REPORTS Chinese Science Bulletin Vol. 48 No. 12 June 2003 1219 Chinese Science Bulletin 2003 Vol. 48 No.12 1219ü1224 Application of ICP-MS trace element analysis in study of ancient Chinese ceramics LI Baoping, ZHAO Jianxin, Kenneth D. Collerson & Alan Greig Advanced Centre for Queensland University Isotope Research Excel- lence (ACQUIRE), Univ. of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia Correspondence should be addressed to Li Baoping (e-mail: b.li@ earth.uq.edu.au Abstract Thirty-nine trace elements of the Song-Yuan period (960ü1368 AD) porcelain bodies from Cizhou, Jizhou and Longquanwu kilns were analyzed with ICP-MS, a tech- nique rarely used in Chinese archaeometry, to investigate its potential application in such studies. Trace element composi- tions clearly reflect the distinctive raw materials and their mineralogy at the three kilns and allow their products to be distinguished. Significant chemical variations are also ob- served between Yuan and Song-Jing dynasties samples from Cizhou as well as fine and coarse porcelain bodies from Longquanwu. In Cizhou, porcelains of better quality which imitate the famous Ding kiln have trace element features distinctive from ordinary Cizhou products, that indicates geochemically distinctive raw materials were used and which possibly also underwent extra refining prior to use. The dis- tinct trace element features of different kilns and the various types of porcelains from an individual kiln can be inter- preted from a geochemical perspective. ICP-MS can provide a large amount of valuable information about ancient Chi- nese ceramics as it is capable of analyzing >40 elements with a typical of precision < 2%. Keywords: Cizhou kiln, Jizhou kiln, Longquanwu kiln, Ding kiln, ancient ceramics, Chinese Song-Yuan period, trace elements, ICP-MS. DOI: 10.1360/02wb0121 Chemical analysis plays a significant role in the study of ancient ceramics [1,2] . Most ancient Chinese kilns used clays mined from the local areas and differences in the geochemistry and mineralogy of these raw materials may be expected. The chemical composition of ceramics may also be influenced by production techniques, such as processing by washing and mixing of different sorts of raw materials. These may also vary from kiln to kiln and even change over time. Thus the raw materials and pro- duction techniques used by a kiln may give its finished products a characteristic chemical signature allowing their provenance and possibly even their age to be deter- mined [3,4] . Among the analytical methods commonly used for ancient Chinese ceramics are neutron activation analysis (NAA) [5] , X-ray fluorescence (XRF) [6] , and proton- induced X-ray emission (PIXE) [7] . Compared with other techniques, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrome- try (ICP-MS) is relatively new and particularly advanta- geous in trace element analysis. It is capable of simulta- neously and rapidly analysing over 40 elements with high precision and accuracy, and with excellent detection limits. Only a small amount of sample is required (10ü100 mg) for solution analysis, and sample preparation is relatively simple [8] . It is being applied more commonly in western countries for the study of ancient ceramics [9] , yet has only very rarely been used in Chinese archaeometric research [10] . As the trace element compositions of raw materials are likely to be more variable than their major elements, the large number of trace elements that can be determined by ICP-MS increases the likelihood of finding distinctive chemical signatures in kiln products. Here we demonstrate this advantage in a study of ceramics produced at three ancient Chinese kilns. 1 Samples We have analysed the bodies of 58 porcelain shards from Jizhou, Cizhou and Longquanwu kilns, which were very important producers of white and black porcelains during the Chinese Song-Yuan period (960ü1368 AD). 11 shards are from Jizhou kiln (located in Ji’an City, Jiangxi Province) and have external black glaze [11] . 24 white glazed shards are from Lonquanwu kiln (located in Mentougou, Beijing, Hebei Province) and these can be classified as either coarse or fine according to the grain size, porosity and number of visible quartz grains of the porcelain bodies [12,13] . 23 Cizhou shards are from the Guantai production centre in Cixian County, Hebei Prov- ince. These have either white or black external glazing. Cizhou porcelains from Guantai are divided into four pe- riods based on archaeological-stratigraphic and morphological information [14] . The four periods are approximately equivalent with the early and mid Northern Song Dynasty, late Northern Song to early Jin Dynasty, mid to late Jin Dynasty, and Yuan Dynasty, respectively. 5 shards are from periods 1 and 4, 10 from period 2 and 3 from period 3. During the Song-Yuan period porcelains from dif- ferent kilns often look similar due to a tendency to imitate products from other kilns, thus making it difficult to iden- tify their place of origin. For example, the bodies of most Cizhou porcelains are thick, coarse and dark in colour, and are ordinary goods for a popular market. However, among Cizhou products is a specific type of porcelain of exqui- site workmanship whose bodies are overall thinner and finer and, for those covered with a white glaze, also much whiter than the bodies of the ordinary Cizhou products. These are imitations of the products of the contemporary Ding kiln in Quyang County, Hebei Province which are famous for their exquisite workmanship and thin, fine and white porcelain bodies [15] . Among our analysed Cizhou