ð13).The macehead with four
hama 2000:111Ð13).The macehead with fourprojecting ram-heads (Fig.5:34) is the most unusual object among theSiba metals,which Bunker (1998:609Ð10) considers comparable toCentral Asian and ancient Near Eastern designs.Additional evidence forcontacts with distant cultures on the Eurasian steppe is provided by suchÞnds as gold and silver nose-rings,and a large number ofhorse bones(Bunker 1998:608Ð9;Fitzgerald-Huber 1997:268).Collectively,the metalÞnds from various Siba sites seem to have provided us with long-soughtmissing links that could connect the Hexi Corridor with both the east andthe west during the early Bronze Age.New Þnds from scientiÞc examination ofthe Qijia and Siba metalsMetallurgicalexaminationplaysacentralroleinunderstandingthedevel-opmentofearlymetallurgyinNorthwestChina.SunandHan(1981)pub-lishedtheÞrstscientiÞcstudyofearlymetalsfromGansuandQinghai,whichidentiÞedtheearliestknifeoftheMajiayaoculture(foundatLinjia,Dongxiang,astinbronze(Fig.2:1).AnotherearlyknifeoftheMachangculture()fromJiangjiaping,Yongdeng(Fig.2:2),hasalsobeenshowntobemadeoftinbronze.Examinationsofanum-berofQijiaandSibaobjectsrevealthattheyaremadeofeitherpurecop-perorbronzesofdifferenttypes(includingtinbronzeandleadedtinbronze).TheseresultshavebeencitedasscientiÞcevidencefortheindigen-ousdevelopmentofearlymetallurgyinChina,becausearsenicalcopperismissingfromtheseearlyChinesemetals(Ko1986:2).Thusthecomposi-tionofmetalobjectsofQijiaandSibaseemedtobesharplydifferentfromearlymetallurgyfurtherwestinCentralAsiaandwesternEurasia,wheretheuseofarsenicalcopperisprevalent.Somescholarssuggest CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE ArsenicalcopperistheÞrstcopperalloythatwasproducedandusedinthehistoryofmet-allurgy.TheearliestarsenicalcopperappearedinWesternAsiaintheearlyfourthmillennium 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 13 thattheQijiaculturemayhaveundergoneaprogressiveevolutionfromtheuseofcoppertobronze,becausetheanalysesshowthatthemetalsfromtheearlierQijiasitesarecopper,whileth

13 osefromthelatersitesarebronze(Zhang1987:
osefromthelatersitesarebronze(Zhang1987:174;SunandHan1997:83).Nowtheseviewsfaceaseriouschallengeasnewanalyticaldatahascometolight.ThemostnoteworthyscientiÞcdiscoveryhasbeentheidentiÞcationofasigniÞcantnumberofarsenicalcopperobjectsamongbothSibaandQijiametals,whichhasledtoafundamentalchangeofourunder-standingoftheearlymetallurgyintheregion.ArsenicalcopperwasÞrstidentiÞedamongtheSibametals.ExaminingÞfteenobjectsfromDonghuishan,Minlehasshownthattwelveofthemaremadeofarsenicalcopperwitharsenicatthelevelof2Ð6percent,theotherthreearetinbronzeorleadedtinbronzecontainingarsenic.Amongtheforty-sixobjectsfromGanguya,Jiuquan,tenhavebeenidentiÞedasarsenicalcopperandanotherÞvearetinbronzecontainingarsenic(SunandHan1997:78Ð82;Sun1998:192).TheseresultsclearlyindicatethattheuseofarsenicalcopperintheSibacontextisbeyondTheanalyticalevidencefortheearlyuseofarsenicalcoppercontin-uestoincrease.Theearlierqualitativeexaminationsofsixty-ÞvemetalobjectsfromtheHuoshaogoucemeteryshowthattheyaremadeofcop-per,tinbronze,leadbronzeorleadedtinbronze,butnotarsenicalcop-per.However,recentanalysisofthirty-sevenmetalsamplesfromtheHuoshaogousitehasrevealedthatthearsenicconcentrationsofthirteensamplesareover2percent,indicatingthatarsenicalcopperwasalsoemployedatHuoshaogou(Qianetal.2000:48).Moreover,someindi-cationshaveappearedthattheQijiapeoplemayhaveemployedarseni-calcoppertoo.AnumberofmetalobjectshaverecentlybeenobtainedattheQijiapingsiteinGuanghecountyandarebelievedtobeassoci-atedwithaQijiacontext.Amongthem,eightobjects(includingthreeknives,onemirror,onebracelet,twobuttonsandoneawl)havesofarbeensubjectedtoanalysis.Resultsshowthatthebraceletandthetwobuttonsaremadeofarsenicalcopper,whiletwooftheknivescontainsomearsenic(Maetal.2001:111Ð12).Thesenewanalyticaldataare Jianjun Mei ,anditwasthenwidelyused(Muhly1988:10).Bythethirdmillenniumtheuseofarsenicalcopperbecamepredominantin theCaucasusandCentralAsia(Jettmar1971:7;MassonandKiiatkina1981;Terekhova1981:319;RavichandRyndina1995).Theresultsofidentify

