The archaeological team from Sichuan University has published an article in an international journal titled 'Petrographic analysis of pottery shards from the Haimenkou site in the Jianchuan Basin, Yunnan'

Recently, the Geoarchaeology Team of the Center for Archaeological Science, Sichuan University, and the Yunnan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology published their latest research findings in the international archaeological journal Archaeological Research in Asia, titled "Primary selection? Petrographic analysis of ceramics excavated from the Jianchuan Basin, Northwest Yunnan Province, China." The article explores the early human selection of pottery raw materials, pottery production techniques, and cultural exchange through the study of Neolithic to Bronze Age pottery remains unearthed from the Haimenkou site in Jianchuan, Yunnan.

Aerial view of the Haimenkou site - Petrographic photos of unearthed pottery

The Haimenkou site in Jianchuan, Yunnan, is a large waterfront pile-dwelling settlement site discovered in China, mainly distributed along the banks of the Haiwei River in the southwest of Jian Lake. Archaeological excavations have revealed different cultural features on both banks of the Haiwei River, especially in pottery. Although most of the pottery is sand-tempered, the color and texture vary greatly. To more scientifically determine the production technology and origin of raw materials of the pottery on both banks of the Haiwei River, this paper uses dating, artifact typology, petrographic analysis, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) to conduct multi-angle research on the pottery fragments unearthed from the early strata of the site. Through the identification of the structure of the pottery body and the types of inclusions (temper or particles甯n the clay), the testing and analysis of clay elements and soil elements in the site strata, the comprehensive analysis results show that the early humans on the west bank of the Haiwei River (west of the river) consciously selected quartz particles and treated them with primary screening before mixing them with clay as pottery raw materials; the east bank of the Haiwei River (east of the river) may have directly used clay mixed with primary minerals as pottery raw materials.

Component analysis of unearthed pottery

The component analysis of pottery can add a valuable and complementary perspective to pottery research and is of great value in interpreting the classification, use, production technology, and exchange of pottery. The Haimenkou site unearthed a very rich collection of pottery, which has some common features with pottery from other regions in northwestern Yunnan and southwestern Sichuan, but also has its own unique style. Researching this pottery is not only of important reference value for understanding the changes in pottery-making technology in northwestern Yunnan from the late Neolithic to the Bronze Age and the local social environment, but also provides new evidence for the early human migration and cultural exchange in the eastern Tibetan Plateau.

LI Lan, Associate Professor of the School of Archaeology and Museology, Sichuan University, is the first author of this article, and LI Yuniu, Associate Professor, is the corresponding author. MIN Rui, researcher at the Yunnan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and SUO Dehao, Associate Professor of the School of Archaeology and Museology, Sichuan University, are co-authors of this article. This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (T2350410495), the Sichuan University "Double First-Class" Talent Special Fund (SKSYL2023-05), and the 2035 Pioneer Program (2035xd-02).

Written by: LI Lan

Reviewed by: LI Yuniu