CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

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FIG. i. Jade arm ornament;
length 7.1 (2 3 A);
Lower Xiajiadian culture;
excavated in 1977 from
Tomb 659, Dadianzi,
Aohanqi, Inner Mongolia.
Adapted from Zhongguo
1996,172, fig. 82:2.
down on the right side of the abdomen overlapping
the braceletlike jade. 2 Four pairs of shallow openings
at the back of the plaque suggest that it was
attached to another object — although probably
not fabric or clothing, since such attachments commonly
have sharp edges and protrusions. Though
the object is often identified as a pendant, an alternative
hypothesis identifies its function as ceremonial
and relates it to the ritual fu oryue axes. 3 Its
conspicuous position on the body and its size (it is
largest jade in the burial) suggests that it surpassed
the other jades in importance.
The jade arm ornament (cat. 19) and a jade
bracelet were excavated in 1986 from Tomb 9, Locality
3. Originally reported to have been found on the
94 LATE PREHISTORIC CHINA