Panlongcheng, Zhengzhou and the Movement of Metal in Early Bronze Age China

Abstract

AbstractThe role of Panlongcheng—a walled settlement on the Yangtze River with obvious links to the Erligang capital at Zhengzhou, ~ 500 km to the north—in early Bronze Age China has been the subject of much debate. Panlongcheng is a typical Erligang site (~ 1500–1300 BC), with evidence for people of elite status, unlike any other site apart from Zhengzhou itself. The tombs and bronzes at Panlongcheng, as well as other materials, closely resemble those at Zhengzhou. Why was Panlongcheng established along the Yangtze River, and what were the Erligang elites doing there? Considering the rich copper deposits in this area, it is widely assumed that the major function of Panlongcheng was to ship metal to Zhengzhou, and in return to receive bronze vessels from Zhengzhou. The purpose of this paper is to revisit this discussion through a re-evaluation of the scientific data on the bronzes from each site. A series of differences and similarities in the chemical and isotopic compositions of the metal objects at Panlongcheng and Zhengzhou are identified, suggesting that the relationship was more complex than was previously thought. In this light, despite a close social and presumably political affiliation with Zhengzhou, Panlongcheng appears likely to have had its own metal-casting capability, rather than having to rely completely on finished objects imported from Zhengzhou. This discovery encourages scholars to re-consider the metal supply network and the underlying political landscape in early dynastic China, shifting from a linear model to a complex but probably more realistic one.