The Problem of South Siberian Contacts in the Formation of Chinese Metallurgy of the Bronze Age
For a long time, there have been two views on the formation and development of Chinese metallurgy. The first assumed its autochthonous development based on the local Neolithic. But currently, it is generally accepted that the impulses of the steppe cultures influenced the origins and development of Chinese metallurgy. It is assumed that the mediator between the steppe world and the Yellow River cultures were the cultures of Qijia and Siba in Gansu, dated to the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. This point of view is based on the parallels to the metal of these cultures in the South Siberian cultures: Afanasievo, Okunev, Seima-Turbino, and Andronovo. The aim of this work is to test this hypothesis. As shown by the analysis of bronze artifacts of this period, most of this metal has analogies not in these early Eurasian cultures, but in later Karasuk and Sargary cultures. Comparable types include singleedged knives and socketed axes (celts) of elongated proportions, as well as many other objects. The error in interpretation was caused by some similarity of the Seima-Turbino and Karasuk knives. Many objects used to substantiate Siberian parallels (for example, simple rings and awls) are widespread, both chronologically and geographically, and cannot be used as analogies. There are no traces of Afanasievo, Okunev, and Andronovo influences not only in the Central Plains, but even in East Xinjiang. Sites with Afanasievo and Andronovo features are situated at the foothills of the Altai, the Pamir, and the Tianshan, and reflect the south-eastern borders of these cultures, but not their penetration into China. Only in the Final Bronze Age was the penetration of steppe complexes to the east recorded along the borders of the Tarim Basin, but this penetration only reached Central Xinjiang. The episode with the penetration of the Seima-Turbino tradition into the Yellow River basin took place, and this is clearly visible in the specific spearheads and some single-edged knives, but this influence was carried out not through Gansu, but through Shanxi. Chronologically, this cannot be dated earlier than layer III of Erlitou. By this time, Chinese metallurgy already existed, and borrowings were limited to only some types of weapons and tin alloys. The most intense influences of Siberian metallurgy in China occurred only in the Karasuk period when the so-called Northern Complex combining Karasuk and Shang features formed on the western and northern periphery of the Chinese civilization (from Liaoling in the east to East Xinjiang in the west).
Keywords
China,
steppe,
Bronze Age,
origins of metallurgy,
Shang dynastyAuthors
| Grigoriev Stanislav A. | Institute of History and Archeology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences | stgrig@mail.ru |
Всего: 1
References
Mei J., Xu J., Chen K. Shen, Wang H. Recent research on Early Bronze Metallurgy in Northwest China // Scientific Research on Ancient Asian Metallurgy. Washington : Freer Gallery of Arts, 2012. P. 37-46.
Grigoriev S. Metallurgical Production in Northern Eurasia in the Bronze Age. Oxford : Archaeopress, 2015. 831 p.
Mei J. Cultural Interaction between China and Central Asia during the Bronze Age // Proceedings of the British Academy. 2003. № 121. P. 1-39.
Li Sh. The Regional Characteristics and Interactions Between the Early Bronze Metallurgies of the Northwest and Central Plains // Chinese Ar chaeology. 2011. Vol. 6. P. 132-139.
Fitzgerald-Huber L.G. Qijia and Erlitou: the question of contacts with distant cultures // Early China. 1995. № 20. P. 17-68.
An Zhimin. Some problems concerning China's early copper and bronze artifacts // Early China. 1982-83. № 8. P. 53-75.
Fan X., Harbottle G., Gao Q., Zhou W., Gong Q., Wang H., Yu X., Wang Ch. Brass before bronze? Early copper-alloy metallurgy in China // Jour nal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry. 2012. № 27. P. 821-826.
Mei J. Copper and Bronze Metallurgy in Late Prehistoric Xinjiang. Its cultural context and relationship with neighbouring regions. BAR Interna tional Series 865. Oxford : Archaeopress, 2000. 202 p.
Молодин В.И., Епимахов А.В., Марченко Ж.В. Радиоуглеродная хронология культур эпохи бронзы Урала и юга Западной Сибири: прин ципы и подходы, достижения и проблемы // Вестник Новосибирского государственного университета. Серия: История, филология. 2014. Т. 13, вып. 3: Археология и этнография. С. 136-167.
