CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

Conjectural reconstruction
of the edifice above Tomb 5
at Xiaotun, Anyang, Henan
province. After Yang 1987,
140, fig. 18.
have been given to the deceased at the time of her funeral. Some may have been given to her
prior to her death or even confiscated booty. In any case, most of the vessels appear remarkably
consistent in design and style, testifying in all probability to the range and quality of bronze
production at the Anyang foundries. As a group, these vessels represent a cross section of the
royal bronze industry of the period, documenting the stylistic characteristics of a number of
vessel types, as well as varying approaches to decoration. Many vessels were made as constituents
of matched sets but vary slightly in dimension and weight, while still other types are
extremely unusual, perhaps even unique. All were cast using ceramic piece-molds that were
finished by individual detailing, the same technology already in evidence at Erlitou (see cat. 37).
The assemblage also demonstrates the character of ritual in Fu Hao's time and the relative
emphasis placed on offerings of wine (actually fermented grain), millet, and meat. While one
cannot deduce a strict code prescribing the composition of this ritual set, the Fu Hao assemblage
does suggest that the Zhou custom of graded perquisites tied to social or ritual status
developed from Shang norms. RT
1 Li Ji 1977 and Chang 1980 review the history of the Anyang
excavations.
2 The best overview of Anyang archaeology is Zhongguo
1994.
3 Zhongguo 19803. See also the review of these issues in
Thorp 1981-1982^
4 Zhongguo 1985 and Thorp 19883.
163 | TOMB 5 AT XIAOTUN