New evidence of long-distance interaction across the Himalayas: Faience beads from Western Tibet

Abstract Faience beads have been excavated from the Gebusailu site in western Tibet and date back as far as the second half of the 2nd millennium BC. As the earliest faience found on the Tibetan Plateau so far, these beads provide important evidence for the cross-regional exchange in the pre-historic western Tibet. Randomly selected thirteen samples were analyzed by SR-μCT, EPMA and LA-ICP-MS. The CT slices suggested that the structure of the samples was formed on cylindrical core and glazed by cementation. The glaze recipes indicate the samples can be classified as soda-rich faience with pure copper ore, the scrap or oxidation product of the copper metal, as the possible colorant. Those beads were possibly imported from Egypt or somewhere impacted by the Egyptian faience production technology. This implies that the ethnic groups on the plateau or other regions already crossed the Himalayas and integrated into the treasure exchange network of Eurasia, making the decorative luxury commodities penetrate to the Tibetan Plateau in 3500 years ago.