14 ingarsenicalcopperamongtheassumedQijiame
ingarsenicalcopperamongtheassumedQijiametalobjectshavealsobeenreportedbyQianetal.(2002:236). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 14 bynomeansconclusivebecausetheyarebasedonstrayÞndsratherthanexcavatedpieces,buttheyaresuggestive.InviewofthecloselinksbetweenQijiaandSiba,itcanbeexpectedthatmoredecisiveanalyticalevidencewilleventuallyappeartoconÞrmtheuseofarsenicalcopperintheQijiacontext.Evenmoresurprisingisthattheearlyuseofarsenicalcopperisnot limited to the Hexi Corridor in Gansu,but has also been found inXinjiang as well as the Central Plains ofChina.What relationships canthere be between these separate Þnds ofearly arsenical copper? Whatdoes the appearance and early use ofarsenical copper mean to our under-standing ofearly metallurgy in China? To answer these questions,it isnecessary to examine the new archaeological discoveries in Xinjiangwithin a wider Eurasian context.New archaeological and scientiÞc discoveries from eastern XinjiangThepivotalgeographicalpositionofXinjiang(Fig.1)inlinkingearlyChinawiththewestwasappreciatedlongagobymanyscholars.Loehr(1956:83),forexample,oncestatedthatÔoneofthereasonswhypos-siblerelationsbetweenChinaandTurkestan-Iran-LuristancannotbetracedsatisfactorilyisthatinformationontheintermediateregionsofMongolia,Dzungaria,Kazakhstan,andRussianTurkestanisscanty.ÕIntheearly1980s,Jettmar(1981:155)expressedhisbeliefinastraight-forwardway:ÔExcavationofprehistoricsitesintheTarimBasinwouldbemostpromising.ThematerialshouldbestudiedbyspecialistsinBronzeAgecivilizationinotherpartsofCentralAsia.RoutestotheFarEastmusthavecrossedthisregion.ÕHowever,theprehistoryofXinjiangremainedveryobscureuntilquiterecently.Itisonlyfromthemid-1980sthatthearchaeologicalexcavationsstartedtorevealconsiderableevi-dencefortheexistenceofdiverseBronzeAgeandIronAgeculturesthroughoutXinjiang(Debaine-Francfort1988,1989;Shui1993;ChenandHiebert1995;LŸetal.2001).TheBronzeAgediscoveriesfromeasternXinjiangarehighlyrelevanttoourdiscussionofearlymetal-lurgyinNorthwestChina

15 ,aswellasitspossibleconnectionswiththewe
,aswellasitspossibleconnectionswiththewest.So far the major Bronze Age sites found in eastern Xinjiang includethe cemeteries at Tianshanbeilu,Wupu,and Nanwan.Based on compar-isons with the neighbouring Bronze Age cultures in Gansu as well as a CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE TheDzungarianbasinislocatedinthenorthernpartofXinjiang,seeFig.1. 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 15 number ofcarbon-14 measurements,they can be dated roughly to the.Among these sites,Tianshanbeilu is the largestand earliest,dating to the mid-second millennium ,with some Þndsextending back to the beginning ofthe second millennium .Located inHamicity(Fig.1),theTianshanbeilucemeteryconsistsofmorethan700 graves with two kinds ofburial chamber,shaft pits and mud-brickshaft pits.The dead were buried lying on their sides in a ßexed position.A large number offunerary goods have been found,including potteryvessels (plain and painted),as well as artefacts ofbronze,gold,silver,bone,andstone.Thepotteryvesselsaremostlyjars,cups,pots,andbowls.The bronze objects consist mainly ofsmall implements and orna-ments,such as knives,awls,axes,tubes,earrings,bracelets,mirrors,beads,buckles,and plaques.A few bronze weapons,such as daggers and arrow-heads have also been discovered (Figs.7;8).The gold earrings and silverhairpins found are the earliest gold and silver objects known so far inXinjiang (Yue .1999:110Ð12;LŸ .2001:179Ð84).The connections between the Tianshanbeilu Þnds and those from theSiba and Qijia sites are best demonstrated by the funerary objects ofpainted pottery and metal.Some painted pottery vessels from Tianshan-beilu are comparable in form and decoration to those Siba and Qijiapieces (Fig.9),leading some scholars to suggest that the TianshanbeilucemeterycouldbelongtotheSibaculture.TherepertoireoftheTianshanbeilumetalartefactsisalsosimilartothatoftheSibaandQijia cultures,which consists mainly ofsmall implements and ornaments.The typologicalsimilaritiesbetweenobjectsfromthe

16 sethreeculturescanbeobservedinthecasesof
sethreeculturescanbeobservedinthecasesofback-carvedknives,kniveswithtwoprotrusionsontheback(Tianshanbeilu,Qijia),kniveswitharing-shaped pommel (Tianshanbeilu,Siba),mirrors with decoration on theback (Tianshanbeilu,Qijia),axes with the socket open at both ends(Tianshanbeilu,Siba),ring-shaped earrings,buttons,and awls with bonehandles (Siba,Qijia) (Figs.2;3:5Ð8).Like the Huoshaogou cemetery ofthe Siba culture,the Tianshanbeilu graves also yielded gold and silverornaments.Furthermore,recent metallurgical examination ofmore thanone hundred Tianshanbeilu metal objects has revealed that while themajority ofobjects are made oftin bronze,arsenical copper makes up a 16Jianjun Mei LiuGuorui,oneoftheexcavatorsoftheTianshanbeilucemetery,believesthattheTian-shanbeiluÞndsindicatetheexistenceofSibacultureitselfineasternXinjiangratherthanmerelyculturalinßuencefromSiba(personalcommunication,inHamicityinJuly1997).Debaine-FrancfortalsoholdsthatTianshanbeiluisalikelysiteoftheSibaorwesternQijiaculture(personalcommunication,inCambridgeinDec.1999). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 16 CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE Figure7.CopperandbronzeartefactsfoundattheTianshanbeilucemetery,Hami,Xinjiang(Periods I to IV in chronological order):1,3Ð5,13,15Ð23,34,35.plaques,buttons and otherornaments;2,6Ð12,25,26,30Ð3.knives,sickles and knife-dagger;14,24,27,28.awls and axes;29.mirror (after LŸ .2001:182Ð3,Þgures 15Ð18). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 17 signiÞcant proportion (about 10 per cent).Other materials such as tinbronze containing arsenic,pure copper,and leaded tin bronze were alsoemployed.Thebronze-workingtechnologiesusedbytheTianshanbeilupeopleincludecasting,forging,annealing,andcold-working(Mei2000:39;Qianetal.2001:83).AllofthesescientiÞcresultscorrespondwith Jianjun Mei Figure 8.Copper and bronze artefacts found at the Tianshanbeilu cemetery,Hami,Xinjiang:1,2,4Ð6.knives;3,7.daggers;8Ð32.rings,plaques,buttons,tubes and other small ornaments.2001:80,Þgur

