It is amazing to find ancient handmade gold in central China.
This golden funeral mask was found in the tomb of an ancient Shang Dynasty nobleman. It is believed to have a history of more than 3,000
A gold funeral mask was found in the tomb of an ancient noble in Zhengzhou City, central China, which is believed to have a history of more than 3,000 years.
This is one of the oldest goldware found in central China, as contemporary treasures are often made of bronze and jade, which raises questions about its possible connection to other early Chinese countries where gold is more common.
This gold mask is 7.2 inches long (18.3 cm) and 5.7 inches wide (14.5 cm) enough to cover the entire face of an adult. It weighs about 1.4 ounces (40 grams).
The golden mask may symbolize the deceased's possession of an "immortal gold body", which is likely to keep the soul of the deceased intact.
On September 16, government archaeologists announced the discovery at a press conference in Beijing. The discoveries of three other ancient Chinese archaeological sites were also announced at the press conference, but this golden mask is arguably the most eye-catching.
The newly discovered tomb of the nobles can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty, which ruled the Yellow River basin from about 1600 BC to 1046 BC, and is the earliest dynasty on record in China.
Mausoleum covers an area of more than 108,000 square feet (10,000 square meters) and contains more than 200 other artifacts, including ornate objects of bronze and jade, such as daggers, axes, wine vessels, pipes and goblets. Archaeologists have also discovered coins made of turquoise-studded plaques and shells.
Ancient Gold
The newly discovered Zhengzhou ancient tomb is an important discovery in the study of tomb rituals in the Shang Dynasty, and it may even provide new insights into the study of the origins of Chinese civilization.
This newly discovered funeral mask comes from an ancient tomb in Zhengzhou, Henan, and is older than the golden funeral mask found at the archaeological site of , Sanxingdui site in southwestern China last year.
Traditionally, the history of Shu Kingdom located in the southwest was later than that of the Shang Dynasty in central China. But the two countries may exist at the same time, and archaeologists hope to establish a connection between them.
Sanxingdui face has detailed facial features, but archaeologists say it is attached to a wooden stake or mannequin, not a real corpse. Such masks and other golden objects are relatively common at Sanxingdui site, but are rarely seen in Shang Dynasty sites.
However, it is not clear whether the young Sanxingdui mask has any connection with the newly discovered Shangmask. Although this golden mask is older than unearthed at the Sanxingdui site, more evidence and more archaeological discoveries are still needed to confirm the direct connection between the Mall Ruins and the Sanxingdui site.
Early Chinese
The ritual system of China's Bronze Age was mainly dominated by ritual objects made of jade and bronze. This tradition was established in the Shang Dynasty, when there was a widespread industrial production of these objects.
However, gold and silver are related to nomadic cultures on the grasslands, such as those in Central Asia, northwestern China and Mongolia.
discovering the golden mask in such an early and important context in Zhengzhou raises many interesting questions. Where did these raw gold come from? Why did the tomb owner choose gold ware to be buried with him, while other high-level elites only chose bronze and jade ware?
One of the possibility is that the amount of gold found in Panlong City is relatively small. Panlong City is an important site of the Shang Dynasty. It is located near the modern city of Wuhan and supplies copper and tin, which is likely to be the source of lead in ancient Zhengzhou. Panlong City is an important site of the Shang Dynasty, and local craftsmen processed the gold with the techniques they used to process other metals.
Another possibility is that these golds are brought from further afield as a foreign metal, which may indicate that there is a trade network between Shang Dynasty , the Yellow River Basin and gold-producing areas (such as the Yangtze River basin further south).
The Shang Dynasty archaeological sites near Zhengzhou are rarely excavated because most of the Shang Dynasty sites are located above a modern big city.
