Handheld X-ray fluorescence analysis of pottery unearthed from the site of Xinjie in Shaanxi Province of Northern China

Chemical compositional analysis, which can reveal elemental variations of archaeological pottery, provides clues to understanding the production and use of pottery over time at specific loci. This paper presents a chemical composition analysis of pottery of the Late Yangshao (c. 5300–5000 cal BP) and Early Longshan (c. 4900–4400 cal BP) periods from the site of Xinjie in Lantian City, Shaanxi Province, northern China. Xinjie is one of the few sites that preserve material evidence for the Late Yangshao—Early Longshan transition in the Guanzhong Basin. Multivariate statistical analysis of the semi-quantitative compositional data obtained in situ using a Thermo Fisher Niton handheld X-ray fluorescence analyzer suggests that both local and exotic wares were consumed at the site and that external cultural influence was integrated into local pottery-making tradition. We discuss the production and use of pottery at Xinjie through additional lines of archaeological evidence and examine two possible sources of the Xinjie exotic wares—the white pottery. Although Xinjie white pottery shows a localized style and form, its production and use may owe their origins to the east (maybe originally in the Haidai region). We suggest that the Xinjie white pottery should be imitations instead of being imported as final products. Further analytical studies involving the application of well-established quantitative approaches to a larger sample size from representative sites would help evaluate our hypothesis (or other possibilities).