Classroom Management Part IIStudent BehaviorWho d.docx

Classroom Management: Part II
Student BehaviorWho do you think is primarily responsible for
managing student behavior?What is the goal of a behavior
management system?What is the goal in handling misbehavior?
Your Answers?
Your answers to these questions help
explain your management style.
Teacher Power BasesTeachers operate out of one or more power
bases (Levin & Nolan, 2000)
Referent PowerWhen a teacher has referent power students
behave as the teacher wishes because they like the teacher as a
person. There are two requirements for the effective use of
referent power: teachers must perceive that the students like
them and teachers must communicate that they care about and
like the students.

Expert Power
When a teacher has expert power students
behave as the teacher wishes because they
view that teacher as someone who is good
and knowledgeable and who can help them
to learn. The student must believe the
teacher has both special knowledge and the
teaching skills to help them acquire that
knowledge.
Legitimate Power
The teacher who seeks to influence students
through legitimate power expects students
to behave appropriately because the teacher
has the legal and formal authority for
maintaining appropriate behavior in the
classroom. The teacher must demonstrate
through their behavior that they accept the
responsibilities as well as the power inherent
in the role of the teacher.
Reward/Coercive
Reward/ Coercive is based on the behavioral notions of
learning, they both foster teacher control over student
behavior and they are both governed by the same
principles of application. There are several requirements for
the effective use of this power base. The teacher must be
consistent in assigning and withholding rewards and
punishment. The teacher must ensure that students see
the connection between their behavior and the reward or

punishment. The rewards or punishments actually must be
perceived as rewards or punishment by the student.
Theories of Classroom Management
QuestionStudent- Directed
(The Guiding Model)Collaborative
(The Interacting Model)Teacher- Directed
(The Intervening Model)Primary responsibility for
management?Student JointTeacherGoal of management?Caring
community focus and self- directionRespectful relationships,
academic focusWell-organized efficient, academic focusPrimary
goal in handling misbehavior?Unmet need to be
exploredMinimize in group, pursue individuallyMinimize
disruption, redirect
What Theory Fits Your
Style of Management?
Student Directed
Collaborative

Teacher Directed
Why might a student misbehave?Unmet need?Academically
challenged?Don’t have the necessary skills to behave
appropriately?Teaching doesn’t engage students?
Student Needs
Students may “act out” if there is a need
that is not being met
Control Theory- GlasserMistaken Goals of Behavior-
DreikerHierarchy of Needs-Maslow
Control Theory
Individuals have needs to be met: Need to belongNeed for
powerNeed for funNeed for freedom
Mistaken Goals of Behavior
Attention- I belong only when I have your attention
Power- I belong only when I am winning, or at least when I
don’t let you win
Revenge- It hurts that I don’t belong, but at least I can hurt
back
Assumed Inadequacy- I give up. It is impossible to belong.
Hierarchy of NeedsPhysiological NeedsSafety

NeedsAffirmation NeedsEsteem NeedsSelf-Actualization Needs
Academic Challenges
What accommodations can be made for
students who are struggling academically?Modify the teaching
modeModify the teaching settingModify instructional
materialsModify home/school relations?Modify student’s
behaviorRequest consultationReferral for district services
Teaching Appropriate BehaviorsTeach student appropriate
behaviorsRole play scenarios and practice responsesModel
behaviors
Engaging InstructionIs the learning meaningful?Are you
teaching too long?Are students engaged?Are students’ learning
styles addressed?Do students need to move?
Teacher Communication SkillsBe direct and authentic, say what
you meanUse clear, direct language with off-task behaviorUse
words that invite cooperation and convey faith in students’
ability and intentionsFocus on observable words and actions

Teacher Communication SkillsKeep it simple and briefKnow
when to be silentMake sure you have students attention before
you proceedBe aware that body language, tone of voice and
other nonverbal expressions should be consistent with your
spoken words
Levels of Listening
(Larrivee, 2009)
passive listening in which the listener just listens without any
interaction with the speaker;
(2) an acknowledgment, which involves a response to indicate
the teacher is really listening;
(3) an invitation to talk, which is a deliberate encouragement to
speak;
(4) active listening, which involves teacher responses that
include additional interaction to more fully explore the meaning
of the ideas being expressed
Listening Skills
Larivee (2009)Silence. Remaining a silent listener allows the
person to express ideas and feelings. This is passive
listening.Nonverbal support. Nonverbal messages help
communicate that you are really paying attention. These include
nodding, smiling, or leaning forward. This is an
acknowledgment of what the person is saying.Encouragers.
Minimal verbal expressions also can offer acknowledgment of
what is being stated and serve as an encouragement to continue.

Expressions such as “Oh,” “I see,” and “Un‐huh” let the student
know to continue.Opening. A more deliberative invitation to
talk involves asking open‐ended, nonevaluative questions to
encourage students to talk more. Some examples are “Would
you like to tell me what happened?” “That's interesting. Want to
tell me more?”
Active Listening StrategiesReflecting. With reflecting, teachers
verbalize the feelings and attitudes that they perceive lie behind
the message (“You seem disappointed with your assignment.”
“Paige really irritates you when she acts like that.”). This
interaction often leads to a discussion about the origin of a
problem and can lead to a solution.Exploring. This strategy
calls for questioning in an open‐ended way to extend a student's
thinking and to expand a student's range of options. For
example, “Can you tell me more about… .?” “What's causing
you the most trouble?”Paraphrasing. Paraphrasing calls for
translating or feeding back to the student the essence of the
message the teacher just heard, but in a simpler, more concise
and precise way. In paraphrasing, you make sure that you are
clear about what the student said. It demonstrates understanding
of what was said and communicates that you care enough about
what the student said to get it right.
Active Listening StrategiesPerception checking. The purpose of
perception checking is to make sure you are interpreting what
the student said in the way it was intended. To do so, you pose a
question and ask for feedback. After a student describes an
incident, for example, the teacher might say, “I'm not sure I
understand. Was it Tyler's statement that made you mad?
Clarifying. Clarifying involves restating what the student has
said to clear up any confusion. Often it involves stating your

own confusion and asking for help to clarify your
understanding. For example, “Can we stop here? I really don't
understand what you mean. Can you tell me more?” “Earlier you
said...Now you seem to be saying…. I'm confused.
Arts asiatiques
The Moutuo Bronzes : New Perspectives on the Late Bronze
Age in
Sichuan
von Lothar Falkenhausen
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Falkenhausen Lothar. The Moutuo Bronzes : New Perspectives
on the Late Bronze Age in Sichuan. In: Arts asiatiques, tome
51, 1996. pp. 29-59;
doi : https://doi.org/10.3406/arasi.1996.1384
https://www.persee.fr/doc/arasi_0004-
3958_1996_num_51_1_1384
Fichier pdf généré le 21/04/2018
https://www.persee.fr
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3958_1996_num_51_1_1384
3958_1996_num_51_1_1384
https://www.persee.fr/authority/163154
https://doi.org/10.3406/arasi.1996.1384

3958_1996_num_51_1_1384
Résumé
Une centaine de bronzes de styles très divers ont été découverts
dans une tombe à cistes et dans trois
dépôts funéraires situés à Moutuo, dans le district de Mao
(Maoxian) au Sichuan. D'un caractère
hétérogène sans précédent, cet assemblage comprend 1) des
vases et des cloches provenant des
États de la Chine des Zhou — l'un d'eux, un tripode ding dans le
style de Chu, porte une inscription —
; 2) des objets provenant d'ateliers situés dans le bassin
du fleuve Bleu en dehors de la sphère
culturelle des Zhou ; 3) un nombre considérable d'armes de «
Ba-Shu » fabriquées dans le bassin du
Sichuan ; et 4) un ensemble composé d'armes et d'ornements
dont l'origine est difficile à préciser, mais
qui montrent des ressemblances particulières à la fois avec
des objets relevant des traditions
steppiques et avec des bronzes de Dian. L'ensemble de ces
bronzes permet de poser de nouvelles
questions quant au caractère de la « culture des tombes à
cistes » des montagnes du Sichuan
occidental à la fin de l'Âge du Bronze, et plus
généralement de s'interroger sur les échanges qui
s'établissaient avec des régions écartées, situées à la
périphérie de la Chine des Zhou.
Avant de poser des questions de portée plus large, il convient
d'établir la chronologie de tous ces
objets. Cette tâche soulève de nombreux problèmes, en partie
parce que la chronologie générale des
découvertes archéologiques du Sichuan qui est
communément acceptée de nos jours souffre de
graves lacunes et présente des contradictions. Comme, dans

