High-tin bronze bowls and copper drums: Non-ferrous archaeometallurgical evidence for Khao Sek's involvement and role in regional exchange systems

Pryce, Thomas Oliver; Bellina, Bérénice

doi:10.1016/j.ara.2017.07.002

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…The bowl's elemental composition and decoration are both consistent with it being identified as an ‘Indian’ import but its lead isotope ratios are at variance with most of the SEALIP high‐tin bronze database (Fig. ; Pryce and Bellina ). Most of the high‐tin bronze bowls currently known were found in South‐East Asia but production is claimed in India from the eighth century bc (Srinivasan ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…High‐tin bowls plotting on this axis were found in peninsular and western Thailand and West Bengal but, critically, the Thai peninsular sites also present evidence for high‐tin bronze production: crucible‐based cassiterite cementation at Khao Sam Kaeo (Murillo‐Barroso et al . ) and casting at nearby Khao Sek (Pryce and Bellina ). Peninsular Thailand, like neighbouring peninsular Myanmar and Malaysia, hosts some of the richest tin deposits in the Old World, which may or may not be a coincidence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A lead isotope ratio biplot showing the Bali leaded bronze drum sample (SEALIP/ID/ML/4‐5) against regional examples of copper, bronze and leaded bronze drums and the known Mainland South‐East Asian prehistoric copper‐producing centres. Data from Pryce et al () and Pryce and Bellina (). [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Pryce et al . ; Pryce and Bellina ). The Franco–Thai project's fuller picture of early trans‐Asiatic maritime interaction systems is constantly being added to by research in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam (e.g., Yamagata ; Reinecke et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…[Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com] of any larger general migration (Bellina 2003(Bellina , 2007. Subsequent studies of the site's physical structure and material culture (glass, metals, pottery) indicated that Khao Sam Kaeo was internally divided according to the ethnicity and occupation of its population, and externally protected with ramparts (Bouvet 2008;Dussubieux and Gratuze 2010;Murillo-Barroso et al 2010;Bellina 2014;Bellina et al 2014;Pryce et al 2017;Pryce and Bellina 2018). The Franco-Thai project's fuller picture of early trans-Asiatic maritime interaction systems is constantly being added to by research in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam (e.g., Yamagata 2007;Reinecke et al 2009;Dussubieux et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Copper‐base Metallurgy in Metal‐Age Bali: Evidence from Gilimanuk, Manikliyu, Pacung, Pangkung Paruk and Sembiran

et al. 2018

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The Indonesian Archipelago extends over 5000 km of latitude, from 95°E to 141°E, and hosts some of the world's largest active metal mines. While some fascinating ethnographic and historical sources exist, virtually nothing is known of the country's prehistoric metallurgical traditions. Given Indonesia's scale, this situation cannot be remedied in short order, but with this paper we seek to elucidate some metal production and consumption behaviours on Bali, located around 115°E, during the last centuries of the first millennium bc and the early to middle first millennium ad. The studied early Metal Age assemblage of 27 copper‐base artefacts from the sites of Pacung, Sembiran, Bangkah, Pangkung Paruk, Gilimanuk and Manikliyu includes bangle, bowl, drum, hook, mirror and ornamental typologies, and fragments thereof. Fourteen of the 27 samples were suffering from corrosion, but a strong tendency towards leaded copper alloys (21 of 27) can be distinguished, with some bronzes, a high‐tin bronze and a leaded high‐tin bronze. The high proportion of leaded artefacts mean that lead isotope data cannot be used to identify possible sources of copper, but there is good consistency with Mainland South‐East Asian Iron Age leaded alloy signatures for the bulk of the assemblage, possibly indicating the existence of long‐range (~2000–3000 km one way) exchange systems at the outset of the Island South‐East Asian Metal Age, and perhaps as far as China and India in the case of the mirror and bowl, respectively. Of particular note, the Manikliyu ‘Pejeng’ drum, a stylistically idiosyncratic type known from Bali and Java, and for which there is local production evidence, transpired to be consistent in terms of elemental composition and lead signature with Mainland ‘Dong Son’ drums. This could suggest that Pejeng drums were produced not just from metal imported from the Mainland but with melted down Mainland drums; an intriguing case of local reinterpretation of foreign elite material culture and iconography.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%