Application of computed tomography in the analysis of glass beads unearthed in Shanpula cemetery (Khotan), Xinjiang Uygh
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Application of computed tomography in the analysis of glass beads unearthed in Shanpula cemetery (Khotan), Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Qian Cheng 1 & Xueyan Zhang 2 & Jinlong Guo 3 & Bo Wang 3 & Yong Lei 2 & Guangzhao Zhou 4 & Ya’nan Fu 4 Received: 14 August 2017 / Accepted: 28 November 2017 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2017
Abstract The glass beads unearthed in sites along the Silk Road usually indicate the communications of arts, business, and cultures between different areas. The production process of glass beads also implies an associated local culture, as well as its provenance. Computed tomography (CT) is a non-destructive three-dimensional method and it has been widely used in the research of various relics. It contributes to discovering and documenting the manufacturing processes for artifacts. Based on the CT images of two glass beads which were unearthed in Khotan, Xinjiang, China, the inner structure and air bubble shapes were investigated. This paper demonstrates how the CT technology contributes to studying the manufacture of archaeological glass beads. Two polychrome beads were analyzed by CT scanning techniques. Bead S-2 is a typical natron glass and bead SC-8 is a soda-lime-silica glass, based on the chemical components analyzed by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (LA-ICP-AES). According to computed tomographic analysis, a porous core was covered with a thick layer of glaze. The eye parts from S-2 eye bead were probably made by an embedding technique, which was proved by the 3D shapes of bubbles and the Beyes.^ The SC-8 bead was manufactured by a stretching technique which was evidenced by the elliptical bubbles. The yellow stripes wrapped around the glass base present sharp edges in cross section, which seem to reflect grooves carved before the filling process. Keywords Computered tomography . Glass beads . Silk Road . Glass-working technique
Introduction The Silk Road was a famous and historic route representing economical, cultural, and aesthetic exchanges between the East and West. The Silk Road route was divided into three ways in the Xinjiang region (the north way, the middle way, * Yong Lei [email protected] * Guangzhao Zhou [email protected] 1
Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, Beijing, China
2
Conservation Department, The Palace Museum, Beijing, China
3
Museum of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Urumchi, China
4
Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
and the south way). The north way is from Anxi to Almaty via Hami, Turfan. The other two divided in Dunhuang and circumvented the Taklamakan Desert. The middle way went through Loulan, Aksu, and the south one went through Khotan. Then, they rejoined at Kashgar (Ferdinand von Richthofen 1877:454; Meicun 2006:1e4), as shown in Fig. 1. The Xinjiang region was a historic trade and cultural hub between the world of East and West. Study of the relics exc
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