title: Structural and compositional analysis of a casting mold sherd from ancient China.
abstract: Casting had symbolic significance and was strictly controlled in the Shang dynasty of ancient China. Vessel casting was mainly distributed around the Shang capital, Yin Ruins, which indicates a rigorous centralization of authority. Thus, for a casting mold to be excavated far from the capital region is rare. In addition to some bronze vessel molds excavated at the Buyao Village site, another key discovery of a bronze vessel mold occurred at Daxinzhuang. The Daxinzhuang site was a core area in the east of Shang state and is an important site to study the eastward expansion of the Shang. Here, combining synchrotron X-rays and other physicochemical analysis methods, nondestructive three-dimensional structure imaging and different elemental analyses were conducted on this mold sherd. Through high penetration X-ray tomography, we obtained insights on the internal structure and discovered some pores. We infer that the generation of pores inside the casting mold sherd was used to enhance air permeability during casting. Furthermore, we suppose that the decorative patterns on the surface were carved and not pasted onto it. Considering the previous compositional studies of bronze vessels, the copper and iron elements were analyzed by different methods. Unexpectedly, a larger amount of iron than of copper was detected on the surface. According to the data analysis and archaeological context, the source of iron on the casting mold sherd could be attributed to local soil contamination. A refined compositional analysis confirms that this casting mold was fabricated locally and used for bronze casting.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Yunbing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.|School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Shengkun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Jianfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Xuexiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.|School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jiadong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Zhibin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Xiulan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Nannan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: S hanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Guangzhao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: S hanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Tiqiao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: S hanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Aiguo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.|School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Huaidong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000497:Alloys / Q000737:chemistry*; D002681:China; D056951:Photoelectron Spectroscopy; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D000497:Alloys