17 e 1). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm
e 1). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 18 thoseoftheSibaculture,whichalsoemployedawiderangeofmateri-alssuchasCu-Sn,Cu-As,Cu-Sn-As,Cu,andCu-Sn-Pb(SunandHan1997:78Ð82).Therefore,frombothtypologicalandtechnologicalcom-parisons,itseemsquiteclearthatTianshanbeiluwasinclosecontactwithSiba,andprobablythroughSibawithQijia,duringtheÞrsthalfofthesecondmillenniumFrom the point ofview ofcultural contact between the Hexi CorridorandtheEurasiansteppe,Tianshanbeiluwouldseemtoactasoneofthelinksbetweenthetworegions.TheregionofeasternXinjiangcanbe linked to the Eurasian steppe through northern and north-westernXinjiang (Fig.1).Then,a question arises:what are the relationships CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE Figure 9.Painted pottery vessels ofthe Tianshanbeilu,Siba and Qijia cultures (after LŸ 2001:180Ð1,Þgures 11,13;Debaine-Francfort 1995:126,Þgure 74). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 19 between Tianshanbeilu and the bronze-using cultures in north-westernand northern Xinjiang? Currently there is no ready answer for this ques-tion because archaeological Þnds in these regions are still very limited.However,some evidence,mostly based on stray Þnds,has graduallyappeared,showing the signiÞcant existence ofAndronovo-type culturesin north-western Xinjiang during the second millennium gical examinations ofa number ofAndronovo-type bronze objects foundin the regions ofTacheng and Yili have revealed the common use oftinbronze with tin at the level of2Ð10 per cent (Mei .1998:14Ð15).Somebronze forms seen in Tianshanbeilu,Siba,and Qijia have also been recov-ered in north-western Xinjiang,such as the axes with the socket open atboth ends and the back-curved sickles (Li and Dang 1995).Obviously,there remain many questions to be answered with regard to the culturalcontactbetweeneasternandnorth-westernXinjiang.Inparticular,the lack ofexcavated material in north-western Xinjiang for the Þrst halfofthe second millennium makes it rather difÞcult to trace the earlyde

18 velopment ofAndronovo culture in the reg
velopment ofAndronovo culture in the region.The cultural relationship between eastern and northern Xinjiang iseven more obscure at this stage.Li (1999:58Ð61) recently suggested thatthe Tianshanbeilu pottery could be divided into two groups,which hedesignatesasGroupAandB.Inhisopinion,thepotteryvesselsofGroup B are comparable in form to those vessels found at the KeÕermuqisuggesting that the remains represented by the GroupB ceramics at Tianshanbeilu probably came from the Altai region by wayofnorthern Xinjiang.This suggestion actually implies that there wereconnections between eastern Xinjiang and the Altai region no later than.It is also worth noting that some bronzeobjects from Tianshanbeilu,such as the back-curved knives (Figs.7:25;8:6),thesword/dagger(Fig.8:7),thetangedßatknife(Fig.7:8)andthe socketedaxe(Fig.7:27),aregenerallycomparableintypetothoseseeninthebronzeculturesontheEurasiansteppe,especiallyin Jianjun Mei TheAndronovoculture,aBronzeAgecomplexßourishingduringthesecondmillennium,comprisedmanyregionalvariantsandcoveredanextensiveareastretchingfromtheUralseastwardtotheMinusinskbasinofsouthernSiberia,andfromthenorthernborderoftheforest-steppesouthtothePamirsofTadzhikistan(Mallory1989:227).ForanaccountoftheAndronovoculture,seeChernykh1992:210Ð15.TheexistenceofAndronovo-typeculturesinnorth-westernXinjianghasonlyrecentlybeenrecognisedanddiscussedinPeng1998;MeiandShell1999.TheKeÕermuqicemeteryistheonlyBronzeAgesiteexcavatedsofarintheAltairegionofnorthernXinjiang.SomeÞndsfromthiscemeteryexhibitlinkswithBronzeAgeculturesinsouthernSiberia.Foranexcavationreport,seeXIA1981. 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 20 the Seima-Turbino culture (Chernykh 1992:219Ð21;Parzinger 2000:70Ð2).Therefore,some kind ofrelationship must have existed betweenTianshanbeiluandearlybronzeculturesinthenorthduringthemid-secondmillenniumorearlier,thoughnospeciÞcevidencehasyetbeen found.Onthebasisoftheaboveevidence,itissuggestedthateasternXinjiangmaybeoneoftheintermediarylinksthat

19 connectedtheHexiCorridorwiththeEurasians
connectedtheHexiCorridorwiththeEurasiansteppe.ThearchaeologicalÞndsfromTianshanbeiluineasternXinjianghavejustbeguntorevealtheregionÕspivotalroleinbridgingtheearlybronzeculturestotheeastandwest.TherecognitionofeasternXinjiangÕscrucialimportancehaspavedthewayforanewunderstandingofearlycopper-basedmetallurgyinNorthwestChinaandfurthereast.A new understanding ofearly copper-based metallurgy in ChinaAlthough we are still far from a conclusive answer to the problem ofdif-fusion or independent invention,a new understanding ofthe early devel-opment ofcopper-based metallurgy in China is on the horizon.The newarchaeological and scientiÞc data presented in preceding sections havedemonstrated that the early metal-using cultures found so far in North-west China (the Hexi Corridor and East Xingiang),such as Qijia,Sibaand Tianshanbeilu,were all in contact with the bronze cultures on theEurasian steppe.In other words,the inßuence from the people furtherwest played a part in the early development ofcopper-based metallurgyin Northwest China.This is a new idea,which offers a fresh perspectiveon early copper-based metallurgy in other regions ofChina.By comparison with the early metal Þnds in Northwest China,twoobservations can be made about the early copper and bronze objectsfound so far in many places in Northern Central China.First,the devel-opment ofcopper-based metallurgy before 2000 remains extremelyobscure in northern China (the present-day provinces ofHenan,Shaanxi,Shanxi,Hebei and Shandong).Ifwe leave the controversial brass piecesofthefourthandthirdmillenniumaside,thenthemajorityoftheearly metal objects from northern China would fall into the Þrst halfof,being slightly later than the Machang and ear-lier Qijia metals,but contemporary with the Siba and later Qijia Þnds.Second,the early metals from northern China can be roughly divided intotwo groups:those ofthe Lower Xiajiadian (Zhukaigou cultures (Periods III and IV,) found in the CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZ

20 E AGE 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm
E AGE 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 21 northern frontier ofChina,and those found in the Central Plains ofChina,which are mostly associated with the cultures ofLongshan),Erlitou () and Yueshi (While the northern group shows an afÞliation with the Siba culture,asevidencedbytheÞndsofearringswithtrumpet-shapedorßaredends,ring-shaped ornaments and socketed arrowheads (Fig.10),Central Plains group exhibits some distinctive regional features,which arebest illustrated by the metal vessels,bells,dagger-axes;plaques inlaid withturquoise and tanged arrowheads from various Erlitou sites (Figs.11;12:2Ð4;Linduff1998;Bai 2002).The manufacturing and use ofbronze ves-sels and the employment ofpiece-mould casting are the most character-istic development,signalling a major social and technological change inthe Central Plains ofChina (Underhill 2002:253Ð6).An (1993:1117) suggests that Qijia may have inßuenced Longshan inthe early use ofcopper and bronze.However,archaeological Þnds so farhave not presented sufÞcient evidence to prove or disprove this sugges-tion.With regard to the early use ofmetals,the disputed relationshipbetween the Northwest and the Central Plains ofChina before 2000 remains a problem in need offurther research.As far as the present evi-dence is concerned,however,certain contacts appear to have existedbetween the two regions after 2000 .In the opinion ofLin (1986:288Ð9),the ring-pommelled knife with perforated grip and the battle-axefrom the Erlitou site (Fig.11:7,8) indicate contact with the NorthernZone region,namely the northernfrontierofChina.Ring-pommelledknives,whichcanbedated as earlyastheErlitouculturehavenotyetbeenfoundintheNorthernZone;howevertheyhavebeendiscoveredamongtheSibametalassemblage (Fig.5:20),suggesting a possible linkwith the north-western region.A recent analysis ofthirteen Erlitou metalobjects has revealed an awlmade ofarsenical copper (Jin 2000:57),recalling the objects ofarsenical copper identiÞed among the Siba andQijia m

21 etals.A bronze plaque inlaid withturquoi
etals.A bronze plaque inlaid withturquoisefoundinTianshui,easternGansu(Fig.12:1),offersfurtherevidence for cultural contacts 22Jianjun Mei The Lower Xiajiadian culture is distributed in the present-day provincial regions ofLiaoning,InnerMongolia,Beijing,andnorthernHebei;theZhukaigoucultureisinsouthernCentralInnerMongolia;theLongshancultureinShandong,Henan,andShanxi;theErlitoucultureinHenan and southern Shanxi;theYueshicultureinShandong.ForfurtherinformationabouttheLowerXiajiadian,seeGuo1995;abouttheZhukaigou,seeLinduff1995;abouttheLongshan,ErlitouandYueshi,seeChang1986:242Ð52;256Ð79;307Ð16;369Ð71.Linduff(1995:139Ð41;1997:21)notesthattheQijiainßuenceonZhukaigoucanbeiden-tiÞedfromthepresenceofsomepotteryvesselsofQijiatypesintheZhukaigouceramicassemblage. 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 22 CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE Figure11.CopperandbronzeartefactsoftheErlitouculturefoundinYanshi,Henan,centralChina:1Ð2.bells;3Ð5.vessels;6.dagger-axe;7,9,10.knives;8.axe;11Ð15.smallimplements;16Ð18.arrowheads(afterBai2002:33Ð6,Þgures7Ð9,11). Figure10.CopperandbronzeartefactsoftheLowerXiajiadianandZhukaigouculturesfoundalongthenorthernfrontierofChina:1Ð7,10,11.fromthesitesoftheLowerXiajiadianculture;8,9,12,13.fromtheZhukaigousite(PeriodsIIIandIV)(afterBai2002:30Ð1,Þgures4Ð5). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:04 pm Page 23 between the north-western region and the Central Plains ofChina.Sev-eral plaques inlaid with turquoise have been unearthed at various Erlitousites and can be considered as typical Erlitouobjects(Fig.12:2Ð4).Therefore,togetherwithotherpottery evidence,the Þnd ofthe Tianshuiplaque would support the argument that certain cultural interactionsexisted between Qijia and Erlitou (T.Zhang 2002:43Ð5).In her long article entitled ÔQijia and Erlitou:the question ofcontactswith distant culturesÕ,Fitzgerald-Huber (1995:52Ð63) argues that a num-ber ofobjects discovered at the Erlitou sites point to contact with NorthAsia as well as western Central Asia