l'assemblage de Moutuo, aucun vase ni
aucune cloche relevant de la sphère culturelle des Zhou ne
semble postérieur à la période des
Printemps et Automnes (770-481 avant J.-C), on peut penser
qu'il en est de même pour le reste du
mobilier, bien qu'il soit encore impossible de le définir sur le
plan archéologique dans le contexte du
bassin du Sichuan. Si cette hypothèse est correcte, il en résulte
que : 1) la datation sans distinction de
toutes les armes de « Ba-Shu » (et de tout contexte
archéologique associé à ce type d'armes)
ramenée à la période des Royaumes combattants (481-221 avant
J.-C.) ne tient plus aujourd'hui ; 2)
les objets difficiles à identifier sur le plan culturel à Moutuo
seraient représentatifs de la production
métallurgique du Sichuan occidental et formeraient un jalon, en
raison aussi bien de leur datation que
de la position géographique du site, dans la diffusion souvent
postulée — mais qui jusqu'à présent
n'avait pu être démontrée faute de sites — d'éléments culturels
de la steppe eurasiatique vers le
Yunnan au cours de l'Âge du Bronze. Ce phénomène, d'une
portée historique importante, annonce la
genèse de la culture de Dian.
Lothar von Falkenhausen
Unhersity of California, Los Angeles
Department of Art History
405Hilgard Aenue
Los Angeles, Ca. 90024-1417, USA
The Moutuo Bronzes :
New Perspectives

on the Late Bronze Age in Sichuan
The Late Bronze Age cemetery at Moutuo(1), Mao Xian(2), in
the Aba(3) Tibetan and Qiang(4) Autonomous District of
western Sichuan, has yielded the most startlingly heterogenous
archaeological assemblage in East Asia to-date1. A single tomb
and three caches at this site, all apparently interred within a
short span of time, contained more than 100 bronze objects of
different geographical origins, suggesting far-flung ties to
various parts of China, Inner Asia, and Southeast Asia (map 1).
These bronzes open a new perspective on the Late Bronze Age
(very roughly, in this region, 1000-100 BC) archaeological
chronologies and cultural processes of the Sichuan area, as well
as raising some general issues concerning the significance of
prestige goods in their specific local contexts.
Problems With the «Ba-Shu»(5)
Cultural Sequence
Sichuan, self-contained and geographically remote from
the dynastic centers of the early Chinese states, has only
recently come into focus as an area of importance to the study
of the Bronze Age. Archaeological work undertaken since the
middle of the century has identified indigenous regional
cultures that differ markedly, both from the Shang and Zhou
court traditions, and from other contemporary regional
bronze-producing cultures. Great interest has been aroused
especially by the spectacular and highly distinctive bronze
statues and ornaments from two sacrificial pits at Sanxing-
dui(6), Guanghan(7)-2 datable to the second half of the second
millennium BC — the time contemporary with the Shang
dynasty. While the statues and much of the utilitarian pottery
from the surrounding area are unparalleled elsewhere, other
kinds of objects found at Sanxingdui — bronze vessels, ritual

ceramics, and jades — do show links to contemporary or
slightly earlier Bronze Age cultures further to the east. It
appears probable that metropolitan Shang bronze-casting
technology, together with some awareness of Shang élite
culture and its paraphernalia, was introduced into the Sichuan
Basin during the Erligang(8) period {ca. 1550-1350 BC),
perhaps by way of some cultural intermediary in the Middle
Yangzi(9) and/or the Upper Han(10) river systems. These
vations were accommodated into a cultural milieu very distinct
from that of the Shang, and after the initial diffusion, local
developments followed along their own trajectories. It was
only after its conquest by Qin(11) in the late fourth century BC
that the Sichuan Basin was gradually assimilated to an
emerging unified Chinese culture.
Even before the Sanxingdui discoveries, sundry finds from
early Bronze Age sites in the Sichuan basin (formerly referred
to as the «Guanghan Culture»3, a term recently replaced in
some writings by « Sanxingdui Culture »4) had prompted
scholars to suggest that the bronze-casting tradition in that area
owed its initial stimulus to an «Erligang impact»5. That
connections with the dynastic centers in the Yellow River
system continued during later epochs is attested by the often-
noted similarity of some much later locally-produced bronze
weapons from Sichuan to Shang and Western Zhou products.
These weapons, customarily assigned to the so-called « Ba-Shu
Culture » and dated, for the most part, to the fifth to third
centuries BC, must have been derived in a continuous line of
typological development from Zhou imports ; closely-related
antecedents for the major dagger-axe, dagger, and spear types
have been found at the important Western Zhou cemeteries of
Zhuyuangou(12) and Rujiazhuang(13), Baoji(14) (Shaanxi),
which
are located near one of the likely early routes of
communication into Sichuan6. The Western Zhou prototypes

continued to
be followed by Sichuan casters long after they had become
obsolete in their areas of origin. At the same time, the pottery
inventory of the «Ba-Shu Culture» suggests local continuity
with Sanxingdui and contemporary sites.
But in spite of claims by local archaeologists, many of
whom see the Sanxingdui finds as an early manifestation of the
local polity of Shu(15) of the Warring States period, such
cultural continuity remains so far archaeologically unverified.
The
Sanxingdui finds are still virtually isolated in their period,
relatable only to a small number of sites of approximately
contemporaneous date. By all indications, they represent a flo-
rescent Early Bronze Age culture, which, besides high-level
bronze casting, featured large walled settlements comparable
in size and construction to the Shang capitals, with large
buildings of timbered construction. Yet the seven centuries or
so
separating it from the « Ba-Shu Culture » of the Late Bronze
Age are almost devoid of finds. The only discoveries usually
dated to that timespan are two caches of bronze weapons,
tools, and ritual vessels from Zhuwajie(16), Peng Xian(17)7.
The
Arts Asiatiques, tome 51-1996 29
T f <-* .-•> U A/^ LIAOMNG
Map 1 :
Map of China with place names occuring in
the text.
Carte 1 :
Carte de la Chine mentionnant les noms qui

apparaissent dans le texte.
Anhui : 1 Dongzhi. 2 Shou Xian, 3 Su Xian,
4 Tunxi
Beijing : 1 Changping
Gansu : 1 Lingtai
Guangxi : 1 Binyang, 2 Gui Xian, 3 Lipu,
4 Luchuan
Henan : 1 Hui Xian, 2 Shaan Xian, 3 Xichuan,
4 Xun Xian, 5 Zhengzhou
Hubei : 1 Jiangling
Hunan : 1 Ningxiang
Jiangsu : 1 Dantu
Liaoning : 1 Lingyuan
Inner Mongolia : 1 Xingcheng
Shaanxi : 1 Baoji
Shandong : 1 Tengzhou
Shanxi : 1 Houma, 2 Hunyuan
Sichuan : 1 Baoxing, 2 Chengdu, 3 Ganzi,
4 Guanghan, 5 Luhuo, 6 Mao Xian (Maowen),
7 Peng Xian, 8 Puge, 9 Shimian,
10 Wenchuan, 11 Xichang, 12Xide, 13 Xindu,
14 Yingjing, 15 Yanyuan
Yunnan : 1 Chenggong, 2 Deqin, 3 Jianchuan,
4 Jiangchuan, 5 Jinning, 6 Midu, 7 Ninglang,
8 Xiangyun
Early Western Zhou date usually given for these finds is based
on the style of the vessels only, which were long regarded as
products of Zhou metropolitan workshops, though the
possibility that they might have been produced in Sichuan has
also
been raised8. It appears to have disturbed no one that the
bronze weapons and tools from the same caches are extremely
similar stylistically to «Ba-Shu» items found in the area that
are conventionally dated to the Warring States period.
Contemporaneous evidence that could help contextualize the

