Most large and medium-sized tombs at the Yejiashan cemetery have yielded sets of bronze ritual vessels.Most of these vessels have similar or identical alloy compositions,suggesting that they were made from metals mixed in the same proportions.A few vessels,however,have different alloy compositions,indicating they might have been separately manufactured and assembled into sets later.This variation is also reflected by the styles,decorations,and inscriptions of vessels,suggesting an early emergence of the"graded set of tripods ding"system during the early Western Zhou period.These sets of bronze ritual vessels might have been produced in batches,with items from the same set found in different tombs,potentially cast in multiple production runs.Vessels in sets with similar alloy compositions also share identical lead isotope ratios,indicating that they were made from metals mixed in the same proportions.Conversely,some sets assembled from individually made vessels have varied lead isotope ratios.These findings are significant for understanding the production and distribution of bronze vessels during the Western Zhou period.
Yejiashan CemeteryBronze RitualVesselsLead IsotopeState of ZengWestern Zhou
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