22 .While many ofher arguments arestimulati
.While many ofher arguments arestimulating,her suggestion ofa relationship between the Erlitou vesselforms and those ofBactria would seem unlikely.It is true that there is agrowing body ofevidence showing cultural contacts ofthe Erlitou cul-ture with neighbouring and distant cultures,but the distinction betweenErlitou and Qijia-Siba has already been very clear in terms ofmanufac-turing methods and the functions ofmetal objects.The Erlitou culturerepresents a fundamentally new period when an independent develop-ment ofbronze metallurgy,as shown by the employment ofritual vesselsand piece-mould casting technique,started to gain full momentum in theCentral Plains ofChina.The two-way trafÞc ofcultural inßuence along the prehistoric ÔSilk RoadÕAs shown in the preceding sections,cultural interaction among Tian-shanbeilu,Siba,and Qijia already took place along the Hexi Corridor 24Jianjun Mei Figure12.Copperandbronzeplaquesinlaidwithturquoise:1.fromTianshui,easternGansu;2Ð4.from the sites ofthe Erlitou culture (after T.Zhang 2002:43Ð4,Þgures 1Ð2). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:05 pm Page 24 from the early second millennium ,indicating that the well-known SilkRoad served as a channel for eastÐwest connections much earlier thanpreviously thought.The distribution pattern ofthe earliest painted pot-tery along the Hexi Corridor seems to suggest a westward expansion ofthe Machang culture during the late third millennium ,which may haveresulted in the beginning and early use ofpainted pottery in Xinjiang (Li2001:132).The afÞliation ofthe Tianshanbeilu painted pottery with theSiba and Qijia cultures further demonstrates that the eastern inßuencefrom Gansu-Qinghai had a predominant inßuence on the early develop-ment ofpainted pottery in eastern Xinjiang (Fig.9).Even in the latterhalfofthe second millennium ,the Gansu-Qinghai inßuence contin-ued to play a role in the evolution ofpainted pottery in eastern Xinjiang,as shown by comparing Yanbulake ceramics with those ofthe Xind

23 ianculture (Chen and Hiebert 1995:288).D
ianculture (Chen and Hiebert 1995:288).Does this westward dispersion ofpainted pottery also involve bronze technology? To those scholars whoare in favour ofan indigenous origin ofmetallurgy in Gansu,this wouldseem very likely,but it could be argued that there actually existed a two-way trafÞc ofcultural inßuence along the Hexi Corridor;while paintedpottery spread westward from Gansu into Xinjiang,bronze technologywas transmitted in the reverse direction.TheargumentforanindigenousoriginofmetallurgyinGansuispri-marilybasedonthefollowingevidence:Þrst,theearliestbronzeknifefoundattheLinjiasiteinGansu(Fig.2:1)canbedatedtotheearlythird,andthereisfurtherevidencefortheuseofcopperandbronzeduringtheMachangperiodofthelatethirdmillennium(Fig.2:2);second,the examination ofthe Qijia metals has revealed anevolutionfromcoppertobronzeproductionprocesses;third,thecommonuseoftinbronzeinGansubeganfromtheearlysecondmillenniumwhichiscontemporarywiththebeginningoftinbronzeinCentralAsia,andearlierthanthetypicalAndronovocultureinsouthernSiberiaandKazakhstan;fourth,Gansu,especiallytheHexiCorridor,isrichinnon-ferrousmetalresourceswhichwouldprovideanecessarymaterialbasisfortheinseminationandgrowthofalocalcopper-smelting industry;Þfth,there have been no metal Þnds earlier than 2000 so far in Xinjiang;andÞnally,the spread ofpainted pottery westward over a long period has CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE TheYanbulakecultureisdistributedintheHamiregionofeasternXinjiang,andtheXindiancultureineasternQinghaiandGansu.ForfurtherinformationaboutYanbulake,seeMei2000:12;aboutXindian,seeChang1986:377Ð84;Shui2001:116Ð38. 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:05 pm Page 25 been well established (Sun and Han 1997:83;Qian .2001:88;Li2002:89).All ofthis evidence requires serious consideration and the importanceofthe implications cannot be downplayed.However,such arguments donot undermine the counter-suggestion that some inßuence from westernmetallurgy was experienced no later than 2000 .It is true t

24 hat the lackofmetals from the third mill
hat the lackofmetals from the third millennium in Xinjiang makes it difÞcult atpresent to ascribe a western impetus for the beginning ofmetallurgy inGansu.But for the period ofthe early second millennium ,the evidencecurrently available,as presented earlier,points to the signiÞcant role ofwestern inßuence.Fully to consider this point,it is necessary and alsoimportant to place Northwest China within a wider Eurasian context.Itis in that context that we can trace a full range ofprototypes for manyearly metal objects found in Northwest China,such as socketed axes,back-curved knives and sickles,daggers,spearheads,and earrings.It isalso in that context that we can Þnd much earlier arsenical copper and amuch wider use oftin bronze.Recent scholarship tends to link the Afanasievo culture,the earliestmetal-using culture ofthe third millennium found in southern Siberia,with the Yamnaya (Pit-grave) culture ofeastern Europe,the Þrst steppeculture () to employ arsenical copper and to exploit steppecopper ores extensively (Anthony 1998:102Ð5).This connection is madebecause aspects ofthe Afanasievo culture bear a strong resemblance inburial rites and pottery forms to those ofthe Yamnaya (Chernykh 1992:183).In the opinion ofMallory (1989:225Ð6),the Afanasievo cultureoriginatedsomewheretothewestandcanbeseenasanextensionofthe Yamnaya culture from the Pontic-Caspian region eastwards to theYenisei by about 3000 .Bearing this background in mind,the argumentforpossibleAfanasievo-XinjiangcontactbasedontheÞndsattheGumugou cemetery in the north-eastern rim ofthe Tarim basin wouldseem reasonable and needs to be kept open for the future archaeologicalÞnds.In other words,the possibility for the dispersal ofearly copper-based metallurgy from the Eurasian steppe into Xinjiang and further eastto Gansu cannot be excluded at present and will have to be consideredwhen further archaeological evidence becomes available. 26Jianjun Mei HanKangxin(1986:371Ð3)istheÞrstscholartosuggestthecontactbet

