Potential of Sr isotopic analysis in ceramic provenance studies: Characterisation of Chinese stonewares Bao-Ping Li a, * , Jian-Xin Zhao a , Alan Greig a , Kenneth D. Collerson a , Zhen-Xi Zhuo b , Yue-Xin Feng a a Advanced Centre for Queensland University Isotope Research Excellence (ACQUIRE), University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia b Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Xi’an 710054, China Received 21 September 2004; received in revised form 27 May 2005 Available online 11 July 2005 Abstract We compare the trace element and Sr isotopic compositions of stoneware bodies made in Yaozhou and Jizhou to characterise these Chinese archaeological ceramics and examine the potential of Sr isotopes in provenance studies. Ele- ment concentrations determined by ICP-MS achieve distinct characterisation for Jizhou samples due to their restricted variation, yet had limited success with Yaozhou wares because of their large variability. In contrast, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios in YaozhousampleshaveaverysmallvariationandareallsignificantlylowerthanthoseofJizhousamples,whichshowa large variation and cannot be well characterised with Sr isotopes. Geochemical interpretation reveals that 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratioswillhavegreaterpotentialtocharacteriseceramicsmadeoflowRb/Srmaterialssuchaskaolinclay,yetwillshow larger variations in ceramics made of high Rb/Sr materials such as porcelain stone. Ó 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. PACS: 91.65.Nd; 32.10.B; 82.80.K; 01.75.+m Keywords: TIMS; Sr isotopic ratio; ICP-MS; Trace elements; Chinese archaeological ceramics; Provenance 1. Introduction The provenance of archaeological ceramics is important for studying ancient trade and many other issues. Trace element analysis has proved to be an effective method to achieve this end by chemically characterising ceramics made in 0168-583X/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2005.06.003 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 421 892645; fax: +61 7 3365 1277. E-mail address: b.li@uq.edu.au (B.-P. Li). Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 240 (2005) 726–732 www.elsevier.com/locate/nimb