The History of Salt Production Along the Upper Yangzi River-from the Eastern Part of Chongqing Municipality to the Three Gorges-as Perceived Through Archaeological Discoveries

Resum 

L’article presenta un projecte internacional iniciat el 1999 entre la Universitat de Pequín i UCLA que va posar en marxa l’arqueologia de la sal a la Xina, centrant-se sobretot a l’alta conca del Iangtsé. El nucli de l’estudi és el jaciment de Zhongba, on una seqüència de 12,5 m de potència estratigràfica documenta una producció especialitzada de sal des del Neolític final fins a època moderna, amb fosses arrebossades de fang, tallers, forns i vaixella ceràmica específica. L’autor defineix quatre fases tècniques principals, que van des de grans vasques apuntades i forns de decocció fins a l’ús generalitzat de calderes de ferro, i relaciona els canvis formals de la ceràmica amb transformacions en el sistema productiu i el consum de combustible. El treball compara Zhongba amb altres centres xinesos i amb tallers de sal prehistòrics o etnogràfics d’Europa, Àfrica, Vietnam o Mèxic per demostrar patrons comuns de “briquetage”. A més, recull noves troballes en altres comtats de les Tres Gorges (Wushan, Fengjie, Yunyang, Zhong Xian, Fengdu), on també es documenten fonts salades, pous, forns i formes ceràmiques associades a la producció de sal. En conjunt, l’article argumenta que la indústria de la sal —amb més de 4.500 anys de continuïtat— va ser clau per a l’evolució social, econòmica i política de la regió, i planteja nombroses qüestions obertes sobre organització del treball, comerç i impacte ambiental que reclamen més investigació.

Abstract

The article reports on an international project launched in 1999 by Peking University and UCLA that effectively founded “salt archaeology” in China, focusing on the upper Yangzi, especially the Three Gorges. Its core case study is the site of Zhongba, where a 12.5 m cultural sequence reveals specialized salt production from the late Neolithic to the Qing, documented by mud-plastered pits and basins, workshops, furnaces and highly standardized ceramic vessels. The author distinguishes four main technological stages, from large pointed vats and brine-boiling furnaces to iron cauldrons, linking ceramic change to shifts in production methods and fuel use. Zhongba is then compared with prehistoric and ethnographic salt-making sites in Europe, Africa, Vietnam and Mexico to show shared patterns of briquetage and waste accumulation. The article also synthesizes new discoveries from other counties in the Three Gorges region (Wushan, Fengjie, Yunyang, Zhong Xian, Fengdu), where brine springs, wells, furnaces and characteristic pottery likewise attest to long-lived salt industries. Overall, it argues that more than 4,500 years of continuous salt production underpinned regional social, economic and political development, and it closes by highlighting open questions about labour organization, trade networks and environmental impact that future research must address.

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