25 weenXinjiangandtheAfanasievocultureofsou
weenXinjiangandtheAfanasievocultureofsouthernSiberiaonthebasisofhisexaminationoftheeighteenskullsexcavatedfromtheGumugouburials.Kuzmina(1998:69Ð72)presentsfurtherobserva-tionstosupporttheargumentforaGumugouÐAfanasievoconnection.ForareviewoftheXinjiangÐAfanasievocontact,seeMei2000:58Ð9. 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:05 pm Page 26 In fact,besides the issue ofearly copper-based metallurgy,there isother evidence pointing to the early cultural contacts between NorthwestChina and areas further west.For example,the earliest remains ofcar-bonised wheat found at the Donghuishan site in Minle,western Gansu,have been dated by C-14 tests to 3000Ð2500 .Given the evidence thatwheat was Þrst domesticated in western Asia,Li (1999:62) suggests thatthe Þrst appearance ofwheat in Gansu was most likely the result ofearlycultural contacts between Gansu and the regions to the west.This impliesthat some sort ofwestern inßuence had already come into being in Gansuthrough Xinjiang as early as 3000 There is a widely held view that many ofthe hundreds ofjade objectsfound at the Fuhao tomb ofthe late Shang dynasty () in Anyangmay be linked to the well-known jade source at Hetian (Khotan) insouthern Xinjiang.This supposition was based on the similarities ofchemical compositions revealed by scientiÞc analysis (Wang 1993:167Ð8;Di Cosmo 1996:90).The archaeological record,however,has not offeredsufÞcient information to show how jade was transported from Xinjiang tothe Central Plains ofChina during the thirteenth century .In recentyears,there have been some important Þnds ofjade from a Qijia site ineastern Gansu,which are thought to come from Hetian also (Li 1999:62).These Þnds seem to suggest that jade may have been traded along the pre-historic Silk Road from the early second millennium .Iffurther Þndsand scientiÞc analysis support this suggestion,then the claim for the jadeconnection between Xinjiang and Central Plains ofChina during the lateShang period would become more tenable.Another

26 major technology that may have been tran
major technology that may have been transmitted eastwardsalong the prehistoric Silk Road is iron-making.As early iron objectsdated to 1000Ð600 have increasingly been discovered in NorthwestChina in recent years,more and more scholars are inclined to claim theintroduction ofiron technology into the Central Plains ofChina fromXinjiang and western Central Asia during the early Þrst millennium (Tang 1993;Zhao 1996;Wagner 1999).Much emphasis has been given totheearlyironobjectsfoundinXinjiang,whichincludeknives,awls,sickles,and rings from the cemetery sites ofYanbulake,Chawuhugou,Qunbake,and Dongfengchang.These Þnds seem to indicate clearly thatiron technology was known in Xinjiang at quite an early date,most likelyearlier than the eighth century (Chen 1989).It has been noted that CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE ForfurtherinformationaboutthecemeterysitesofYanbulake,Chawuhugou,Qunbake,andDongfengchang,seeChenandHiebert1995;Mei2000:12,16Ð18. 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:05 pm Page 27 Chawuhugou and Qunbake,the two major early Iron Age sites found insouthern Xinjiang,show some signs ofcontact with the Chust culture),a site which has provided the earliest evidence for the useofiron in the Fergana valley in Uzbekistan.Therefore,there is a possi-bility that the Chust culture may have played a role in the beginning andearly use ofiron in southern Xinjiang (Mei 2000:67Ð9).The eastwardtransmission ofiron technology appears to have taken a route fromsouthernXinjiangtoeasternXinjiangandthenonintotheHexiCorridor.ThisviewseemstobesupportedbyÞndsofironknivesoftheYanbu-lake culture in eastern Xinjiang,as well as iron knives and spades oftheShajing culture (),which are distributed in the middle partofthe Hexi Corridor (Li 1994:501Ð5;Zhao 1996:293Ð4).At the sametime,there is ample evidence showing the westward dispersal ofpaintedpottery and the rapid growth ofvarious local traditions along thefoothills ofthe Tian Shan mountains (Mei 2000:15Ð22).In summary,cultural i

27 nteraction between China and Central Asi
nteraction between China and Central Asiaduring the Bronze Age seems to have been characterised by the two-waytrafÞc along the prehistoric Silk Road.On the one hand,the westwardexpansion ofpainted pottery traditions from Gansu-Qinghai into Xin-jiang may have started as early as the late third millennium until the late second millennium when the tradition ofpainted potteryhad already declined in Gansu-Qinghai.However,in Xinjiang,the art ofpainted pottery continued to spread westwards,while a number oflocaldecorative styles and shapes were formed and developed in complexityduringtheÞrstmillennium.Ontheotherhand,theeastwardtransmis-sionofearlyculturalinßuencemayhaveinvolvedwheat,copper-basedmetallurgy,jade,andirontechnology.AlthoughmanyquestionsstillremainregardinganyspeciÞcprocessesoftransmission,ingeneralterms,it has become clear now that some western materials and technologieswereindeedtransmittedeastwardandmadevaluablecontributions to thegrowth ofChinese civilisation.The shift to the Steppe Road It has been argued in the above discussion that the earliest cultural inter-action between China and Central Asia appears to have taken place alongthe prehistoric Silk Road.This picture could be challenged and ques-tioned:why the Silk Road and why not the routes from southern Siberia 28Jianjun Mei 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:05 pm Page 28 or Transbaikalia to the northern frontier ofChina (Fig.1)?Havingrecognised that there has been plenty ofevidence for the cultural contactbetween North China and southern Siberia during the late second mil-,one would naturally wonder why this contact could not havetaken place during the early second millennium or earlier.BecausearchaeologicalÞndsfromtheintermediaryregionssuchasMongoliaarestillratherlimited,thepossibilityofearliercontactsbetweenNorthChinaandsouthernSiberiacannotindeedbeexcludedatthispoint.Asfarascurrentarchaeologicalevidenceisconcerned,however,itseemsfairlyclearthatitwastheprehistoricSilkRoadthatplayedamajorroleint

