CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

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by one count, including cat. 6/ 1 ) has a broad forehead,
a flat cranium — interpreted by some as a
representation of a flat cap — and a braided pigtail
that extends down the back of the head and neck;
other types (to the extent published) apparently
lack the distinguishing hairstyle. (Some writers have
argued that the other types conceal the "hair" beneath
the headgear.) At least one other example
features a mask of applied gold leaf that covers the
entire face, except for the brows and eyes. Three of
the heads from the Sanxingdui pits (including cats.
66 and 68 2 ) may be distinguished as another type
on the basis of their rounded skulls. A curved line
separates forehead from cranium, and a notch centered
over the nose ridge must have held an object
in place over the front of the skull. On the back of
the skull, a raised band (resembling headgear of
some sort) hangs down between the ears. Mounted
to the back of the skull of cat. 68 is a curved, flaring
tube, open at both ends, intended perhaps to hold
an element of a headdress.
All the bronze heads have extensions at the
front and back of the neck that terminate in triangular
points. Seen from the side, the heads seem to
have been designed to be mounted onto a support
— possibly a torso of another material such as
stone, clay, or wood. Thus mounted, these heads
may have been bronze components of large statues
comparable to the standing figure. The contents
of the two pits (assuming a rough contemporaneity)
may have been part of a large ritual precinct or
temple, with more than fifty human images installed
as an ensemble. If the human heads and the standing
figure indeed constitute an ensemble, several
roles or statuses might have been implied by the
varied headgear; only one head bears headgear
matching that of the standing figure. How the
212 BRONZE ACE CHINA