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U.S.A."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>The origin of Bronze Age tin is one of the most compelling mysteries in global archaeology. A number of studies were carried out to identify fingerprints to determine tin sources, but all failed to suit the contexts of Bronze Age China. This study provides the first comprehensive provenance analysis of the tin ore utilized during the Shang dynasty of China. Using U\u2013Pb dating analysis on cassiterite grains surviving in various contexts including primary smelting site, metal resource hoard, and bronze casting workshop, this study demonstrates that cassiterite materials from the Great Hinggan Range polymetallic belt, Northeast China, were transported to the Middle Huai River region over 1,500 km to the south for tin bronze production during the Middle Shang period. This finding reveals a long-distance, continental-scale metal circulation system comparable to contemporaneous tin supply networks across the world, extending the concept of \u201cbronzization\u201d, the Bronze Age as premodern globalization, into East Asia. It also establishes a methodological framework for resolving the tin provenance questions of Bronze Age China and beyond.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2625071123","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T19:13:20Z","timestamp":1790018000000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Cassiterite U\u2013Pb geochronology: A framework for tin provenance in the Bronze Age world"],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"123","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2821-6543","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhenfei","family":"Sun","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02egmk993","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Archaeomaterials and Conservation, University of Science and Technology Beijing","place":["Beijing, China"]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02v51f717","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaolin","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/033vjfk17","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of History, Wuhan University","place":["Wuhan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2717-5524","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chenyuan","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02egmk993","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Archaeomaterials and Conservation, University of Science and Technology Beijing","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yanxiang","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02egmk993","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Archaeomaterials and Conservation, University of Science and Technology Beijing","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lixin","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University","place":["Xi\u2019an, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Botao","family":"Cai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Anhui Provincial Institute of Archaeology","place":["Hefei, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianli","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02v51f717","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wei","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04gcegc37","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences","place":["Wuhan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8298-8889","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Richen","family":"Zhong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Resources and Safety Engineering, University of Science and Technology","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9250-4561","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Siran","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02egmk993","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Archaeomaterials and Conservation, University of Science and Technology Beijing","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"341","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_1_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1515\/pz-2016-0005"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_2","first-page":"51","volume-title":"Towards a History of Archaeology","author":"Rodden J.","year":"1981","unstructured":"J. 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