28 heculturalinteractionbetweenChinaandthew
heculturalinteractionbetweenChinaandthewestduringtheÞrsthalfofthesecondmillennium.Theimpor-tanceoftheNorthernZoneofChinabecomesapparentonlyafterthe CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE Forexample,MalloryandMair(2000:328)seetheOrdosasanotherchannelofcommu-nication,statingthatÔwecanfollowthepathofbronzemetallurgyingeneralfromthesteppe-landsandCentralAsiaeastthroughXinjiang(orsoutheastviatheOrdos)intoGansuandthenintotheCentralPlainswherebronzemetallurgysuddenlyappearsintheErlitouculture.ÕWu(1993:257Ð9)notesthattripodLivessels,thetypicalpotteryformsoftheZhukaigouculture,havebeenseeninMongoliaandTransbaikalia,butnotintheregionstothewestoftheLakeBaikal,suchastheMinusinskbasin.ThetermÔNorthernZoneÕhasbeengenerallyacceptedfordeÞningthedistinctculturalregionthatroughlycoversthenorthernfrontierofChina,cf.Lin1986. Figure 13.Copper and bronze knives and daggers in animal style found in North China:1Ð2.knives;2,4Ð6.Daggers (after Wu 1985:136,Þgures 1;139,Þgure 3). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:05 pm Page 29 mid-secondmillennium,andisbestillustratedbytheriseofdistinc-tivebronzesinanimalstyle(Fig.13).WethereforehavetoaskwhatwerethereasonsforthissigniÞcantculturalchangealongthenorthernfrontierofChina,and what was the signiÞcance ofthe new route in therelationshipbetweenChinaandCentralAsia?WhenwecomparethesituationinGansuwiththatonthenorthernfrontierofChina,wenotethatadeclineofbronzeculturesinGansufromthemid-secondmillenniumappearstohavebeenconnectedwithanupsurgeofbronzeculturesonthenorthernfrontierofChina.Shui(2001:175Ð84)hassystematicallyexaminedtheprocessofdeclineinGansuaftertheendoftheQijiacultureandnotedasigniÞcantshiftfromanagriculturaleconomytoastockbreedingeconomy,particularlyapparentintheKayueculture().Hearguesthatachangeofclimatetowardsdryandcoldaround1500wasamajorfactorthatmayhavecontributedtoadeclineinagriculturalactivitiesandashifttoanimalhusbandry.Associatedwiththisshift,onecouldnotethatthelargesettlementsitesseenearlierintheQijiacontextdis-appearedandt

29 hescaleofthebronzeindustryseemedtobecome
hescaleofthebronzeindustryseemedtobecomesmaller,asshownbythemuchmorelimiteduseofcopperandbronzeobjectsintheXindianandSiwacultures().BasedontheanalysisoftheplantandanimalremainsfromtheZhukaigousiteincentralInnerMongolia,Tian(1997:269)alsopointsoutthattherewasaclimatechangetowardsdryandcoldfromabout1500onwards,whichledtoagradualgrowthofthestock-breedingeconomyatZhukaigou.Itwasduringthesameperiod,namelythelatephaseoftheZhukaigouculture,thattheearliestOrdos-typeornorthern-typebronzes,suchasthedaggerandtheknifeemerged(Fig.14).Then,thefollowingcenturieswitnessedavigorousriseofbronzesinanimalstyleacrossthenorthernfrontierofChinaandtheareasfurthertothenorth,asevidencedbynumerousbronzeÞndsfromNorthChina,Mongolia,andsouthernSiberia(Fig.13;Wu1985;Takahama1997;Bunkeretal.1997).Therefore,the climate change around the mid-second millennium probably not only resulted in the disintegration oflarge agricultural com-munities in north-western China,but also forced a transition towards astock-breeding economy,which led to or stimulated a deeper exploitationofthe eastern Eurasian steppe and thus paved the way for the opening ofa Steppe Road that runs from the northern frontier ofChina throughMongolia to southern Siberia and further west (Fig.1).From the mid-onwards,there is increasing evidence for contacts 30Jianjun Mei 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:05 pm Page 30 along the Steppe Road rather than along the prehistoric Silk Road,a factsuggesting a signiÞcant shift between them with regard to their roles inconnecting China with Central Asia.This shift offered a general culturalbackground,against which bronzes in animal style came into being,notonly along the northern frontier ofChina,but also in Siberia and Trans-baikalia during the latter part ofthe second millennium .Similarly,theintroduction ofchariots into China during the late centuries ofthe sec-would also be better considered within the context ofthe Steppe Road.ThehistoricalrecordclaimsthatpeopleoftheXiadynasty(.nine-teent

30 htosixteenthcenturies)alreadyknewhowtoma
htosixteenthcenturies)alreadyknewhowtomakewheeledvehicles,butarchaeologicalÞndssofarhavenotyetprovidedanycon-vincingproofforthis.TheearliestarchaeologicalevidencefortheuseofchariotsinChinaisthatfromAnyang,thecapitalofthelateShangdynasty().WhenthechariotappearedinAnyang,itwasalreadyinafullydevelopedform.OnthewesternEurasiansteppe,how-ever,thereisampleevidenceforthemuchearlieruseofchariots.Inpar-ticular,ÞndsfromtheSintashtasiteshowthatthechariotwasalreadyemployedbyabout2000betweentheVolgaandeastoftheUrals(AnthonyandVinogradov1995).Theviewthatthechariotwasintro-ducedintoChinafromthewestisnowwidelyheldamongscholars,buttherearedifferencesofopinionregardingwhenandhowthissigniÞcantculturalborrowingtookplace(Shaughnessy1988;Bagley1999:202Ð8;X.Wu2001).SomescholarssuggestthatitwastransmittedgraduallyfromwesternCentralAsiatoXinjiang,andfromtheretoGansu-Qinghai, CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE Lin,M.(2000:55Ð66)arguesforthebeginningofthewheeledvehiclesintheXiadynastyonthebasisofsomebronzeimplementswhich,hebelieves,wouldhavebeenusedformak-ingwoodenvehicles. Figure 14.The earliest bronze dagger and knife ofthe northern type found at the Zhukaigousite in Inner Mongolia (after Tian 1997:275,Þgure 4). 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:05 pm Page 31 then to the Central Plains ofChina (H.Wang 2002:46).However,archaeological Þnds from both Xinjiang and Gansu so far have notoffered any signiÞcant validation for this suggestion.The only Þnd fromXinjiang that bears a relation to the wheeled vehicle is a part ofa woodenwagon wheel from the Wupu cemetery in Hami dating to the late second(Mair 1995:283).In terms ofboth chronology and thevehicle type,it seems unlikely that the solid wheel from Wupu could havestimulated the appearance ofthe chariots with spoked wheels in Anyang,Central China.AlthoughdirectarchaeologicalevidenceisstilllackingfortheappearanceofchariotsontheeasternEurasiansteppearoundthemid-secondmillennium,theÞndsoftheBronzeAgerockengravingsofthevehicleimages(es