Linduff K.M., Mei J. Metallurgy in Ancient Eastern Asia: How is it Studied? Where is the Field Headed? // Modeling Early Metallurgy: Old and New World Perspectives. Vancouver : SAA, 2008. P. 1-20.
Thorp R.L. China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization (Encounters with Asia). Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. 320 p.
Zhang X., Qiu Sh., Cai L., Bo G., Wang J., Zhong J. Establishing and Refining the Archaeological Chronologies of Xinzhai, Erlitou and Erligang Cultures // Chinese Archaeology. 2008. Vol. 8. P. 197-210.
Campbell R.B. Archaeology of the Chinese Bronze Age from Erlitou to Anyang. Los Angeles : The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, 2014. 208 p.
Bagley R. The Bronze Age before the Zhou dynasty // Routledge Handbook of early Chinese history. London, New York : Routledge, 2018. P. 61-83.
Linduff K.M., Sun Y., Cao W., Liu Y. Ancient China and its Eurasian neighbors: Artifacts, Identity and Death in the Frontier, 3000-700 BCE. Cambridge : University Press, 2017. 288 p.
Молодин В. И., Алкин С. В. Памятники афанасьевского времени на северо-западе Китая (Синьцзян) // Афанасьевский сборник 2. Барнаул : Азбука, 2012. С. 152-157.
Ковалев А.А. Афанасьевская культура в Синьцзяне // Краткие сообщения Института археологии. 2017. Вып. 247. С. 245-266.
Mei J. Qijia and seima-turbino: the question of early contacts between northwest China and the Eurasian steppe // Bulletin-Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. Ostasiatiska museet. 2005. № 75. P. 31-54.
Lin M. 林梅村. “Ouya caoyuan wenhua yu shiqian Sichouzhilu” 欧亚草原文化与史前丝绸之路// Sichouzhilu Tianshan langdao - Xinjiang changji gudai yizhi yu guancang wenwu jingpin 丝绸之路天山廊道-新疆昌吉古代遗址与馆藏文物精品Beijing : Wenwu Chubanshe, 2014. P. 656-673.
Jia P.W.M., Betts A.V.G. A re-analysis of the Qiemu'erqieke (Shamirshak) cemeteries, Xinjiang, China // The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 2010. Vol. 38. № 3 & 4. P. 275-317.
Festa M. Prehistoric Cultures in Xinjiang: Retrospect and Prospect // Athens Journal of History. 2017. Vol. 3, Is. 2. P. 137-169.
Sameer M.A., Zhang J.Z., Zhang Z.H., Fang X.X. Bronze Age and Iron Cultures in Xinjinag, Liaison to Harappa: A Retrospect // International Journal of Heritage, Art and Multimedia. 2018. № 1 (3). P. 51-70.
Li B. Patterns of development among China's Bronze cultures // New perspectives on China's past. Chinese archaeology in the twentieth century. New Haven, London : Yale university press, 2004. P. 188-199.
Черных Е.Н., Кузьминых С.В. Древняя металлургия северной Евразии. М. : Наука, 1989. 320 с.
Cohen D.J., Murowchick R.E. Early complex societies in Northern China // The Cambridge World Prehistory. 2. Cambridge : University Press, 2014. P. 782-806.
Lin M., Liu X. The origins of metallurgy in China // Antiquity. 2017. Vol. 91 (359). P. 1-6.
Ковтун И.В. Клинковое оружие сейминско-турбинских группировок // Вестник Томского государственного университета. История. 2016. № 4 (42). С. 103-107.
Молодин В.И. Кельты сейминско-турбинского типа из Синьцзяна (материалы к учебному курсу «Археология Сибири эпохи бронзы») // Вестник Новосибирского государственного университета. Серия: История, филология. 2019. Т. 18, № 3: Археология и этнография. С. 9-16.
Allan S. Erlitou and the Formation of Chinese Civilization: Toward a New Paradigm // The Journal of Asian Studies. 2007. Vol. 66, № 2 (May). P. 461-496.
