Osl Chronology of Traditional Zinc Smelting Activity in Yunnan Province, Southwest China

The production of zinc has played an important role in both the technological and the economic history of ancient china. However, the lack of studies on zinc smelting remains with convincing chronology limits our understanding on the history of zinc production.Our recent field survey in Yunnan province, southwest china, has discovered zinc-smelting sites in Qiaojia County. The location is in the Jinsha River Valley, which has abundant lead, zinc, copper and mineral coals. Large numbers of crucible and slags were excavated, which indicates a large scale of zinc production in the region. A profile of 10 layers containing slag pellets altered with fluvial sediments presents clear evidence of a series of zinc smelting events. The ages of both the fluvial sediment and slag layers have been obtained using luminescence dating. Detailed chronology indicates that large scale of zinc production in this area can be traced back to late Qing Dynasty (AD 1854). (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.