Longquan celadon: a quantified archaeological analysis of a pan-Indian Ocean industry of the 12th to 15th centuries

Zhang, Ran; Kennet, Derek; Brown, Peter; Song, Xiaohang; Guangyao, Wang; Zhai, Yi; Mingjun, Wu

Abstract

This paper examines the Longquan celadon industry, located in Zhejiang province in China, which flourished mainly between the Southern Song and early Ming dynasties (12th to 15th century). The products of this industry are found on archaeological sites from across China and the Indian Ocean. This paper attempts a quantified analysis of the development of the industry based on archaeological data, focussing on four aspects: production, domestic consumption, overseas consumption and, to a lesser degree, workshop organisation. Although much of the data is still, in many ways, problematic, and many of the conclusions drawn are necessarily tentative, it is possible to demonstrate the value and timeliness of the approach by charting the overall development of this industry and by arguing that the close integration of the four aspects examined indicates that the Longquan celadon industry was an industry of considerable economic significance across much of the Indian Ocean.

Citation

Zhang, R., Kennet, D., Brown, P., Song, X., Guangyao, W., Zhai, Y., & Mingjun, W. (2023). Longquan celadon: a quantified archaeological analysis of a pan-Indian Ocean industry of the 12th to 15th centuries. World Archaeology, https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2023.2216183

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 16, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jun 12, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: May 18, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 14, 2023
• Journal: World Archaeology
• Print ISSN: 0043-8243
• Electronic ISSN: 1470-1375
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2023.2216183
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1174698