An Zhimin. The Bronze Age in Eastern Parts of Central Asia // History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Vol. 7. Paris : UNESCO Publishing, 1992. P. 319-336.
Грушин С.П., Папин Д.В., Позднякова О.А., Тюрина Е.А., Федорук А.С., Хаврин С.В. Алтай в системе металлургических провинций энеолита и бронзового века. Барнаул : Изд-во Алтайского гос. ун-та, 2009. 160 с.
Молодин В.И. Феномен бронзовых кинжалов из погребальных комплексов кротовской культуры (хронология, территория распространения, истоки) // Вестник Томского государственного университета. История. 2016. № 4 (42). С. 97-107.
Di Cosmo N. The Northern Frontier in Pre-Imperial China // The Cambridge History of Ancient China. From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge : University Press, 1999. P. 885-966.
Wu En. Issues concerning Northern Bronze cultures in China // New perspectives on China's past. Chinese archaeology in the twentieth century. New Haven, London : Yale university press, 2004. P. 200-215.
Bai Y. A Discussion on Early Metals and the Origins of Bronze Casting in China // Chinese Archaeology. 2003. № 3 (1). P. 157-165.
Бобров В.В., Кузьминых С.В., Тенейшвили Т.О. Древняя металлургия Среднего Енисея (лугавская культура). Кемерово : Кузбассвузиздат, 1997. 99 с.
Кузьминых С.В. Сейминско-турбинский транскультурный феномен: формирование, развитие и исторические судьбы // Материалы V Международного симпозиума «Мобильность и миграция: концепции, методы, результаты». Новосибирск: ИАЭТ СО РАН, 2019. С. 89-103.
Григорьев С.А. Проникновение сейминско-турбинской традиции в Китай и развитие технологии оловянного легирования // Мультидис-циплинарные исследования в археологии. 2021. № 1. С. 3-21. DOI: 10.24412/2658-3550-2021-1-3-21
Shao H. (Анализы остатков андроновской культуры в регионе Синьцзян) // Research of China's Frontier Archaeology. 2009-00. P. 1-14.
Mei J., Shell C. The existence of Andronovo cultural influence in Xinjiang during the 2nd millennium BC // Antiquity. 1999. № 73. P. 570-578.
Jia P.W.M., Betts A.V.G., Wu X. Prehistoric archaeology in the Zhunge'er (Junggar) Basin, Xinjiang, China // Eurasian Prehistory. 2009. № 6 (1-2). P. 167-198.
Jia P.W., Betts A., Cong D., Xiaobing J., Dupuy P.D. Adunqiaolu: new evidence for the Andronovo in Xinjiang, China // Antiquity. 2017. Art. № 91357. P. 621-639.
Festa M. Bronze Age cultures and transmission of metallurgy: a methodological approach the case of the Yili River Valley and Tacheng (Xinjiang) // Культурные, экономические, технологические контакты и взаимодействие Японии и Татарского мира: история и современность: сборник научных трудов. Вып. II. Казань: Институт истории им. Ш. Марджани АН РТ, 2018. С. 98-137.
Wang L., Chen F., Wang Y., Qian W., Mei J., Martinon-Torres M., Chen K. Copper metallurgy in prehistoric upper Ili Valley, Xinjiang, China // Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. 2018. DOI: 10.1007/s12520-018-0679-6
Иванов С. С. Новые находки орнаментированных вислообушных топоров эпохи бронзы из Кыргызстана // Теория и практика археологических исследований. 2014. № 1 (9). С. 91-100.
Черных Е.Н. Древняя металлообработка на Юго-Западе СССР. М. : Наука, 1976. 301 с.
Festa M. Prehistoric Interactions in Eurasia: A Re-evaluation of Bronze Age Remains in the Oases on the Southern Rim of the Tarim Basin // Athens Journal of History. 2018. Vol. 4, Is. 3. P. 197-226.
Ван П. Взаимодействие культур бронзового и раннего железного века Южной Сибири, Синьцзяна и Северного Китая // Вестник Новосибирского государственного университета. Серия: История, филология. 2018. Т. 17, № 4: Востоковедение. С. 16-29.
