Research seminar: Dr Patrick Quinn (UCL), Geochemical Warfare: Exploring Elemental Patterning within Emperor Qin Shihuang's Terracotta Army, China
| Dates: | 2 April 2019 |
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| Times: | 17:00 - 18:00 |
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| What is it: | Talk |
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| Organiser: | School of Arts, Languages and Cultures |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, External researchers, Adults, Alumni, Current University students, General public |
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Emperor Qin Shihuang’s ‘Terracotta Army’ is a ceramic assemblage of immense scale, importance and world renown. These c. 7,000 ornate life-sized ceramic soldiers and horses were installed in battle formation in three underground pits, outside the tomb of the first emperor of China, in order to protect him in his afterlife. The terracotta army and the wider 20 km2 mausoleum complex that it forms part of was built in a relatively short time between 247-210 BC and may have involved 700,000 craftsmen and labourers brought in from across the Qin Empire. Detailed morphological, spatial and compositional analysis of these and other mass produced objects unearthed from the site, are providing key insights into the organisational strategies behind the realisation of a project of such extreme size, including the division of labour, quality control and standardisation. Such information is of prime importance for our understanding not only of the mausoleum itself, but also Qin Period China more generally. This paper presents the results of new data on the geochemical composition of a selection of complete statues from the ‘VIP area’ of Pit 1, which feature stamps or inscriptions that may be indicative of the workshops that produced them. Examples of foot-soldiers, charioteers, middle-ranking officers, civil officials and terracotta horses have been analysed using a bespoke pXRF calibration and their intra and inter-compositional variation have been explored.
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