Archaeological Studies on the Metal Resources and their use in the Mekong Basin

2002 - 2006年，通过对湄公河流域柬埔寨、泰国、越南和老挝的实地考察，对湄公河流域的金工遗址和铁铜矿进行了考古研究，收集了有关该地区金属资源和金属使用的样品和考古资料。我们还对金属和矿石样品进行了冶金分析，对我们在柬埔寨暹粒省Snay现场采集的铁斧进行了冶金分析，结果表明它是由柬埔寨西部马德望地区开采的铁矿石制成的;在泰国，我们分析了在泰国中部和东北部的铁冶炼场和铁矿中采集的铁渣和铁矿石。根据分析结果，我们可以推测他们从泰国中部的赤铁矿中冶炼铁，并从泰国东北部一些缺乏铁矿石和砂铁的地区的铁结核中冶炼铁。在铜及青铜方面，我们于泰国中部的Khao Thap Kwai铜矿及Non Pha阿威铜冶炼场，以及泰国东北部的Phu Lon铜冶炼场进行实地调查。在泰国中部、北部和东北部的遗址中采集了大量的铜矿石、铜渣和青铜器样品。我们对它们进行了金相分析。对东南亚最早使用的青铜器的铅同位素分析结果表明，他们使用不同矿山的不同铜矿石冶炼铜，泰国东北部富龙的铜和铜矿石被用来制作Ban Don Phlong遗址发现的青铜饰品和Sukhotai和Don Tan发现的青铜鼓。在越南和老挝，我们收集了铸造青铜器的模具样品，铜戟铜鼓。在我们的调查期间，我们在老挝检查的Heger 1型鼓与在老挝和湄公河流域发现的鼓是同一类型的。他们有巨大的身体和由飞鸟和鸟人的复数带装饰的鼓室。

By our field surveys in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos in the Mekong Basin, we conducted archaeological research on the site of metal working and the iron and copper mines to collect the samples and the archaeological information on the metal resources and the use of metal in the area above mentioned from 2002 to 2006. We also made metallurgical analysis of the metal and ore samples.The metallurgical analysis of the iron ax we collected at Snay site, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia showed that it was made from the iron ore mined in Battambon area, west Cambodia.In Thailand, we analyzed the iron slag and the iron ore collected at the iron smelting sites and the iron mines in central and northeast Thailand. We can suppose that they smelted iron from hematite in central Thailand, and from iron nodules in some areas lacking of iron ore nor sand iron in northeast Thailand according to the result of the analysis. On copper and bronze, we carried field surveys at Khao Thap Kwai copper mine and Non Pha Wai copper smelting site in central Thailand, and Phu Lon copper smelting site in northeast Thailand. A lot of samples of copper ore, copper slag and bronze artifacts were collected at the sites of central, north and northeast Thailand. We operated the metallurgical analysis of them. The results of lead isotope analysis of the firstly operated in Southeast Asia, made clear that they smelted copper by using different copper ores from different mines, and that the copper and copper ore from Phu Long in northeast Thailand were used to make the bronze ornaments found at Ban Don Phlong site and the bronze drums found in Sukhotai and Don Tan.In Vietnam and Laos, we collected the samples of molds for casting bronzes, bronze halberds and bronze drums. The Heger 1 type drums we examined I Laos during our survey are the same type as the drums found in Laos and the Mekong Basin. They have big bodies and the tympanons decorated by plural belts of flying birds and birdmen.