Copper Mining and Metallurgy in the Zhongtiao Mountains and Yangzi River Valleys in Early China

ABSTRACT:This article investigates the organization of copper mining and metallurgy in the Zhongtiao Mountains and along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangzi River during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages. Understanding copper mining and metallurgy in the Zhongtiao Mountains was based on the occurrence of specific ore characteristics and archaeological materials from the Dongxiafeng site, while the argument for the middle and lower Yangzi River valleys was based on the mining landscapes and archaeological materials from sites in and around the Tonglüshan and Tongling mining regions. Although the research methods were slightly different, archaeological information from the two regions suggests that copper mining and metallurgy were organized on a small-scale, local, and sporadic basis during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages. This article further suggests that the acquisition of copper resources was probably not based on direct state control. Rather, more fluid and indirect resource strategies were probably adopted by early Chinese states.