Indicative Significance of Sr Content for Tracing the Origin of Tremolite Jade Materials Near Important Ancient Cultural Sites

In ancient cultural sites, nephrite artifacts made of tremolite are often believed to originate from Hetian, Xinjiang. However, recent discoveries of new tremolite jade deposits near these sites have raised doubts about the raw material sources of these artifacts. For example, jade artifacts from the Qijia Culture site may come from Golmud in Qinghai, while jade artifacts from the Hongshan Culture site might originate from Xiuyan, Liaoning. The jades from different locations have distinct "chemical fingerprints" due to variations in the host rocks of the deposits.In this study, for instance, tremolite jade from Golmud, Qinghai has a low magnesium content, while Hetian Yu from Xinjiang is rich in magnesium. By analyzing the chemical composition, the origins of gemstones can be inferred. The difference of strontium (Sr) content in tremolite jade, in particular, plays a significant role in identifying the origin. Among the four main sources, the Sr content in tremolite jade from Liyang (177-625 μg/g) is significantly higher than that of jade from other regions (usually below 100 μg/g). Therefore, Sr content is a crucial indicator for distinguishing tremolite jade from Liyang.