Natural Science in Archaeology

5.3 Non-Quartz Silicates and Minerals 107
Fig. 5.4 Shang Dynasty
nephrite jade artifact from
China
the hallmarks of Chinese culture, particularly of the Shang Period [second millennium
BCE]. From the tomb of Fu Hao at Anyang more than 590 jade carvings were
recovered. (Chang 1980) (Fig. 5.4)
The ancient Chinese acquired nephrite from Burma and Turkistan. The Chinese
word for their nephrite jade was yu-shih. Data on jadeite from Burma (Myanmar)
are provided by Htein and Naing (1995). These authors include information on the
chemical basis for the colors found in jade. Nephrite was employed for carvings,
decorative and ceremonial objects, personal ornaments, and gems. Nephrite was the
jade used in China from the Neolithic in the sixth millennium BCE through the Han
dynasty. (Wen and Jing 1996) The earliest jade artifact is from Liaoning Province.
Jing and Wen (1996 Fig. 1) have produced a map showing the studied Neolithic
sites and modern sources of nephrite in China.
A number of ancient Egyptian artifacts have tentatively been identified as nephrite.
The source is thought to be the Eastern Egyptian Desert (Lucas 1989). Neolithic
and Bronze Age nephrite axes have been found in Italy, France, and other parts of
Europe (D’Amico et al. 1995). The most prized stone of the precontact Maoris of
New Zealand was nephrite, used for axes, knives, and chisels.
As mentioned above, geologically there are two types of nephrite deposits: one
is associated with magnesian marbles and the other with serpentinized ultrabasic
rocks. There are suitable rocks for the formation of nephrite in the serpentinized
ultrabasic rocks in the western Balkans, including Bulgaria. Nephrite artifacts are
spread throughout the Neolithic and Eneolithic [circa 7000–4000 BCE] in southwestern
Bulgaria. These objects ar primarily small axes and chisels, ritual scepters,
and zoomorphic amulets (Kostov 2005e). For a summary of the archaeomineralogy
of nephrite jade during the Chalcolithic and Neolithic Periods in Bulgaria see
Kostov (2007). For Early Neolithic nephrite use in the production of small axes
from the Karanovo site in Bulgaria see Kostov (2005b). The nephrite deposits at
Jordanów Slaski, Poland are among the largest in Europe. They have been worked