Using sulfur isotopes to determine the sources of vermillion in ancient burial mounds in Japan

Minami, Takeshi; Imai, Atsushi; Bunno, Michiaki; Kawakami, Kunihiko; Imazu, Setsuo

doi:10.1002/gea.20035

Cited by 14 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…The localities of the deposits from where the determined cinnabar was collected are referred to Figure 1 and Table 1. value of cinnabar from Furumiya is -6.1 ‰. Minami et al (2005) reported that the δ 34 S values of cinnabar from the Suii deposit are -2.4±1.4 ‰. The δ 34 S values of cinnabar from the Wake deposit, western Honshu, Inner Zone of Southwest Japan arc, associated with Uppermost Cretaceous hydrothermal alteration and volcanic rocks is -6.2 ‰.…”

Section: Sulfur Isotope Of Hg Deposits In Japanmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The δ 34 S value of cinnabar from the Chihaya deposit is +1.3 ‰. Minami et al (2005) reported that the δ 34 S values of cinnabar from the Yamato-suigin deposit and from the Niu deposit are -2.1 ±1.6 ‰ and 7.3±1.9 ‰, respectively. Shimazaki (1985) reported the δ 34 S value of composite ore (mainly cinnabar with small amounts of pyrite and marcasite) from the Yamato-suigin deposit to be -4.6 ‰.…”

Section: Sulfur Isotope Of Hg Deposits In Japanmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In addition, Minami et al (2005) reported δ 34 S values of some Hg deposits (Yamato-suigin, Niu and Suii). In this paper, we report the δ 34 S values of ore sulfide from Hg and Sb deposits in whole Japanese island arcs, and the significance of these data on the metallogenesis will be discussed.…”

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Sulfur Isotope Study on Hg and Sb Deposits in Japan

2006

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. Sulfur isotope ratios of cinnabar from Hg deposits and stibnite, jamesonite and berthierite from Sb deposits in Japan are examined in order to understand metallogeneses of Hg and Sb deposits in Japanese island arcs. The studied Hg and Sb deposits include the Hg deposit at Yamato‐suigin (Honshu) and the Sb deposit at Ichinokawa (Shikoku) in the Southwest Japan arc. In addition, Hg deposits including Itomuka and Ryushoden in central Hokkaido and Hg and Sb mineralizations in Northeast Japan arc are examined. The δ34S values of cinnabar from the Hidaka‐Kitami district, central Hokkaido, including the Itomuka and Ryushoden deposits range widely, from ‐10 to +16 %o, the highest values encountered at the Samani deposit. The δ34S values of cinnabar from other areas in Japan range from ‐12 to +5 %o, having δ34S values higher than +2 %o from southwestern Hokkaido (Meiji deposit), Shikoku (Suii deposit) and Kyushu (Hasami and Yamagano deposits). On the other hand, the δ34S values of stibnite from all areas in Japan range from ‐14 to +5 %o, having positive δ34S values higher than +2 %o up to +5 %o from southwestern Hokkaido (Yakumo, Toyotomi and Teine deposits) and eastern‐central Honshu (Hachiman and Daikoku deposits). The variation in δ34S values of Hg and Sb deposits may reflect the variation in δ34S values of country rocks or variation in mixing ratio of sulfur extracted from the country rocks, sulfur derived from seawater sulfate, and sulfur derived from magmatic emanations. The relatively high δ34S values of cinnabar and stibnite higher than +2 %o from southwestern Hokkaido, eastern‐central Honshu and Kyushu are probably caused by contribution of volcanic emanation from arc magmas having positive σδ34S values, whereas the positive δ34S values of cinnabar higher than +2 %o from Suii deposit in Shikoku may be attributed to structurally substituted sulfate in limestone country rocks and/or sulfur derived from seawater sulfate. However, the wide range of the δ34S values of cinnabar from the Hidaka‐Kitami district, central Hokkaido, is difficult to explain at this moment. Other relatively low, negative δ34S values of cinnabar and stibnite, berthierite from other areas in Japan may be attributed to 1) incorporation of isotopically light sedimentary sulfur or sulfur derived from ilmenite‐series silicic magma, or 2) less contribution of volcanic emanation from arc magmas having positive σδ34S values.