Zhuwajie assemblages is completely lacking; and, perhaps
because of the different nature of the deposits and of the
objects buried, stylistic or typological continuities with the
earlier finds from nearby Sanxingdui are not pronounced.
After Zhuwajie, synthesizing accounts of archaeology in
Sichuan invariably jump immediately to the «Ba-Shu» finds of
the Warring States period9. Some local fieldworkers have
admitted the possibility that finds datable to the timespan
between the Middle Western Zhou (ca. 950-850 BC) and the end
of the Springs and Autumns period (ca. 450 BC) may have been
made, but remain «unrecognized» to-date10. The Moutuo
finds provide some evidence that may begin to fill this gap.
Springs and Autumns Period
Bronzes from the Sichuan Basin
Before turning to the Moutuo finds, however, it seems useful
briefly to reexamine the «Ba-Shu» archaeological record as
well as the rationale behind the current habit of dating all of
it — except for the Zhuwajie hoards — indiscriminately to the
Warring States period. Various Late Bronze Age sites in
Sichuan
have, in fact, yielded bronzes that are datable to the
problematic timespan between the Middle Western Zhou and the
end of
the Springs and Autumns period — bronzes imported from
areas within the Zhou realm as well as objects locally
manufactured in imitation of such imports. Some of them had
been
deposited a long time after their likely time of manufacture.
This is
true, for instance, of eight vessels from Jiulian-dun(18),
Xindu(19)
(Sichuan), found in a rich tomb that can be dated to the first

half of the fourth century BC, based on, inter alia, its similarity
in layout to Middle Warring States Chu(20) aristocratic tombs,
and its imported Chu-style bronze tripods (some of which bear
Chu-related inscriptions)11. The vessels enumerated below,
30 Arts Asiatiques, tome 51-1996
however, contrast stylistically with the other objects in the
assemblage, suggesting that they may have been made in an
earlier time :
1. and 2. A chain-handled/oM(21) and ajiani22) are
decorated with patterns of jagged relieved hooks12, closely
resembling the ornamentation style of the bronzes from
the tomb of Marquis Shen of Cai(23) (d. 491 BC) at Ximen-
nei(24), Shou Xian (25) (Anhui)13. Most of the Cai(26) vessels
are products of Late Springs and Autumns period Chu
palace workshops, and the same may be true of the Jiu-
liandun fou and jian, although their poor casting quality
has prompted the speculation that they were produced in
Sichuan in imitation of Chu models.
3. A yan(27 consisting of a stout-legged tripod bottom and
a wide-bodied steamer top, features ornaments of bands of
interlaced dragons separated by cord-shaped ridges,
flanked by narrower bands of spiral-filled triangles14. The
idiosyncratic, geometricized character of the ornamentation
(as well as the alternation of large and small triangles on
the band closest to the rim — a feature never observed on
vessels from within the Zhou culture area) make it appear
probable that this is a local Sichuan product, made in
imitation of a Late Springs and Autumns period object
imported from the Zhou realm.
4.-8. Five /e/(28) have decoration in high relief, consisting of

whorl-decorated shoulder plaques and downward-pointed
lancets, the latter being filled with a pattern of juxtaposed
dragons whose bodies merge at the tip15. Each vessel's two
handles are ornamented with bovine heads. This is a well-
known vessel-type produced at metropolitan workshops
during the Middle and Late Western Zhou period (see
figs. 3 a-b and 4)16. Again, the somewhat abbreviated
treatment of the decoration on the Jiuliandun specimens
suggests the possibility that they were made in imitation of
an imported model.
Another rich «Ba-Shu» tomb, at Baihuatan(29),
Chengdu (30) (Sichuan)17, a terminus post quern for which is
furnished by an imported Early Warring States period hiPX)
with
pictorial decor, also yielded a ding(22) with laterally-attached
handles, lacking its cover18. The vessel's surface
ornamentation consists of multiple small, interlocking, though
not
interlaced, dragon-derived units — a fairly generic pattern that
was
produced at a number of workshops throughout the Zhou
realm during the sixth and early fifth centuries BC. Again, the
lack of sharp definition of the decoration, as well as the
awkward joining of the handles to the vessel-body, suggest the
possibility that this ding may be a local imitation rather than a
Springs and Autumns period Zhou import, though the
possibility that these features are due to protracted use and
incompetent repairs should also be considered.
Whether imported or made locally, the objects so far
enumerated show at least indirectly that Middle to Late Western
Zhou to Springs and Autumns period bronze vessels produced
in the Zhou realm were present in the «Ba-Shu» culture area
during the Late Bronze Age. In other archaeological contexts,
a Warring States period deposition date is not as clear as at

Jiuliandun and Baihuatan. Some bronzes of Late Western
Zhou to Springs and Autumns period date were discovered by
themselves, without associated artifacts — such as a lei vessel
from Jinma(33), Chengdu19, which represents the Middle to
Late Western Zhou type already seen at Jiuliandu, and a
z/mn(34) from Wuxiandianjixie Xuexiao(35), Chengdu20. This
zhan basically resembles mid-sixth century Chu vessels of the
same class {cf. fig. 11), but the banded, dragon-derived
ornaments on the cover of this vessel show greater similarity to
Chu
prototypes than do those on the vessel body, which is rather
poorly cast, suggesting that the cover of an imported vessel
might have been fitted onto a locally manufactured container.
In other contexts, bronzes of Late Western Zhou or Springs
and Autumns date have been found in association with objects
of local, «Ba-Shu» manufacture. Instances include the
assemblages from the badly-damaged tombs no. 1 and 2 at
Qingyang
Xiaoqu(36), Chengdu21. Tomb no. 1 yielded a lei (fig. 3 b)
similar in shape to the specimens from Jiuliandun and Jinma, as
well as a covered ding with interlocking-dragon decor
(fig. 10 a) resembling the above-mentioned specimen from
Baihuatan, but of better-quality execution. Tomb no. 2 yielded
the
cover of a similar ding. Both tombs, as well as two others in the
same locality, also yielded «Ba-Shu» weapons and bronze
implements. Closer to Moutuo, a lei identical in shape and
ornamentation to the specimens from Jiuliandun, Jinma, and
Qingyang Xiaoqu was found in the mountain village of A'er-
cun(37 Wenchuan(38) 22. This vessel contained a dagger blade
of a type widespread in the southwest and also seen at Moutuo
(see below, section G, nos. 8-9).
The A'ercun lei was reported — correctly, I believe — as a

Western Zhou piece, though its date of interment may be
considerably later. All the other discoveries just enumerated,
on the other hand, were dated by their excavators to the
Warring States period — based entirely on the logic that, since
vessels such as these also occur in contexts such as Jiuliandun
and
Baihuatan, which are incontrovertibly of Warring States date,
other contexts yielding such objects must date to the same
period. The presence of «Ba-Shu» weapons is often taken as an
additional indicator of such a date. But the placement of
virtually all «Ba-Shu» weapons (except for those from
Zhuwajie,
mentioned above) in the Warring States period reposes, in
turn, solely on their occurrence in contexts such as Jiuliandun
and Baihuatan, datable to that period on the basis of other
associated evidence23. Such circular reasoning is obviously
fallacious. When evidence positively datable to the Warring
States period is absent, it should be admitted that contexts
yielding Late Western Zhou and Springs and Autumns period
vessels in association with «Ba-Shu» weapons (such as the
Qingyang Xiaoqu tombs) can, in principle, pre-date the
Warring States ; and contexts where « Ba-Shu » weapons occur
by
themselves without other chronological indicators may date
anywhere between the Western Zhou period and the end of the
Bronze Age. The stylistic seriation of such weapons remains a
task for future research24. While many of them may have been
manufactured during Warring States times, treating them as
diagnostic for that period date seems inappropriate.
Neighbors of the «Ba-Shu» Culture

The foregoing discussion is of relevance because the
preliminary report on the Moutuo finds, as well, proposes a
Warring States period date based principally on the presence of
«Ba-Shu» weapons — even though, as we shall see, many
objects from that site are probably earlier in date. What
complicates the situation is that Moutuo is not a site of the «
Ba-
Shu» culture. It belongs to a distinctive, as-yet incompletely
known local phase that flourished in the valleys of the Min(39)
river and its tributaries in the high mountain ranges on the
western flanks of the Sichuan Basin. The term « Lifan(40)
Culture», used for related remains in some older accounts25,
seems to have dropped from usage; Michèle Pirazzoli-t'Ser-
stevens has coined the term «Stone-Cist Building Culture»,
distinguishing it from the subtly different (though possibly
related) «Dolmen-Building Culture» further to the south and
southwest26. From coins and other datable objects found in
tombs of both cultures, it is evident that the chronology of both
cultures extends into the Han dynasty; their origins in the
Bronze Age are still hazy27.
Moutuo is by far the richest, as well as possibly the earliest,
site of the « Stone-Cist Building Culture » discovered to-date.
Though only about 100 kms. upstream from the famous
Dujiangyan(41) weir, where the Min river was diverted in the
early third century BC to irrigate the Chengdu Plain, the area
seems worlds apart from the bustling, sweltering Sichuan
Basin. The narrow valley, separated from the Basin by the
5000-meter high mountains of the Chapingshan(42) range, and
bordered by the Tibetan highlands on the west, has a dry, cool
climate ; culturally-mixed to this day, it is still predominantly
inhabited by non-Han populations (Qiang, Tibetans), who
practice herding in conjunction with farming. The Moutuo
discoveries intimate that this area was a crossroads of cultures
in
ancient times, as well.

