ReexaminationofMapungubweChineseceladonsherds

JOURNALOFRAMANSPECTROSCOPYJ.RamanSpectrosc.2005;36:806–816Publishedonline16June2005inWileyInterScience().DOI:10.1002/jrs.1367Re-datingofChineseceladonshardsexcavatedonMapungubweHill,a13thcenturyIronAgesiteinSouthAfrica,usingRamanspectroscopy,XRFandXRDLindaC.Prinsloo,1∗NigelWood,2MaggiLoubser,3SabineM.C.Verryn3andSianTiley41DepartmentofPhysics,UniversityofPretoria,Pretoria0002,SouthAfrica2ResearchLaboratoryforArchaeologyandtheHistoryofArt,OxfordUniversity,6KebleRoad,OxfordOX13QJ,UK3XRFandXRDLaboratory,UniversityofPretoria,Pretoria0002,SouthAfrica4MapungubweMuseum,UniversityofPretoria,Pretoria0002,SouthAfricaReceived10January2005;Accepted17March2005ChineseceladonshardsoftheLongquantype,believedtodatefromtheSouthernSongdynasty(1127–1279AD),wereexcavatedin1934onMapungubweHill,a13thcenturyIronAgesiteintheLimpopovalley,SouthAfrica.WestudiedtheshardswithRamanspectroscopy,x-rayfluorescence(XRF)spectroscopyandx-raydiffraction(XRD).TheRamanpolymerizationindex(Ip),calculatedfromthespectraoftheglazeoftheshards,indicatedahigherfiringtemperaturethanexpectedfortherelativelycalcium-richLongquanglazesoftheSouthernSongdynasty.XRFanalysisoftheglazeandXRDmeasurementsofthebulkoftheshardssupportedthisviewanddatetheshardstopossiblytheYuan(1279–1368AD)orevenearlyMing(1368–1644AD)dynasties.TheseresultshaveanimpactonthechronologyofthehistoryoftheregionandthereforecallforfurtherresearchofacomparativenatureofotherChineseceladonshardsexcavatedonarchaeologicalsitesinAfrica,inadditiontoadditionalcarbondatesofMapungubwehill.Copyright2005JohnWiley&Sons,Ltd.KEYWORDS:XRF;XRD;celadon;glazeINTRODUCTIONTheIllustratedLondonNewsreportedon8April1933,‘aremarkablediscoveryintheTransvaal:agraveofunknownorigin,containingmuchgold-work,foundonthesummitofanaturalrockstrongholdinawildregion’.1Thisdiscoveryturnedthemythsandlegendssurround-ingthesacredhillMapungubwe(TsiVendafor‘thehillofthejackal’)intofactualhistory.Anancientlegend,suggestingcertaindeathuponascendingthehill,helpedtoprotectthelastrestingplaceoftherulersofaprehistoricAfricantradekingdom(ca1000–1290AD)formorethansevencenturies.Furthermore,theoccurrenceofmalariaandtsetseflymadetheLimpopovalleythewildestandmostdesolatepartoftheTransvaalandhelpedtoprotectthesitefromlooting,whichoccurredatmostotherIronAgesitesinsouthernAfrica.2Thediscoveryin1933ofintactgold-bearinggravesbyprospec-torswasthereforearemarkablefindofgreatarchaeologicalŁCorrespondenceto:LindaC.Prinsloo,DepartmentofPhysics,UniversityofPretoria,Pretoria0002,SouthAfrica.E-mail:[e-mail]ficanceandmarkedthebeginningofa70-yeararchaeologicalproject,whichhasrecentlyresultedinthefoundingoftheMapungubweMuseum,UniversityofPretoria.TwofragmentsofChineseporcellaneouswarewereexcavatedin1934,duringthefirstarchaeologicalexpe-ditiontoMapungubwe,intheoccupationlayersonthehilltop,oneat4ftandtheotherat1ftfromthesur-face.TheywereclassifiedinthesameyearbytheBritishMuseumasceladonfromthelateSouthernSongdynasty(1127–1279AD).2In1991,anothershard,belongingtothesamevessel,wasfoundatthemainentrancetoMapun-gubwehill.3Theshardsandthousandsofimportedglassbeads,whichwerealsoexcavatedatthesite,connectMapungubwetotheextensivemaritimetradenetwork,establishedalreadyinthe1stcenturyAD,whichlinkedEastAfricawiththemonsoon-basedcommercialsystemsoftheIndianOcean(Fig.1).Africanrawmaterialssuchasgold,rhinoceroshorn,ivory,ambergris,frankincenseandmyrrhwereexchangedforcotton,porcelainandglasstradebeads.4Copyright2005JohnWiley&Sons,Ltd.Re-datingofChineseceladonshardsinSouthAfrica807Figure1.MapdepictingMapungubweandGreatZimbabweingeographicalcontextwiththeimportantportsandcitiesoftheIslamictradeintheIndianOcean.Importedporcelain,stonewareandglassshardshavebeenfoundatmanyexcavatedsitesalongtheEastAfricanSwahilicoast,suchastheIslamictownsofManda,ShangaandGediontheKenyancoastandtheruinsoftheIslamicmosqueMalindionthetradeislandofKilwaofftheeastcoastofTanzania.AtallofthesesitesChineseceramicshardswerefound,togetherwithIslamicwaresimportedfromIran,PersiaandIndia.4–11Exoticimports,whenfoundinasecondaryarchaeologicalcontext,havealwaysprovidedabasicarchaeologicaldatingmethodifsecurelydatedattheirpointoforigin.InEastAfrica,itisofcardinalimportanceastheonlywrittenrecordsofthepre-PortugueseeraistheGreekPeriplusMarisErythraei(¾2AD),afewtraveldocumentsfromfamousArabtravellerssuchasAl-MasudiandIbnBattuta(10thcentury)andhearsayknowledgedocumentedinChinesesources.4NumerousscholarshaveusedparticularvarietiesofChinesepotterytorefinechronologyontheEastAfricancoast.4–11ChineseceramicshardshavealsobeenfoundatinlandancientIronAgeruins,allofwhicharesituatedinaregionspanningZimbabwe,ZambiaandthenorthernpartofSouthAfrica,whereancientpre-Europeangold,copperandtinminesoccurred.2TheknownimportedceramicsrecoveredfromcentralAfricanIronAgesitesamounttosome100shards,ofwhichover90%comefromGreatZimbabweandarenearlyexclusivelyceladonwares,whichbroadlydatestheshardstopre-Portuguesetimes.8TheporcelainstradedbythePortuguese,whoreplacedtheIslamictradealongtheeastcoastaft