新见中国古代铸铜用泥范制作的一种技术选择OACHSSCD

The piece-mould casting technique was a quintessential component of the ancient Chinese bronze smelting and casting industry,and is unique among ancient cultures worldwide.Scholars normally consider levigated loess to be the primary raw material used for mould production.In recent years,with the increasing application of microscopic analytical techniques,the use of loess alone can no longer fully characterize piece-mould casting technique.A considerable number of studies have found that the mould raw materials could include alluvial soil,weathered soil,and other types of soil.There were also some moulds made from loess that had not been thoroughly levigated.The workshop areas at Xincun,Hebi,Henan and Yaoheyuan,Pengyang,Ningxia are two important sites excavated in recent years,where abundant smelting and casting remains have been unearthed.This study,through the combination of petrographic analysis and scanning electron microscopy,identifies remains whose raw materials consist of un-levigated loess.The results indicate the presence of substantial clay aggregates in some moulds and cores,suggesting that the materials either directly taken from the soil or made by mixing various soils without levigation.Some dried or sintered raw materials were used to make moulds,demonstrating that dry and wet raw materials could also be effectively combined.Layered mould-making and coating techniques were selectively applied and omitted in areas with low surface gloss requirements.This technical simplification,potentially a byproduct of specialized bronze-casting division,exhibits a degree of persistence across both geography and time;therefore,it might represent a mechanism by which the Zhou royal family controlled the bronze-casting technique.