No settlements have been excavated that might document
the lifeways of the ancient populations who built cist tombs of
thinly-cut slabs of a slate-like stone that is abundant in the
region. These tombs are clearly distinct, not only from tombs
in the Shang and Zhou core areas, but also from those of the
contemporaneous archaeological cultures in the nearby
Chengdu plain and elsewhere in Sichuan. Connections with
burial customs to the north seem evident: stone-slab tombs
are widespread across north-central and northeastern
Eurasia, and the pottery, which has its closest parallels in
Chalco-
lithic and Bronze Age cultures in Gansu and Qinghai, evinces
broad Siberian and Mongolian similarities28. As we shall see
below, such affinities extend to the bronze inventory as well.
Whether they indicate anything with regard to the ethnic
affiliation of the cist-tomb builders cannot now be verified.
Certainly, however, the presence of such remains in western
Sichuan during the first millennium BC attests to general
cultural, and quite possibly geopolitical, alignments. By
contrast,
the «Ba-Shu» culture in the Sichuan Basin, as well as the
preceding Sanxingdui culture, were much more strongly
oriented
towards the Bronze Age cultures of the Yellow and Yangzi river
systems.
Map 2 :
The site of Moutuo, MaoXian (Sichuan). After Wenwu 1994.3 :
6, fig. 2.
Carte 2 :
Le site de Moutuo. district de Mao Xian (Sichuan). D'après
Wenwu 1994.3 :
6. fig. 2.
The Moutuo Tombs

Moutuo is located on a terrace overlooking the Min river.
The excavated area (map 2) comprises one piled-stone tomb
(robbed empty before excavation and not reported on at any
detail), one stone-cist tomb (Ml ; see fig. 1), as well as three
funerary caches, labelled Kl to 3 (fig. 2) ; they were
undoubtedly part of a larger cemetery, which seems largely to
have
eroded away. Kl probably belonged to the same funerary
complex as Ml; K2 and K3, which had been disturbed before
excavation, may have been connected with another tomb, now
destroyed.29
Ml was found intact. The stone-cist, which measures
2.74x0.71 m, comprised three narrow head-compartments
where pottery storage vessels filled with meat, grains, fruits,
and tubers stood in orderly rows30. Other funerary goods were
spread throughout the coffin chamber, including 69 items of
bronze, 35 of stone and jade, and one bamboo arrow. The
coffin-chamber was laid out with bamboo mats, which in turn
were covered with seventeen layers of textile fabric. 362 agate,
turquoise, and glass-frit beads had probably once been affixed,
like sequins, to the deceased person's clothes. The excavators
argue that, given the complete absence of preserved human
remains, the tomb might have been a warrior's cenotaph31,
but this seems uncertain.
While the pottery and the stone implements are likely to
have been of local manufacture, the vast majority of the
bronzes were imported, some from the nearby Sichuan Basin,
others from further away. By relating them to known
specimens from other areas, one may obtain an idea about the
extent of contact networks involving the «Stone-Cist Building
Culture, » as well as about the date of deposition. At a
functional level, the bronzes may be classified as vessels

(numbering
14), bells (13), ornaments (22), and weapons (53). The
following discussion will, however, follow a somewhat less
systematic order of presentation.
Fig. 1. Tomb no. 1 at Moutuo.
Mao Xian (Sichuan).
Late Bronze Age
(late sixth-early fifth century BC?).
a) Plan. After Wenwu 1994.3 : 7, fig. 3.
b) Section. After Wenwu 1994.3 : 8, fig. 4.
Fig. 1. Tombe n° 1 de Moutuo.
district de Mao Xian (Sichuan).
Fin de l'Age du Bronze
(fin f -début Ve siècle av. J.-C?)
a) Plan. D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 7, fig. 3.
b) Coupe. D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 8, fig. 4.
a Q 509*
Fig. 2. Cache no. 1 at Moutuo. Mao Xian (Sichuan). Late
Bronze Age
(late sixth-early fifth century BC?).
a) Plan. After Wenwu 1994.3 : 9. fig. 6.1.
b) Section. After Wenwu 1994.3 : 9. fig. 6.2.
Fig. 2. Fosse de dépôt n° 1 de Moutuo. district de Mao Xian
(Sichuan).
Fin de l'Age du Bronze (fin f -début Ve siècle av. J.-C?)
a) Plan. D'après Wenwu 1994. 3 : 9, fig. 6.1.
b) Coupe. D'après Wenwu 1994 3 : 9, fig. 6.2.

Fig. 3. Bronze lei vessels
a) Shanghai Museum (?) (probably from Shaanxi).
II. unclear. Middle to Late Western Zhou (tenth-
ninth century DC). After Ma Chengyuan, Zhongguo
qingtongqi (Shanghai: Shanghai Guji chubanshe,
1988). p. 239. fig. 5.
b) From tomb no. 1 at Qingyang Xiaoqu, Chengdu
(Sichuan). II. 23.5 cm. Possibly imported from
Shaanxi, Late Western Zhou (ninth century DC),
or a local imitation of later date. After Wenwu
1989.5: 33, fig. 4.4.
c) From tomb no. 1 at Moutuo, Mao Xian (Sichuan).
11. 32 cm. Middle Yangzi river regional culture,
eighth-sixth century DC. After Wenvvu 1994.3:
12, fig. 14.1. (see also infra fig. 4).
d) From Lipu, Limu (Guangxi) (rubbing of
decoration detail). II. 54 cm. Middle Yangzi river
regional culture, eighth-sixth century DC, or local
imitation of slightly later date. After Kaogu
1984.9: 803. fig. 6.1.4.
e) Enlarged impression from a bronze seal
excavated at Jiuliandun, Xindu (Sichuan).
L. 3.5 cm. Fourth century DC. After Xu Zhongshu,
éd., Ba Shu kaogu lunwenji (Deijing : Wenwu.
1987), cover.
Fig. 3. Vases en bronze de type lei.
a) Musée de Shanghai (?) (provenant probablement
du Shaanxi). IL non donnée. Phase moyenne ou
tardive des Zhou Occidentaux f^-ix" siècle
av. J.-C). D'après Ma Chengyuan, Zhongguo
qingtongqi (Shanghai: Shanghai Guji chubanshe,
1988), p. 239, fig. 5.

b) Découvert dans la tombe n" 1 de Qingyang
Xiaoqu, municipalité de Chengdu (Sichuan).
II. 23,5 cm. Probablement importé du Shaanxi,
phase tardive des Zhou Occidentaux (ie siècle av.
J.-C.) ou imitation locale de date postérieure.
D'après Wenwu 1989.5 : 33,fig. 4.4.
c) Découvert dans la tombe n° 1 de Moutuo. district
de Mao Xian (Sichuan). IL 32 cm. Culture régionale
du cours moyen du fleuve Dieu.
vf-f siècle av. J.-C. D'après Wenvvu 1994.3 :
12,fig. 14.1. (voir aussi ci-après ftg. 4).
d) Provenant de Lipu. district de Limu (Guangxi)
(estampage d'un détail de la décoration). II. 54 cm.
Culture régionale du cours moyen du fleuve Dieu,
uf-f siècle av. J.-C, ou imitation locale de date
un peu plus tardive. D'après Kaogu 1984.9 :
803, fig. 6.1,4.
e) Empreinte agrandie d'un sceau découvert dans
la tombe de Jiuliandun, district de Xindu
(Sichuan). L. 3,5 cm. ne siècle av. J.-C. D'après
Xu Zhongshu, éd.. Ba Shu kaogu lunwenji (Beijing :
Wenwu, 1987, 1987, couverture.
fig. 4. Bronze lei vessel from tomb no. 1
at Moutuo, MaoXian (Sichuan). II. 32 cm.
Middle Yangzi river regional culture, eighth-
sixth century DC. After Zhongguo qingtongqi
quanji v. 13 (Ba Shu), Beijing : W'enwu
chubanshe, 1994, pi 82 (see also supra
fig. 3 c).
Fig. 4. Vase en bronze de type lei découvert
dans la tombe n° 1 de Moutuo, district

de Mao Xian (Sichuan). II. 32 cm. Culture
régionale du cours moyen du fleuve Bleu,
nf-f siècle av. J.-C. D'après Zhongguo
qingtongqi quanji v. 13 (Ba Shu), Beijing :
W'enwu chubanshe, 1994, pi. 82 (voir aussi
supra fig. 3 c).
The Moutuo Bronzes
A. Lei Containers
Possibly the oldest object found at Moutuo is a large lei
from K332, which represents the Middle to Late Western Zhou
metropolitan type observed above in the specimens from Jiu-
liandun, Jinma, Qingyang Xiaoqu (cf. fig. 3 b), and A'ercun. A
second, somewhat different lei (figs. 3 c and 4) was found
placed atop the stone cist of Ml33. It contrasts with the first
specimen in its slightly distorted proportions, its crudely-
executed
ornaments, and its exaggerated, awkwardly-shaped handles,
which have upward extensions ending in animal heads.
Moreover, the surface decoration of this vessel — consisting of
bands of abstract, dragon-derived units {qiequwen *43') on the
neck and foot, a single band of horizontal scales around the
shoulder, and, on the vessel-body, triangular
downward-pointed lancets filled with a pattern of juxtaposed
dragon bodies
similar to that seen on the lei from K3 — is not raised in relief,
but fiat and defined by double sunken-line contours.
To judge by their relatively wide distribution, lei of the first
type appear to have been a metropolitan Zhou export article of
choice to the southern peripheries. Lei of the second type are
characteristic for the regional bronze-casting cultures that
flourished between the eighth to sixth centuries BC in the

