The story of the "Qiulai" qin unraveled by radiocarbon dating, Chinese inscriptions and material characterization
An ancient table zither qin, an emblematic stringed instrument of traditional Chinese music, has been rediscovered in the museum collection of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (inv.4224, CNAM collection), Paris. This instrument named “Qiulai” qin, whose origin is poorly documented, can claim to be one of the oldest qin preserved in European collections; its state of conservation is exceptional. A thorough examination was carried out based on an innovative approach combining museum expertise, material characterization analyses (optical microscopy, VIS/IR/UV imaging, X-ray fluorescence, SEM–EDS, Raman) and advanced radiocarbon dating technology (MICADAS).
Figure 1: The Chinese zither or qin from the CNAM collection (inv.n°04224) (dimensions: 1322 x 237 x 65 mm). The silk strings were strung in 2018 at the Musée de la musique, Paris.
Our results highlight the great coherence with the traditional manufacturing practices mentioned in early Qing dynasty qin treatises and poems, in particular the collection of materials with highly symbolic meanings referring to the qin sound, nature and the universe. The reuse of resinous wood of the Taxus family from a building such as a temple has been demonstrated. The ash layer contains bone black, crushed malachite and residues of silica, ochres, potassium and magnesium aluminosilicates. Our study confirms the antiquity of the "Qiulai" qin in Europe by indicating that it was most likely made in the small [1659–1699] interval of about 30 years at the turn of the eighteenth century.
Figure 2: Calibrated 14C ages of the "Qiulai" qin. The probability distribution diagrams of: a sub-samples of the black lacquer Q5-2; b wooden samples of the back side of the foot Q1, the pillar Q2, the foot Q3 and the wood support under the lacquer Q5-1 with their respective Bayesian modeling combination in black, and the upper diagram in blue of the combination of all wooden parts; c sub-sample of the upper lacquer in red Q5-3 and sub-samples of the silk string in blue Q4 with their respective Bayesian modeling combination in black, and the upper diagram in black of the combination of the red lacquer and the silk string parts taking into account the event of the entry of the qin in the CNAM collection prior to 1849
24.0 kyr cal BP stone artefact from Vale da Pedra Furada, Piauí, Brazil: Techno-functional analysis
Current archaeological paradigm proposes that the first peopling of the Americas does not exceed the Last Glacial Maximum period. In this context, the acceptance of the anthropogenic character of the earliest stone artefacts generally rests on the presence of projectile points considered no more as typocentric but as typognomonic, since it allows, by itself, to certify the human character of the other associated artefacts. In other words, without this presence, nothing is certain. Archaeological research at Piauí (Brazil) attests to a Pleistocene human presence between 41 and 14 cal kBP, without any record of lithic projectile points. Here, we report the discovery and interpretation of an unusual stone artefact in the Vale da Pedra Furada site, in a context dating back to 24 cal kBP. The knapping stigmata and macroscopic use-wear traces reveal a conception centered on the configuration of double bevels and the production in the same specimen of at least two successive artefacts with probably different functions. This piece unambiguously presents an anthropic character and reveals a technical novelty during the Pleistocene occupation of South America.
Eric Boëda, Marcos Ramos, Antonio Pérez, Christine Hatté, Christelle Lahaye, Mario Pino, David Hérisson, Ignacio Clemente-Conte, Michel Fontugne, Guillaume Guérin, Ximena Villagran, Janaina C. Santos, Lucas Costa, Lucie Germond, Nelson Eric Ahmed-Delacroix, Amelie Da Costa, Carolina Borges, Sirley Hoeltz, Gisele Felice, María Gluchy, Grégoire van Havre, Christophe Griggo, Livia Lucas, Iderlan de Souza, Sibeli Viana, André Strauss, Jennifer Kerner, Niède Guidon, 2021. 24.0 kyr cal BP stone artefact from Vale da Pedra Furada, Piauí, Brazil: Techno-functional analysis. PlosOne, 16 (3): e0247965– doi: 10.1371/journalpone.0247965
Figure: Vale da Pedra Furada, stratigraphic profile and synthetic stratigraphic interpretation. The green star marks the exact position of artefact here analysed within C7γa layer. (�) OSL date corresponding to C10 in a different sector than the rest of the stratigraphic profile. Artefacts are out of scale.