Local cementation brass production during 12th–13th century CE, North China: Evidences from a royal summer palace of Jin Dynasty

Abstract

Twenty-one brass objects including building ornaments and household objects were found at the Taizicheng Ancient City Site in Hebei Province, a royal summer palace dated to the mid-late Jin Dynasty (CE 1189–1217). The samples were analyzed using XRF, SEM-EDS, ICP-AES and MC-ICP-MS to investigate the production technology, chemical compositions and lead isotopes of the brass objects. The results show that these brass objects might have been made roughly at the same time using local cementation technology. The lead isotope results indicate that the copper or zinc used to produce brass most likely originated from local ores in Northeast China. These brass objects represent one of the earliest instances of brass made with cementation technology in China, and are different from imported brassware from the Western countries during 4th–9th century CE. We believe that the diffusion and localization of cementation technology might have been the result of trade along the Silk Road and a shortage of tin in northern China during the 12th–13th century CE, which prompted Chinese metalworkers to produce brass.