Middle Yangzi region and adjacent areas, e.g. in Hunan and
Guangxi (fig. 3 d)34, where they were manufactured in
imitation of prototypes imported from the Zhou realm35. In the
Sichuan Basin, a local preference for lei can be traced back to
the early part of the Bronze Age: vessels of this class are
predominant at both Sanxingdui and Zhuwajie, possibly because
were easily assimilable in function to locally-current ceramic
vessel types. By the time of the «Ba-Shu» culture, there are
indications that lei were regarded as more than merely useful
objects: a seal excavated at Jiuliandun (fig. 3 e) conspicuously
depicts a lei flanked by bells and other objects in what seems
to be a ritual context, intimating that these vessels must have
been endowed with symbolic significance, perhaps as lineage
treasures whose possession connoted power and legitimacy36.
Too little is known about the use of such seals, and about « Ba-
Shu » ritual customs in general, to allow inferences about the
precise meaning of the motif; and it is even more uncertain
whether participants in the «Stone-Cist Building Culture»
conceived of lei in the same way as their « Ba-Shu» neighbors.
Still, it seems likely that the Moutuo lei, notwithstanding their
different areas of origin, had been obtained by way of the
Sichuan Basin.
Fig. 6. Bronze bo bell in the Musée Guimet, Paris
(accession number CO 1260).
II. 62 cm. Eastern part of Zhou culture sphere,
second half of seventh century BC.
Photo : Thierry Ollivier / collection
of the Musée Guimet.

Fig. 6. Cloche en bronze de type bo,
Musée Guimet, Paris
(n° d'inventaire CO 1260). II. 62 cm.
Partie orientale de la sphère culturelle Zhou,
deuxième moitié du if siècle av. J.-C.
Photo : Thierry Ollivier / collection
du Musée Guimet.
Fig. 5. Bronze bo belt from cache no. 1 at Moutuo.
II. 22.7 cm. Castern part of Zhou culture sphere,
second half of seventh century BC. After Wenwu
1994.3, -32. fig. 51.3.
Fig. 5. Cloche en bronze de type bo découverte
dans la fosse n° 1 de Moutuo. II. 22,7 cm. Partie
orientale de la sphère culturelle Zhou, deuxième
moitié du if siècle av. J.-C. D'après Wenvvu
1994.3 : 32, fig. 51.3.
-fer %r*7
• 1 ' ' fgS^JÎi^
Opposite :
Fig. 7. Bronze yongzhong bells, a) From tomb no. 1 at Moutuo.
II. 52 cm. Middle Yangzi river regional culture,
eighth-sixth century BC. After Wenwu 1994.3 : 14, fig. 21. b)
From Ya'erzhou. Guangji (Ilubei). II. 52.2 cm.
Middle Yangzi river regional culture, eighth-sixth century BC.
After Jiang Han kaogu 1984.4 : 39, fig. 2.
c) From cache no. 2 at Moutuo. II. 27.5 cm. Middle Yangzi
river regional culture, eighth-sixth century BC. After

Wenvvu 1 994.3 : 34, fig. 53.4. d) From Guishuwo, Xingning
(Guangdong). II. 52.5 cm. Lingnan regional Late
Bronze Age culture, late sixth-third century BC. After
Guangdong wenwu pucha chengguo tulu (Guangzhou :
Guangdong Keji chubanshe, 1990). item no. 72.
Ci-contre :
Fig. 7. Cloches en bronze de type yongzhong. a) Découverte
dans la tombe n° 1 de Moutuo. II. 52 cm. Culture
régionale du cours moyen du fleuve Bleu, nf-f siècle av. J.-C.
D'après Wenvvu 1994.3 : 14, fig. 21.
b) Provenant de Ya'erzhou, district de Guangji (Ilubei). II. 52.2
cm. Culture régionale du cours moyen du fleuve
Bleu, vf-f siècle av. J.-C. D'après Jiang Han kaogu 1984.4 :
39, fig. 2. c) Découverte dans la fosse n° 2 de
Moutuo. II. 27,5 cm. Culture régionale du cours moyen du
fleuve Bleu, uf-f siècle av. J.-C. D'après Wenwu
1994.3 : 34,fig. 53.4. d) Découverte à Guishuwo, district de
Xingning (Guangdong). II. 52,5 cm. Culture
régionale du Lingnan, vf-f siècle av. J.-C. D'après Guangdong
wenwu pucha chengguo tulu (Guangzhou :
Guangdong Kefi chubanshe, 1990), n° 72.
B. Bells
Moutuo yielded the greatest variety of bells ever found in
one place in Sichuan : one yongzhong *44 three bo *45), and

one
clapper-bell from Ml ; one yongzhong and one bo from Kl ; and
four yongzhong and two zheng *46* from K2. Bells of all these
classes are known from the Zhou cultural sphere, where zheng
in all likelihood functioned as signal-giving objects in warfare,
whereas yongzhong and bo were made in chimed sets and
used for playing musical tunes. (Curiously, specimens of niu-
zhong^7 the third major class of Eastern Zhou musical bells,
are absent.)37 The yongzhong and bo from Moutuo are,
however, all single items38, hinting at differences in usage vis-
à-vis
contemporaneous contexts within the Zhou realm. Several
bells were found filled with bronze weapons or stone tools, and
at least one of the yongzhong had been deliberately rendered
unusable. Similar to other regional cultures along the Zhou
southern peripheries39, the primary function of the Moutuo
bells was quite possibly not a musical, but perhaps a magical
or apotropaic one.
As in the case of the lei, some of the Moutuo bells were
made in the Zhou culture area, whereas others are products of
Middle Yangzi regional workshops. The bo from Kl (fig. 5),
which has a suspension device of abstract shape, shows
decoration of dragon-bodies that are reduced to wriggling lines,
with joins and bends accentuated relieved dots — a motif
sometimes referred to as «Star-band pattern» (xingdai-
wen ^48*) (for a bell with almost identical decoration in the
Musée Guimet, see fig. 6)40. Readily identifiable as a product
of
a workshop in East-Central China dating to around the middle
of the seventh century BC41, this is the earliest musical bell so

far found in Sichuan.
The six yongzhong from Ml, Kl, and K2 all seem closely
similar to specimens of Middle Yangzi regional provenience,
dating to the eighth to fifth centuries BC (fig. 7 b). They differ
from mainstream Zhou yongzhong in that the decoration on
their verso is far simpler than that of their recto faces, and in
that they feature different numbers of bosses {mei (49J) on the
two faces. The decoration on the showface differs slightly from
bell to bell. On the single yongzhong from Ml, for instance
(fig. 7 a), it consists of highly-abstracted dragon-derived motifs
that are defined by double contours (raised-line contours in
the upper portion and sunken-line contours in the lower
portion of the bell-face) ; this decoration extends into the
central
portion of the bell-face, as well as onto the shank42. The
emphasis on one face indicates that yongzhong of this type
were most probably produced primarily for purposes of
display. This impression is corroborated by the fact that the
Mou-
tuo specimens are asymmetrical in cross-section, with the
front bulging forth and the back nearly flat — a bell-shape
never previously observed in bells from the Chinese Bronze
Age. One rationale for this may have been to save material,
and the greater upward tilt of the suspended bell resulting
from such a shape may also have been deemed desirable ; but
one shudders to think what the acoustic effect might have
been.
One of the four yongzhong from K2, instead of the dragon-
derived spirals seen on all the others, features a severely
geometric pattern of concentric triangles (fig. 7 c)43. The
lateral
suspension ring is attached directly to the unornamented
shank, rather than to a bulging ring-shaped protrusion
{xuan (50)). Yongzhong with similarly simplified suspension

