Experimental Archaeological Research on Reconstructing Shang-Zhou Clay Molds

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Craft and Technology: Knowledge of the Ancient Chinese Artisans" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This study reconstructed manufacturing technologies of Chinese bronze artifacts by performing a "contrastive manufacturing experiment." This approach called for creating identical casting figures using several manufacturing processes and conditions. One factor contributing to the appearance and development of Shang-Zhou Bronze artifacts is the existence of high quality mold soil in China. We conducted a contrastive casting experiment that was aimed at comparing the function of 'stripe-shaped' patterns found at the bottom of Shang-western Zhou bronze vessels by using a single layer structure mold with high temperature firing. The mold used differed from those in traditional Japanese casting. As a result of casting experiment, stripe-shaped engraved lines on mold resulted in "U-shaped" lines on casting bronze surface. In this presentation we discuss the reasons for this phenomenon.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• Craft and Technology: Knowledge of the Ancient Chinese Artisans

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24080