Journal of Archaeological Science (2002) 29, 135–144 doi:10.1006/jasc.2001.0699, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on Chemical Analyses of Xiong-nu Pottery: A Preliminary Study of Exchange and Trade on the Inner Asian Steppes Mark Hall* Archaeology Department, Niigata Prefectural Museum, Sekihara-cho 1, Gongendo 2247-2, Nagaoka 940-2035, Niigata Prefecture, Japan Sergei Minyaev† Institute of History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences, Dvortzovaja nab. 18, St Petersburg 191186, Russia (Received 13 September 2000, revised manuscript accepted 8 February 2001) While there have been studies on the trade and exchange between the Han Empire and Xiong-nu confederacy, the nature of the movement of goods within the Xiong-nu confederacy has yet to be addressed. The purpose of this study is to provide a starting point to remedy this lacuna. Pottery from six sites was chemically characterized by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF). Model-based clustering using the classification maximum-likelihood approach was used to find clusters in the principal component (PC) scores. The classification maximum-likelihood cluster analysis indicates that there are three spherical clusters of variable volume in the chemical data. The three clusters are interpreted as reflecting regional clay deposits. On the basis of the distribution patterns of the chemical groups, only a limited amount of pottery was moved across the territory controlled by Xiong-nu confederacy.  2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. Keywords: ALTAI, CLASSIFICATION MAXIMUM-LIKELIHOOD, ENERGY-DISPERSIVE X-RAY FLUORESCENCE (EDXRF), MODEL-BASED CLUSTERING, PRINCIPAL COMPONENT SCORES, TRANS-BAIKAL, XIONG-NU. Introduction T he term ‘‘Xiong-nu’’ is used both as a desig- nation for an ethnic group and a confederation of nomadic and sedentary peoples who resided on the Inner Asian steppes from the 3rd century  until the 2nd century  (Barfield, 1989: 32–84; Ishjamts, 1994; Minyaev, 1985, 1995; Yu ¨ , 1990). In the late 3rd century , the original ethnic group began a series of conquests throughout Inner Asia, forcing the various nomadic and sedentary peoples residing there to pay them tribute and become part of their tribal confederacy. The Xiong-nu confederacy was brought to an end in the late 1st century , but the term Xiong-nu is used in the Chinese annals as late as the 5th century . While Xiong-nu contacts with the Han Empire have been the focus of several art historical studies (see for example Trever, 1932; Umehara, 1960), the nature of contacts within their confederacy has yet to be addressed. The purpose of this study is to provide a starting point to remedy this situation. As has been demonstrated in numerous other studies, chemical studies of ceramics are essential in defining both inter- and intra-regional contacts between contemporary settlements (see for example Bishop, Rands & Holley, 1982; Jones, 1986; King et al., 1986; Lizee, et al., 1995; Neff, Bishop & Arnold, 1986). Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) was used in this study to deter- mine the minor and trace element chemistry of pottery sherds from six separate Xiong-nu sites. Principal component analysis and model-based clustering tech- niques were then used to identify compositional groups in the data set. Afterwards, the relationship between the compositional groups and site location was examined. Sites and archaeological materials The pottery analysed in this study came from both settlements and cemeteries dating to the Xiong-nu period (circa 2nd century  to 2nd century ). The locations of these sites are shown in Figure 1. Derstui is a Xiong-nu settlement and cemetery located in the *E-mail: hall@nbz.or.jp †E-mail: min@asia.iimc.spb.ru 135 0305–4403/02/020135+10 $35.00/0  2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.