Provenance-tracking of Bronze Vessel Using Rare Earth Elements in Clay Mould Residues

The composition of casting core might provide clue on the provenance of the bronze vessels.This pa- per probes into the provenance of the bronze vessels according to analysis of mould and inner mould of the bronze vessels.REEs analysis in mould residues is conducted by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrome- try(ICP-AES).Results reveal that characteristics of REEs in mould from different regions are dissimilar.It is feasible to restrict the possible area of provenance of bronze based on analysis of REEs in inner mould residues. Meanwhile,this paper studies provenance of the bronze vessels from Jiuliandun Chu tomb and Zuozhong tombs, and the geochemical characteristics of REEs from inner mould provide information on bronze vessels.