devices have been discovered in Guangxi and Guangdong
(fig. 7 d) ; like the Moutuo specimen under discussion, they can
be linked to Middle Yangzi regional workshop traditions44.
Fig. 8. Bronze bo bells.
a) Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
Washington (probably
from Hunan), Accession no. V-49. II. 31.3 cm. Middle Yangzi
river regional
culture, twelfth-ninth century BC. After Ma Chengyuan,
Zhongguo qingtongqi,
p. 286, fig. 14.
b) From tomb no. 1 at Moutuo (no. 2). II. 23.4 cm. Late Bronze
Age (exact date
unclear). After Wenwu 1994.3 : 16, fig. 22.2.
c) From tomb no. 1 at Moutuo (no. 1, recto/ H. 26.4 cm. Late
Bronze Age (exact
date unclear). After Wenwu 1994.3 : 16, fig. 22. 1 right (see
also infra fig. 9 a)
d) From tomb no. 1 at Moutuo (no. 1, verso/ //. 26.4 cm. Late
Bronze Age (exact
date unclear). After Wenwu 1994.3 : 16, fig. 22.1 left (see also
no. 9 b).
e) From tomb no. 1 at Moutuo (no. 3). II. 17.5 cm. Late Bronze
Age (exact date
unclear). After Wenwu 1994.3 : 16. fig. 22.3
Fig. 8. Cloches en bronze de type bo.
a) Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington (provenant
probablement du Hunan), n° d'inventaire V-49. H. 31,3 cm.
Culture régionale du
cours moyen du fleuve Bleu, xit°-ie siècle av. J.-C. D'après Ma
Chengyuan,
Zhongguo qingtongqi, p. 286, fig. 14.
b) Découverte dans la tombe n" 1 de Moutuo (n° 2). H. 23.4 cm.

Fin de l'Age du
bronze (date indéterminée). D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 16, fig.
22.2.
c) Découverte dans la tombe n° 1 de Moutuo (n° 1. recto/ //.
26.4 cm. Fin de
l'Age du Bronze (date indéterminée). D'après Wenwu 1994.3 :
16, fig. 22.1 droite
(voir aussi infra fig. 9 a).
d) Découverte dans la tombe n" 1 de Moutuo (n° 1. verso/ //.
26,4 cm. Fin de
l'Age du Bronze (date indéterminée). D'après Wenwu 1994.3 :
16. fig. 22.1
gauche (voir aussi infra fig. 9 b).
e) Découverte dans la tombe n" 1 de Moutuo (n° 3). H. 17.5 cm.
Fin de l'Age du
Bronze (date indéterminée). D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 16, fig.
22.3
The three bo from Ml diverge radically in both shape and
decoration style from specimens made within the Zhou realm.
The presence of flamboyant lateral flanges points to Middle
Yangzi river area prototypes dating to the time contemporary
with Late Shang and Early Western Zhou, where such flanges
rendered the end-feathers of long-tailed birds perched on the
bells' flat heads (fig. 8 a). One may still discern such birds on
the top of bo no. 2 (fig. 8 b), typologically the most
archaic-looking of the three. But the suspension devices of the
bo from Ml
at Moutuo differ in many details from those of their early
Middle Yangzi area prototypes, and the decoration of their
bodies is boldly original ; all of this may indicate a difference
in

geographical origin as well as in date. The decoration on the
three specimens may be briefly described as follows :
Do no. 1 shows, on one face (figs. 8 c and 9 a), an irregular
arrangement of round whorl ornaments (resembling the
traditional «yin-yang» symbol), four-petalled flowers, and
cross-shaped ornaments around a central oval boss; the
reverse (figs. 8d and 9 b) is dominated by a
crudely-delineated, asymmetrical dragon with inward-spiralling
tail,
which carries on its back an abstract, three-peaked motif
that the excavators (probably inspired by its similarity to
the Oracle-Bone inscription character for shan^)
somewhat dubiously identify as a «mountain. »45
Do no. 2, on its recto face (fig. 8 b), has three rows of large
bosses, separated by pronounced, straight and angular
dividers; the middle boss in the central row and all three
bosses of the lower rows are ornamented with spirals, the
others are unornamented.46
(.^'■:
I'ig. 9. Bronze bo bells
a) From tomb no. 1 at Moutuo (no. 1. recto;. //. 26 4 cm. Late
Bronze Age (exact date unclear). After Zhongguo qingtongqi
quanji v. 13 (Ba Shu), pi. 190 (see also supra
fig. 8 c). b) From tomb no. 1 at Moutuo (no. 1, erso/ //. 26.4
cm. Late Bronze Age (exact dale unclear). After Zhongguo
qingtongqi quanji v. 13 (Ba Shu), pi. 191 (see
also supra fig 8 d).
Fig. 9. Cloches en bronze de type bo
a) Découverte dans la tombe n" 1 de Moutuo (n° 1. recto/ //.
26,4 cm. Fin de l'Age du Bronze (date indéterminée). D'après
Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji v. 13 (Ba Shu),
pi. 190 (voire aussi supra fig. 8 c). b) Découverte dans la tombe
n° 1 de Moutuo (n° 1, erso/ //. 26,4 cm. Fin de l'Age du Bronze

(date indéterminée). D'après Zhongguo
qingtongqi quanji v. 13 (Ba Shu), pi. 190 (voir aussi supra fig. 8
d).
Bo no. 3, on its recto face (fig. 8 e), also features three rows
of bosses; those of the upper and lower rows are decorated
with star pattern, those of the central row with spirals. A
zigzag line running across the bell-face between the
central and lower row.47
While the presence of large bosses on the bell-faces
reminds of the above-mentioned Middle Yangzi area
specimens, their distribution is idiosyncratic, as is their
execution;
moreover, the dragon motif on bo no. 1 verso is unique.
Similarities to Middle Yangzi area workshop traditions are
much
less prominent than in the case of the yongzhong, or of the
second lei from Ml. Instead, the crude execution and poor
casting quality of the bo (which led the authors of the Moutuo
preliminary report to argue that they were non-functional
mingqfi52^) remind of some yongzhong-ike objects from Jiu-
liandun, which are greatly simplified, reduced, and distorted
by comparison to their Zhou prototypes48. One wonders
whether such bells might have been made in a local workshop
in Sichuan, where artisans were relatively unfamiliar with bell
manufacture. While the casters must have had access to
Middle Yangzi area specimens contemporary with Late Shang
and Western Zhou, or to dérivâtes thereof, it seems unwise,
given the considerable stylistic differences, to assume that the
Moutuo bells themselves date to that epoch. Their dating poses

a problem analogous to that of the «Ba-Shu» weapons.
The two zheng from K2 are both unornamented49. Their
shape closely parallels that of an inscribed specimen from
Lugu Chengzi(53), Su Xian(54) (Anhui), representing a late
sixth-century BC type that may have its origin in the Lower
Huai region50. Like the above-mentioned six yongzhong, and
like the bo from Kl, they were most probably traded up the
Yangzi.
The small clapper-bell from Ml, finally, differs in shape
from functionally equivalent objects seen in the Zhou culture
area51. Specimens of closely similar shape have, however,
been found in areas further to the south. Of significance is the
parallel to two pieces from tomb no. 157 at Aofengshan(55),
Jianchuan*56' (Yunnan)52, an important cemetery which,
besides additional bronzes that will be referred to below, also
yielded ceramics similar to those seen at Moutuo. The strati-
graphically-superimposed pit-tombs have been dated to the
timespan from Middle Springs and Autumns through Early
Western Han ; unfortunately, as the published report is unspe-
cific as to the dating of individual tombs, the exact
chronological placement of the clapper-bells remains unclear.
Fig. 10. Bronze ding tripods.
a) From tomb no. 1 at Qingyang Xlaoqu, Chengdu (Sichuan). II.
19.2 cm. Zhou culture sphere (possibly Chu kingdom), sixth
century BC. After Wcnvvu 1989.5 : 33, fig. 5.
b) From cache no. 3 at Moutuo. 11. 25.5 cm. Chu kingdom,
middle of sixth century BC. After Wenvvu 1994.3 : 39, fig.
57.2. c) From tomb no. 7 at Xiasi, Xichuan (Henan).
II. 32 cm. Chu kingdom, shortly before 550 BC. After Xichuan
Xiasi Chunqiu Chu mu (Beijing : W'enwu chubanshe, 1991), p.
29, fig. 21.
Fig. 10. Vases tripodes en bronze de type ding.
a) Découvert dans la tombe n° 1 de Qingyang Xlaoqu,

