Primary selection? Petrographic analysis of ceramics excavated from the Jianchuan Basin, Northwest Yunnan Province, China

Abstract

The Haimenkou site, located in Jianchuan County, Yunnan Province, on the bank of the Haiwei River to the southwest of the Jian Lake, is a large ancient waterfront settlement site dated as early as 2578–2464 BCE. Past excavations have revealed different cultural characteristics on each side of the Haiwei River, especially in pottery. This paper analyses the pottery sherds using petrography methods and X-Ray Fluorescence analysis (XRF) to identify the production technology and raw materials of the ceramics excavated from both sides of the Haiwei River. Based on the structure, shapes, and types of the tempers mixed in the clay, it is evident that the raw materials of pottery sherds from the two sides of the Haiwei River in the Late Neolithic likely came from different sources. People inhabited on the west side of the river deliberately selected their pottery tempers from the sediments along the Haiwei River, while those on the east possibly obtained their pottery tempers from weathered petrological sediments in nearby mountains.