31 peciallythosewithspokedwheels)inAltai,Tu
peciallythosewithspokedwheels)inAltai,Tuva,Mongolia,andnorthernfrontierofChina(Fig.1)provideindirectevi-dencethattheSteppeRoadwouldhavebeenthemajorchannelfortheeastwardtransmissionofchariots(Wu1994:328Ð9).Indeed,theuseofchariotscouldhavebeenanimportantimpetusfortheopeningoftheSteppeRoadontheeasternEurasiansteppeduringthelatterhalfofthesecondmillenniumThese preliminary observations on the early cultural relationship betweenChina and Central Asia can be summarised as follows.ThereisagrowingbodyofevidencefromGansu,Qinghai,andXinjiangsuggestingthattheearlydevelopmentofcopper-basedmetal-lurgyinNorthwestChinamayhavereceivedanimpetusfromtheEurasiansteppeduringtheÞrsthalfofthesecondmillennium.WhethersuchwesterninßuenceplayedaroleinthebeginningsofmetallurgyinNorth-westChinaduringthethirdmillenniumremainstoberesolved.Simi-larly,whethertheoriginsofbronzemetallurgyintheCentralPlainsofChinashouldbetracedtotheearlybronzeculturesinnorth-westernChina Jianjun Mei MalloryandMair(2000:326)seemtofavourtheroutethroughXinjiangtoo,asshownintheirfollowingremarks,Ô...itseemsprobable,then,thatBronzeAgeIraniansorTocharianscameintocontactwithpeoplesofwesternChinainthe2ndmillenniumBCandintroducedthechariottotheShang.Thevenueofthemeetingofthesetwoworldswas,naturally,themodernprovinceofXinjiangandtheareajusttoitsnortheast.ÕW.Wang(1998:386)sur-misesthatboththeprehistoricSilkRoadandtheSteppeRoadcouldbeusedastheroutesfortheeastwardtransmissionofchariots. 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:05 pm Page 32 isstillunclear.Asfarasthecurrentevidenceisconcerned,adistinctiveindigenousdevelopmentofbronzetechnologyemergedintheCentralPlainsofChinafromtheearlysecondmillennium,whilesomesignsofconnectionswithnorth-westernChinaalsoappeared.FurtherresearchisneededtoclarifytherelationshipbetweentheNorthwestandtheCentralPlainsofChinaduringthelatethirdandearlysecondmillenniaThe early relationship between China and Central Asia seems tobe characterised by a two-way trafÞc ofcultural inßuence,with bronzetechnology bei

32 ng transmitted eastward and painted pott
ng transmitted eastward and painted pottery spreadingwestward from Gansu into Xinjiang.This trafÞc was most likely estab-lished along the prehistoric Silk Road from the late third millennium The climate change towards dry and cold during the mid-secondmay have resulted in a shift from the prehistoric Silk Roadto the Steppe Road for communication between China and Central Asia.The rise ofbronzes in animal style along the northern frontier ofChinaand the introduction ofchariots into the metropolitan region ofChinaduring the later centuries ofthe second millennium stood within the Steppe Road context.AcknowledgementsI am very grateful to the British Academy for inviting me to present the sec-ond Elsley Zeitlyn Lecture on Chinese Archaeology and Culture.I am alsograteful to Professors Colin Renfrew,Jessica Rawson,Takahama Shu,Hirao Yoshimitsu,Colin Shell,Ho Peng-Yoke,Ko Tsun,Han Rubin andSun Shuyun for their guidance,encouragement and support ofthisresearch.I would like to thank my colleagues and friends in China for theirhelp and assistance in various ways:Wang Bo,LŸ Enguo,Xu Xinguo,LiShuicheng,Shui Tao,Chen Xingcan,Abodu Idiris,Zhang Yuzhong,Zhang Ping,Li Xiao,Liu Guorui,Qiu Ling,Chang XiÕen,Dai Chunyang,Wang Hui,Zhou Guangji,Li Qian,Chen Honghai,Li Yanxiang,QianWei,Ma Qinglin and Guo Wu.Grateful thanks are also due to Miss WendyRomer,Mrs Yunhua Shi,Dr Marsha Levine and Dr Yasuhiro Hayakawafor their great help with revising the draft and preparing the Þgures.Thisresearch has received considerable Þnancial support from the Japan Societyfor the Promotion ofScience,to whom I would like to express my profoundgratitude.Professor Jessica Rawson has offered many constructive anduseful comments on the draft ofthis paper,for which I am deeply indebted.Any errors that still remain are entirely my own responsibility. CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE 01 Mei 121 1132 30/10/03 3:05 pm Page 33 ReferencesAbbreviations Used in ReferencesKGKaogu(Archaeology)KGXBK

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