The research on the history of refining technology of gold and silver in Japan based on experimental verification of "cupellation"

这项研究的目的是从实验上验证提纯金银的圣杯工艺，并确认其在日本的历史。按年代顺序揭示金属生产的过程在日本科技史上占有重要地位，但由于文献资料特别是古代文献很少，依靠旧文献记录的传统方法很难获得真实的图像。本研究的特点是建立在对考古遗址中新出土的金属制品进行科学考察的基础上。用铅提纯金银的技术通常被认为是“杯状”。在岩上银山银矿遗址，对出土文物进行了科学调查。更详细的杯状系统也得到了实验验证。证实了火花炉的形式和材料有一个时间顺序的变化。到目前为止，杯饰技术被认为是在1533年被输送到岩上银山银矿的。本研究考察了7世纪下半叶在日本古代最高等级的生产地之一的奈良县明日香遗址用铅提纯金银的技术是否能够实现。它是一种技术，可以说这是所谓的杯状的原型。这一事实非常重要，因为这是改写日本科技史的重大成果。此外，从十五世纪下半叶到十六世纪上半叶，山梨县的凯金矿集团也有可能采用类似的技术。因此，本研究可能有助于从经验上厘清我国“丘比丘”的技术谱系。

The purpose of this research is to verify experimentally the process of cupellation, in which gold and silver is purified, and to confirm its history in Japan. To reveal the process of metal production chronologically is very important in the history of technology in Japan ; but, it is too difficult for a conventional approach which depends on old documents and records to gain the real image, because there are few documents especially in the ancient time. It is the feature of this research that the research is based on the scientific investigation to the newly excavated objects in the archaeological site concerning to metal productions. The technology purifying gold and silver with lead is, in general, recognized as "cupellation". In the Iwami Ginzan silver mine site, the excavated objects as to cupellation were scientifically investigated. The more-detailed cupellation system was also experimentally verified. It was confirmed that there was a chronological change in the forms and materials of furnaces for cupellation. Up to now, the technology of cupellation has been assumed to have been conveyed to the Iwami Ginzan silver mine in 1533. In this research, it was examined that the technology purifying gold and silver with lead in the latter half of the seventh century in the Asuka-Ike site in Nara Prefecture, which was one of the highest class production sites in ancient Japan, had been able to be done. It is a technology that can say that this is a prototype of so-called cupellation. This fact is important as a big result that rewrites the history of the science and technology in Japan. Moreover, the possibility that a similar technology had been being done from the latter half of the fifteenth century to the first half of the sixteenth century by the group of the Kai gold mines in Yamanashi Prefecture was found. Thus, it is thought that it was possible to contribute to clarifying a technical genealogy of "Cupellation" in our country empirically by this research.