Investigation of incising techniques on jades from the Fuhao tomb in Yinxu

Summary

During the Shang dynasty，the remarkable tradition of working jades extends back to the Neolithic period. However, the duplicate or symmetrical design incised on jades is the major artistic style at that stage. The present study is based on examination of molds of tool marks on several jades unearthed from the Fuhao tomb in Yinxu by scanning electron microscopy. Our observations suggest that rotary incising wheels charged with abrasive (which is called Jieyu sand in ancient China) were used for incising the fine features，and hand-held tools were still being occasionally used in some details. In addition, no evidence was found for rotary sawing tools on the jades.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Human Lifestyle and Adaptation in Prehistoric China

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16732