Museum of Fufeng County

A new lot of bronze vessels of Shang and Zhou Dynasties discovered in Fufeng county,Shaanxi province   (3)

    The Fufeng county has disclosed her important bronze vessels many times since the first discovery of bronze of the beginning of Han Dynasty, On October 15, 2006, villagers of 5^th group of Hongwei village of this county dug out again a tomb of Shang – Zhou period, when they were taking soil. Totally 18 pieces (groups) of bronze ritual vessels, weapons, chariots and horses were discovered in the tomb and such vessels are quite similar in style to those of the late Shang dynasty up to the earlier western Zhou period. Especially, several bronzes with inscription have more formative features as the Shang’s bronze wares. The discovery of such data undoubtedly reflects the degree of the dead, also embodies the mutual interchange between the Shang and Zhou’s cultures at the last stage of Shang dynasty. In combination with the state of a few tombs and hoards as discovered in the southern plain of Fufeng, and with the case of Bei Lu site, a largest pro-Zhou cultural site near the county, these unearthed vessels should surely be significant to the research of the county – wide cultural distribution during the last Shang and the earliest Zhou dynasties.

 

Wang Yonggang   Cui Fengguang  &  Li Yanli

Bronze vessels of the late Shang Dynasty unearthed in Ganquan county, Shaanxi province   (11)

A tomb of the late Shang Dynasty was unearthed in June, 2005 at Yanjiagou village of Ganquan County, Shaanxi province. The unearthed 57 pieces of bronze ritual and weapon vessels contain typical northern bronze wares such as bell-head swords / stilettons and three axe – hole knifes. Also contained were 2 pieces of bronze horses, exact in sculpt and extractive in casting, with the features of Equus przewalski, being the earliest circular carving horse as found out in our county.

The Yanjiagou Shang – Dynasty Tomb was the first – discovered Shang tomb over the upper reaches of Louhe river valley and the bronze wares found most in quantity up to data in the northern Shaanxi. Especially, it is very infrequent that there came forth a kind of vessels of four tripod cooking vessels (with 2 loop handles) assembled with five Gui (a round – mouthed food vessel with 2 handles), subject to further research. This group of bronzes have their feature basically consistent with those of late Shang bronzes unearthed both in North Shaanxi and the Northwest Shanxi, belonging to the Lijiaya cultural System. This indicates that such culture had, no later than the late Shang Dynasty, come into the upper reaches of Luohe river valley, the southern part of the North Shaanxi province.

 

Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology

2002 Annual Brief report on Excavation of Buildings site at the Yuntang and Qizhen villages of Fufeng county, Shaanxi Province   (23)

 

Liu Rui

A Research on the Buildings of Zhou Dynasty as discovered at Yuntang & Qizhen of Fufeng county, Shaanxi province   (39)

 

Li Yingjong   Lang Junyan  &  Bai Bin

Dactylographic Analysis in the Palm’s Moulage on the Decorated Bricks of Han Dynasty unearthed from Guangyuan and Mianyang, Sichuan province   (64)

    Totally 84 decorated bricks with palms’ moulage of Eastern Han Dynasty, as unearthed from Zhaohua County of Guangyuan, and Zitong County of Mianyang, were collected in the Sichuan Fine Arts Museum of Han Pottery between 1999 and 2003. In the past, such a palm moulage was usually regarded as a decoration pattern, or what the brick – maker unconsciously left when they made and produced bricks. Using the means and techniques of the dactylography and trace examination, the authors discuss the sex, age, occupation characteristic and other questions reflected in the above – mentioned special tomb bricks. Of the 70 clear palm – prints as identified in the decorated bricks, 50 samples are males, 19 samples are females, and one sample remains obscure; 7 samples are children around ten years old, 21samples are youths under 15 years old, and 42 samples are adults; only 10samples are handcraft workers or crick – makers, so it can be said that rather a part of individuals are not physical labors. The decorated bricks found in Mianyang members of the dead. However, most of them are adult males in the decorated bricks found in Guangyuan, it means that main partners are probably the colleagues and subordinates, or the male family members of the dead.