LONG-DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD? GOLD BEECH-NUT PENDANTS FOUND IN THE EARLY IRON AGE CHINA AND THE EURASIAN STEPPE

Abstract

The gold technology in Northwest China underwent an important development during the early Iron Age, following the arrival of new technological skills from the central Asian steppes. These developments included the use of granulation, filigree, and sheet metal, working with mould or matrix. This paper presents a micro-analytical study of an array of gold pendants excavated from the burial site at Dongtalede (9th-7th century BCE) in the Altai region of Xinjiang. It opens up new perspectives for exploring how cultural interactions were perceived, conveyed, disseminated and preserved through material culture in a society where there was little textual evidence. We conducted multiple non-destructive analyses to examine chemical composition and man-ufacturing techniques using a hand-held optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscopy with an energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM–EDS). Our findings represent the earliest evidence of diffusion bonding technology in ancient China. We find that the stylistic features of the beech-nut pendants are closely linked to the Mediterranean world, but archaeometric analyses attested to local production. Comparing the pendants with the growing body of goldwork discovered at sites in Northwest China, Central Asia, the Southern Urals and the Eastern Mediterranean, demonstrates that there were extensive contacts across ancient Eurasia that occurred much earlier than the opening of the commercial Silk Roads.