municipalité de Chengdu (Sichuan). II. 19,2 cm. Sphère
culturelle Zhou (éventuellement royaume de Chu),
VIe siècle av. J.-C. D'après Wenvvu 1989.5 : 33, fig. 5. b)
Découvert dans la fosse n° 3 de Moutuo. II. 25,5 cm. Royaume
de Chu, milieu du Ie siècle av. J.-C.
D'après Wenvvu 1994.3 : 39, fig. 57.2. c) Découvert dans la
tombe n° 7 de Xiasi, district de Xichuan (Henan). II. 32 cm.
Royaume de Chu, un peu avant 550 av. J.-C.
D'après Xichuan Xiasi Chunqiu Chu mu (Beijing : W'enwu,
1991), p. 29. fig. 21.
Fig. 1 1. Bronze zhan vessels.
a) From tomb no. 7 at Xiasi, Xichuan (Henan). H. 18.3 cm. Chu
kingdom, shortly before 550 BC. After Xichuan Xiasi Chunqiu
Chu mu, p. 37, fig. 30.
b) From tomb no. 1 atMoutuo. 11. 19.7 cm. Possibly Chu
kingdom, middle to late sixth century BC, or a local imitation.
After Wenvvu 1994.3 : 13, fig. 18.
c) From cache no. 2 at Moutuo. H. unclear. Possibly Chu
kingdom, middle to late sixth century BC, or a local imitation.
After Wenvvu 1994.3 : 31, fig. 50.1.
Fig. 11. Vases en bronze de type zhan.
a) Découvert dans la tombe n° 7 de Xiasi. district de Xichuan
(Henan). H. 18,3 cm. Royaume de Chu, un peu avant 550 av. J.-
C. D'après Xichuan Xiasi Chunaiu Chu mu
p. 37. fig. 30.
b) Découvert dans la tombe n" 1 de Moutuo. H. 19,7 cm.
Éventuellement royaume de Chu. milieu afin du f siècle av. J.-
C. D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 13, fig. 18.
c) Découvert dans la fosse n° 2 de Moutuo. H. non donnée.
Éventuellement royaume de Chu, milieu afin du f siècle av. J.-
C. D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 31, fig. 50.1.

C. Tripodal Vessels
The only inscribed vessel from Moutuo is a flat-covered
ding from K3 (fig. 10 b), decorated with bands of endlessly-
repeated small units of abstract interlaced motifs and, on the
vessel-body, a band of small triangles filled with small sunken-
line curls.53 The inscription runs :
Given in the eighth moon, Beginning Auspiciousness [i.e.
first quarter of the moon], day ding-hai(57). I, X Zi
Gong[?](58), for myself made this fanding{59) , may I enjoy
longevity without end, may sons and grandsons forever
treasure and use it.
Even though the donor cannot be identified with certainty,
the presence of such an inscription indicates that the vessel
must be an import from within the Zhou culture sphere. In all
likelihood, it is a Chu product: for the designation fanding
(which appears to signify that this object was part of a set), as
well as the shape, ornamentation, and inscription style of this
object exhibit close parallels to bronzes from tombs no. 7 and
8 at the Chu aristocratic cemetery at Xiasi(60), Xichuan(6ï)
(Henan) (fig. 10 c)54. These tombs, as well as their contents,
can be dated with some precision to the second quarter of the
sixth century BC.
Other vessels of likely Chu provenience at Moutuo include
eight zhan (two from Ml and three each from Kl and K2)
(fig 11 b-c)55 : covered bowls with three short feet, which have
concentric handles on their covers and, usually, two
ring-shaped handles on the vessel walls (lost in some instances)
;
additional ring-shaped handles appear on the covers of some
specimens56. Cumulatively, these eight zhan constitute by far

the
largest assemblage of such vessels found anywhere ; in Chu,
zhan usually occur singly or in sets of two, and they are by no
means seen in all bronze-yielding tombs. While most of the
Moutuo specimens feature the typical sixth-century BC Chu-
style ornamentation of endlessly-repeated tiny rectangular
units, bordered in some cases by curl-filled triangles, they all
show slight differences in shape and execution; no two of them
appear to have been made as a set. One specimen from Ml
(fig. lib) is virtually interchangeable with the one from
Wuxiandianjixie Xuexiao, Chengdu, mentioned above ; others
are more closely comparable to the zhan excavated at the
Xiasi necropolis (fig. 11 a).
0 A-
Fig. 12. Bronze dui vessels.
a) From tomb no. 10 atXiasi. H. 23.5 cm. Chu
kingdom, late sixth-early fifth century BC After
Xichuan Xiasi Chunqiu Chu mu, p. 256, fig. 191.
b) From cache no. 2 at Moutuo. H. unclear. Possibly
Chu kingdom, late sixth-early fifth century BC.
After Wenwu 1994.3 : 31, fig. 50.2.
Fig. 12. Vases en bronze de type dui.
a) Découvert dans la tombe n° 10 de Xiasi.
H. 23,5 cm. Royaume de Chu, milieu du f -début
du Ve siècle av. J.-C. D'après Xichuan Xiasi Chunqiu
Chu mu, p. 256, fig. 191.
b) Découvert dans la fosse n° 2 de Moutuo. H. non
donnée. Éventuellement royaume de Chu, milieu du
f-fin du Ve siècle av. J.-C. D'après VVenwu 1994.
3: 31, fig. 50.2.

Among Chu bronzes, zhan are notable for being
chronologically sensitive : at Xiasi and elsewhere, zhan went
out of
fashion shortly before the turn of the fifth century BC,
indicating a possible terminus ante quern for the exportation of
the
specimens found at Moutuo. After that time, they were
replaced by a new class of vessel: globular rf«^62' with either
columnar or ring-shaped feet (fig. 12 a). Significantly, one-half
of
such an item — with three ring-shaped feet that have short
hook-shaped protrusions, plus two ring-shaped lateral
handles — was found in K2 at Moutuo (fig. 12 b)57. As it lacks
surface decoration, the exact chronological placement of this
vessel presents some difficulty, but it dates probably no later
than ca. 450 BC ; it is the latest among the ritual vessels in the
Moutuo assemblage58. The predominance of zhan and the
relative dearth of dui may adumbrate an approximate window
of time for the exchange relationship through which these
objects were transmitted into Sichuan and eventually into the
« Stone-Cist Building Culture » area.
The typological and functional distinctions between ding
on the one hand, zhan and dui on the other, though important
in terms of the Zhou ritual system, may have carried little
meaning for the participants in the « Stone-Cist Building
Culture», who may well have used them all interchangeably. It
seems possible that objects of these types were coveted
because they were roughly equivalent in size and shape to
round-bottomed ceramic bowls of types long established in the
Sichuan Basin.
D. Cups

The only other kind of bronze vessels found at Moutuo are
three cups from Ml, of conical shape, some 16 cm in height,
and devoid of ornamentation (fig. 13 a)59. No significant
typological parallels appear to exist in the repertoire of the
Shang
and Zhou bronze industries60; but there is a hint of a southern
— more exactly, Southeast Asian — connection: six cups of
similar shape and size, but fitted with elaborate covers
featuring fully-sculptural representations of bulls (fig. 13 b),
were
excavated at Lijiashan(63 Jiangchuan*64) (Yunnan), in tombs
of the Dian(65) culture, cross-datable by coin finds to Western
Han61. Whether such parallels can be taken as indicative of
the date of the Moutuo cups seems, however, questionable as
formal and stylistic similarities are by no means close.
Fig. 13. Bronze cups.
a) From tomb no. 1 at Moutuo. II. 16 cm. Late Bronze Age (late
sixth-early fifth
century BC?). After VVenwu 1994.3 : 13. fig. 19.
b) From tomb no. 11 at Lijiashan, Jiangshan (Yunnan). H. ca. 30
cm. Dian
culture, fourth-first century BC? After Kaogu xuebao 1975.2:
129, fig. 34.1.
Fig. 13. Coupes en bronze.
a) Découverte dans la tombe n" 1 de Moutuo. H. 16 cm. Fin de
l'Age du Bronze
(fin f ou début e siècle av. J.-C.?). D'après Wenwu 1994.3 :
13. fig. 19.
b) Découverte dans la tombe n° 11 de Lijiashan, Jiangshan
(Yunnan).
H. ca. 30 cm. Culture de Dian. /ve-ier siècle av. J.-C? D'après
Kaogu xuebao
1975.2: 129. fig. 34.1.