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Section: Sulfur Isotope Of Hg Deposits In Japanmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Sulfur Isotope Of Hg Deposits In Japanmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Sulfur Isotope Study on Hg and Sb Deposits in Japan

2006

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“…For this purpose, we first collected cinnabar ore from mines in Japan and China recorded in Japanese and Chinese histories and found that the ratio of sulfur isotopes was different between Japanese and Chinese ore. [3][4][5][6] Ishihara et al 7) measured the sulfur isotope ratio in sulfur component ore of deposits from the latter half of the Cenozoic period from Chubu to Kyushu districts in Japan, and they reported that the sulfur isotope ratio of the sulfur component ore depended on the region, not on both the mineral and deposit. We then tried to discover the original source of vermilion used in the remains by using the sulfur isotope ratio in vermilion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determination of Sources of Vermilion Used in Japanese Burial Mound of Yayoi and Kofun Periods

et al. 2014

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Several remains have been found from the Yayoi to Kofun periods that used more than 10 kg vermilion. Initially it was thought that vermilion was imported from China together with the funeral ceremony. However, it might be a display of power to use a large amount of vermilion for the remains in the funeral ceremony. Vermilion is refined from cinnabar ore and there are many cinnabar mines in Japan and China. However, as it is clear from ancient documents and surviving remains that some mines collected cinnabar ore from ancient times, we selected five cinnabar mines in Japan and China where cinnabar ore was probably collected in ancient times. When the sulfur isotope ratio of cinnabar ore was measured, it was observed that the ratio differed between Japanese and Chinese mines. From these previous studies, the sulfur isotope ratio of vermilion collected from remains in northern Kyushu from the mid-Yayoi to early Kofun periods was measured and vermilion showing a positive value similar to Chinese cinnabar ore was observed in several remains. Furthermore, several remains were surrounded by vermilion refined from Japanese ore. From these results, it is thought that measuring the sulfur isotope ratio of vermilion is a useful analytical method to identify the original mine of vermilion used in remains, but a weak point is that vermilion can be collected from only one or few points in a burial mound. More reliable information might be obtained if we collected vermilion from many collection points in a burial mound.

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“…El cinabrio fue ampliamente utilizado desde la prehistoria en diferentes lugares del mundo, tales como Ydria en la ex Yugoslavia, Essex en Inglaterra, Dordoña en Francia, Chavín de Huantar en Perú (Forbes 1965-67;Shepherd 1980), Japón (Minami 2005) y España (Domínguez-Bella 2010, 2011Martín-Gil et al 1994).…”

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Minas Y Mineros: Presencia De Metales en Sedimentos Y Restos Humanos Al Sur De La Sierra Gorda De Querétaro en México

Campos¹,

Muñoz²

2013

Chungará (Arica)

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La arqueología de la Sierra Gorda posee un encanto especial y es un reto académico. Se trata de la primera región en México donde la minería prehistórica subterránea de cinabrio fue registrada en tiempos modernos. El estudio de la sociedad antigua con una economía especializada orientada a la minería del cinabrio en época prehispánica nos condujo a preguntarnos cómo es que los habitantes antiguos reconocieron, se apropiaron y usaron este paisaje. En consecuencia, cómo se distribuyeron los asentamientos y las minas antiguas al sur de la Sierra Gorda. En nuestro tiempo, sabemos que el mercurio metálico, el sulfuro de mercurio y otros compuestos relacionados con el Hg son peligrosos para el medio ambiente y pueden ser persistentes en el tiempo. En consecuencia, nos preguntamos: ¿De qué manera esta especialización económica afectó el ambiente y a sus habitantes, tanto en el pasado como en tiempos modernos?Palabras claves: Sierra Gorda, arqueología, patrón de asentamiento, Toluquilla, Las Ranas, cinabrio, Hg, minería prehistórica. Sierra Gorda's archaeology has a special charm and it is and academic challenge. This is the first region in Mexico where prehistoric underground mining was practiced in modern times. The study in this region of an ancient society, with a specialized economy oriented to cinnabar mining during prehispanic times, leads us to ask how the ancient people recognized the landscape and how they appropriated and used it. ¿How did the Sierra Gorda inhabitants distribute their settlements and mines within their territory?Today we know that metallic mercury, mercury sulfides and other compounds linked to Hg are dangerous for the environment and can be persistent through time. Thus, we consider how economic specialization affected the environment and settlers in both the past and present time in Sierra Gorda.

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Using sulfur isotopes to determine the sources of vermillion in ancient burial mounds in Japan

Cited by 14 publications

References 5 publications

Sulfur Isotope Study on Hg and Sb Deposits in Japan

Sulfur Isotope Study on Hg and Sb Deposits in Japan

Determination of Sources of Vermilion Used in Japanese Burial Mound of Yayoi and Kofun Periods

Minas Y Mineros: Presencia De Metales en Sedimentos Y Restos Humanos Al Sur De La Sierra Gorda De Querétaro en México

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