[Chemical Analysis of Ancient Glass Beads from Shirenzigou Sites in Balikun County, Xinjiang].

Balikun County is located in the Hami region of eastern Xinjiang which is the junction point connecting central China and northern Xinjiang, Shirenzigou sites in the Balikun County was a great nomadic tribe settlement in the eastern Tianshan Mountains. The glass beads excavated from the tomb of M011 in the Shirenzigou site and the tomb of M1 in the Xigou site, which can be dated back to late Warring States to the early West Han dynasty (3rd century B.C—1st century B.C). To understand the provenance of these glass beads, the chemical composition of these glass beads were analyzed through the examinations of LA-ICP-AES and LRS. The results showed that the glass beads from the Xigou site were all Na2O-CaO-SiO2 system; with plant ash as flux，the lead antimonite were used as opacifying agents of seven green glass beads. Meanwhile, the glass beads from the Shirenzigou site were PbO-BaO- SiO2 system，the lead were used as flux. Compared with the contemporaneous glass beads，the result illustrated that the chemical composition of glass beads from the Xigou site were different from the Egyptian or Mesopotamian Na2O-CaO-SiO2 glass，it was highly plausible that the glass beads were manufactured in the central Asia or Xinjiang region;while the chemical composition of glass beads from the Shirenzigou site were relatively centralized, which showed they were manufactured from the same place，the glass beads from the Shirenzigou site were imported from the central region of China. The study confirmed that the Balikun was an important place for the communication of material culture between the East and the West; meanwhile the nomadic people played a significant role for the spread and communication of glass beads.