東亞發達的青銅文明源自何處？
是由西亞遠傳而來，還是由東亞自創發明？
如果是由西亞傳來，何故它們的外貌與內在都如此不同？
如果是東亞自創，真正的原創地又在哪里？
郭靜云教授邀請您一起參與中國青銅文明起源的偵探之旅！
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[要點]中國青銅技術本土起源,是長江中游上古大文明的貢獻。長江中游具備礦物易得和陶窯技術先進兩項優勢，且其國家社會已經足夠發達和複雜，足以供養工匠，並形成對金屬器的需求。長江中游經歷了漫長的認識銅料並探索冶煉的過程，從最早認識氧化銅礦和發明還原法,到了石家河文化常用氧化銅與硫化銅搭配著冶煉,並自行原創發明了錫銅以及錫鉛銅三元合金技術。少量發現的鑄造的小型銅器直接顯示,石家河人熔銅並用銅液鑄造,應歸類為青銅文明。
本講座內容發表於以下論文，若有引用，務請參考原文：
1.郭靜云,邱詩螢,範梓浩,郭立新,陶洋.中國冶煉技術本土起源:從長江中游冶煉遺存直接證據談起(一) 【J】.南方文物,2018(03):57-71.
2.郭靜云,邱詩螢,範梓浩,郭立新.中國冶煉技術本土起源：從長江中游冶煉遺存直接證據談起（二）【J】.南方文物,2019(03):41-55.
3.郭靜云，邱詩螢,郭立新.石家河文化：東亞自創的青銅文明【J】.南方文物,2019(04):67-82.
4.郭靜云：《夏商周：從神話到史實》，上海古籍出版社2013年；第61-101，123-180頁；
5.郭靜云：《天神與天地之道》，上海古籍出版社2016年，第191-245頁。
6.郭靜云，郭立新、范梓浩主编：《考古偵探》，新竹：交通大學出版社2018年。
Shijiahe Culture: Original Bronze Civilization of East Asia
Authors: Olga Gorodeskaya, Shihying Chiu （Chung Cheng University, Department of History, Taiwan, Chiayi）
Guo Li-Xin (Sun Yat-sen University, Department of Anthropology, Guangzhou)
Abstract: Early Chinese bronze technology originates from the Ancient Civilization of the Middle Yangtze Region. Earliest metallurgy began from the recognition of oxidized copper ores and the invention of the reduction method of smelting. It then evolved into the combination of oxidized and sulfide ores for copper smelting in the Shijiahe Culture. The tin bronze and tin-lead-copper alloy technology was invented independently. Therefore, the Shijiahe Culture should be classified as a bronze civilization.
The complete copper smelting operation chain and matching tools are found in archeological sites of the Shijiahe Culture, which include tools for crushing ore, washing ore dressing, grinding mineral powder, smelting, melting, forging, casting, processing copper tools and so on. Most tools are quite similar to those from other ancient civilizations; for example, hammerstones, stone anvils, mortars, scoops, abrasive plats, pestles, tampers, tuyers, crucibles, among others. However, the smelting vat or (vat furnace) is a unique and representative tool of the Shijiahe copper smelting technology. Thick and heavy coarse sandy pottery pieces are often found in smelting ruins of the Shijiahe culture, accompanied by a large amount of charcoal, burnt soil and ash, and occasionally smelting slags. However, since the smelting technology of the Shijiahe Culture was sufficient to fully extract copper from the mineral materials, the smelting slags are rich in silicon, iron and aluminum, but copper is rarely found.
Copper smelting took on a spiritual meaning in the Shijiahe society. The rituals related to smelting were carried out on the altars. In the Shijiahe spiritual culture, the interior of the smelting vat was regarded as the birthplace of a new life and everlasting rebirth. In their funerary beliefs, smelting vats also had a mysterious meaning, and were used to make funeral urns for transformation and eternal life.
From the middle era of the Shijiahe Culture, due to the increasing demand and scale of copper/bronze smelting, a fixed-type furnace and a long-shaped dragon-kiln-type device capable of mass production had been developed. At the same time, as the mining and smith works became more specialized, the metallurgical industries went deep into the mining area, and specialized sites were arranged at mines. Metallurgical craftsmen settled in the mining area, creating their own new society and making significant contributions to the further innovation and breakthrough of bronze smelting and casting technologies. Professional craftsmen also experimented with different furnace wall materials, and created stoneware and the earliest porcelain production method. This inadvertently started another new material technology revolution.
Other parts of East Asia did not have the same level of bronze technology concurrently with the Shijiahe Culture. It was the Shijiahe bronze civilization that laid the foundation for the highly developed bronze civilization of the Shang. Therefore, it is necessary to review the theory of "Western influence" as definitive in the establishment of Chinese bronze culture.
Key words: Middle Yangtze Region, Shijiahe Culture, archaeometallurgy, bronze technology, chaîne opératoire, bronze civilization
