Brass technology transmission via maritime routes: crucible evidence from southern China

• Autores: Hongyan Xiao, Xinzhen Yue, Zaoxin Li, Yefeng Liu, Jianfeng Cui
• Localización: Antiquity, ISSN 0003-598X, Vol. 100, Nº 413, 2026, págs. 1385-1403
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Despite descriptions in tenth-century-AD written accounts, direct evidence for early brass production in China is scarce. The discovery of crucibles and a furnace dating to the ninth–tenth centuries in Guangzhou, southern China, is therefore a key find. Analysis of metal residues found within these crucibles, presented here, confirms the end-to-end processing of raw materials and production of brass via cementation. The authors argue that this find provides a new perspective on the transmission of brass-making knowledge and technology, highlighting the potential roles of institutionalised industry and maritime routes in the emergence of localised brass production in medieval southern China.