Fig. 14. Bird representations.
a) Bird-shaped bronze ornament from tomb no. 1 at Moutuo. H.
12.5 cm. Date and place of manufacture unclear. After Wenwu 1
994.3 : 24. fig. 36. 1.
b) Bird representations on Western Zhou bronzes (tenth through
eighth centuries BC). After Chen Gongrou and Zhang
Changshou, «Yin Zhou qingtong rongqishang
niaowen de duandai yanjiu». Kaogu xuebao 1984.3 : 268-69.
c) Bird-shaped bronze finials from Zuli, Midu (Yunnan). H. 5.6-
9.2 cm. Early Dian culture (sixth-second century BC I?]). After
Wenwu 1986.7 : 27, fig. 7.6-8.
Fig. 14. Beprésentations ornithomorphes.
a) Ornement en bronze en forme d'oiseau découvert dans la
tombe n° 1 à Moutuo. H. 12,5 cm. Date et lieu de fabrication
inconnus. D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 24, fig. 36.1.
b) Représentations d'oiseaux sur des bronzes de l'époque des
Zhou Occidentaux (x^-uif siècles av. J.-C). D'après Chen
Gongrou et Zhang Changshou, «Yin Zhou
qingtong rongqishang niaowen de duandai yanjiu», Kaogu
xuebao 1984.3 : 268-69.
c) Embouts de bâtons en bronze découverts à Zuli, district de
Midu (Yunnan). H. 5.6-9.2 cm. Phase antérieure de la culture de
Dian (VIe -IIe siècle av. J.-C.l?])
D'après Wenwu 1986.7 : 27, fig. 7.6-8.
E. Bronze Ornaments
Ml yielded two unusual items that are of obviously
ornamental character, though their exact function is unclear.
One is
the sculpture of a bird, some 12.5 cm in length, its head
adorned with a forward-curved crest feather, its wings pointing
vertically upward, and its tail trapezoidal in shape and almost

level (fig. 14 a)62. The claws are unnaturalistically extended,
probably serving to attach the figure to some other object, now
lost. Each component of the bird's body is accentuated by
sunken-line decoration, strongly resembling analogous
ornaments in bird representations on Shang and Zhou bronzes
and
jades (fig. 14 b).63 While fully three-dimensional
representation of birds is rarely seen in the Shang and Zhou
repertoire, it
does occur at Sanxingdui. Though somewhat different in shape
and ornamentation from Sanxingdui bird renderings, the
Moutuo bird ornament may constitute, in however indirect a
manner, an iconographie (as well as, possibly, ideological)
survival
from the earlier local Bronze Age culture of the Sichuan
Basin.64 Much later, staff-handles featuring small bird
sculptures of bronze are pervasive in tombs of the Dian culture
(for
some relatively early instances, see fig. 14 c)65. The
ornamentation style of those much later examples does, of
course, differ
drastically from that of the Moutuo specimen, the place of
manufacture of which remains difficult to pin down at present.
Easily the most enigmatic object in the Moutuo assemblage
is a so-called «plaque ornament» from Ml, which features
rich openwork decoration (fig. 15)66. It is trapezoidal in shape
with concave lateral flanks ; the presence of a strut in the
center of the base would suggest that it might have been the tip
of
a hairpin, but such a function seems dubious in view of its
large size (H 13.5 cm). On the level top, two symmetrically-
arranged groups of four ducks (or geese) stride toward the
center. The trapezoidal openwork panel below is framed by a
double-ridge border featuring a single band of tiny round

bosses. Within the panel, rows of larger bosses, accentuated by
concentric sunken-line rings, enclose and define three tiers of
animal decoration; of particular prominence are the three
bosses of the second row from the bottom, which measure
twice the diameter of the others and have two, rather than
one, concentric rings. From top to bottom, the openwork
animal decoration consists of one tier of seven antlered
creatures
(stags or antelopes); one tier of three long-tailed animals,
which, to judge by the shape of their large heads, are probably
horses, though their striped bodies might suggest tigers; and
one tier of three S-shaped snakes. All heads are turned to the
f/^r. 75. Bronze «plaque ornament»
from tomb no. 1 at Moutuo.
11. 13.5 cm.
Late Bronze Age (late sixth-early fiflh century BC?).
After Wenwu 1994.3, cover.
Fig. 15. «Plaque decorative»
en bronze découverte dans la tombe n° 1 de Moutuo.
II. 13.5 cm.
Fin de l'Age du Bronze (fin f -début e siècle av. J.-C.?).
D'après Wenwu 1994.3, couverture.
viewer's left, differing from the symmetrical arrangement of
the ducks at the top.
Stylistically and typologically, this well-executed object is
exceedingly difficult to place. I am unaware of a direct parallel
from anywhere in East Asia; some vague comparisons may be
drawn as follows.

1) Relatively close by, in the mountains of western Sichuan,
a tomb at Lietai(66), Xingjing(67) (Sichuan), datable on the
basis of seals to the time contemporary with the Warring
States period, yielded a tiny circular pendant ornamented
with concentric rows of horses and fish surrounding a
central double-circlet, executed in stencil-like openwork
mounted over a flat bronze surface (fig. 16 a)67. This object
is, however, technically less-well executed than the Moutuo
plaque, and the two objects differ considerably in the
rendering of their animal subjects.
2) The intricate openwork animal decoration of the Moutuo
«plaque ornament» might once again suggest connections
with the Dian culture. Various «circular buckle
ornaments » from the above-mentioned tombs at Lijiashanand
from the even more famous tombs of the kings of Dian at
Shizhaishan(68), Jinning(69) (Yunnan), which feature
sculptural and openwork rows of animals as well as round
bosses inlaid in turquoise, might be pointed to as vague
mal parallels (fig. 16 b)68; but such connections should not
be overemphasized duo to obvious stylistic differences.
3) The trapezoidal shape of the ornamented area of the
Moutuo «plaque ornament» evokes some much smaller
multidentate bronze combs (fig. 16 c) found in tombs of the
«Dolmen-building culture» of southwestern Sichuan and
northwestern Yunnan, which have been dated between
Warring States and Eastern Han69. Though lacking
openwork, such objects sometimes feature raised round bosses
resemblant of those on the Moutuo «plaque ornament»;
and similar bosses may also be seen on some other bronze
objects from the same contexts70. Metalwork in a roughly
similar style has also been excavated at the above-
mentioned cemetery at Aofengshan, Jianchuan (Yunnan),
dated between Middle Springs and Autumns and Early
Western Han71. But in the absence of significant figurative
decoration on any bronze objects so far reported from

these sites, such parallels can only be vague ones. Although
the generic Southwestern (and indeed Southeast Asian)
flavor of this object seems pronounced, the similarities that
can currently be pointed to do not seem to be of much use
in determining the date or place of manufacture of the
Moutuo «plaque ornament.»
4) Similarities to northerly areas — the Zhou culture area
Fig 16 Possible parallels to the Moutuo «plaque ornament »
a) Bronze pendant from I letai, Yingjinq (Sichuan) H 7 5 cm
Late Bronze Age
local culture (fifth century B( or later) After Kaogu 1984 7 602,
fig 2 left
b) Bronze plaque collected at I ijiashan, Jiangchuan (Yunnan) H
ca 10 cm Dian
culture (fourth-first century B( 9) After Kaogu xuebao 1 975 2
149, fig 52 5
c) Bronze comb from tomb no 1 at Xide (Sichuan) H 22 5 cm
(fragm ) late
Bronze Age local culture (sixth century B( -second century AD)
After Kaoguxue
jikan 3(1983) 146, fig 4 1
d) ( overed bronze vessel from Xiaoheishigou, hingcheng (Inner
Mongolia)
H 13 6 cm I pper Xiajiadian culture (eighth to seventh century
BC I9])
After Wenwu 1995 5 1 9, fig 25 1
e) Bronze dagger-axe with ornamented tang from ianshan'gen,
Ningcheng
(Inner Mongolia) H 17 cm Upper Xiajiadian culture (eighth to
seventh century
BC I9!) After Kaogu 1959 6 276, fig 1

Fig 16 Parallèles proposes pour la «plaque decorative»
découverte a Moutuo
a) Pendentif en bronze provenant de Iietai, district de Yingjing
(Sichuan)
H 7,5 cm ( ulture locale de la fin de l'Aqe du Bronze (e siècle
av J -C ou plus
tardif) D'après Kaogu 1984 7 602, fig 2 gauche
b) Plaque en bronze provenant de I ijiashan, district de
Jiangchuan (Yunnan)
(collectée hors contexte archéologique) H ca 10 cm ( ulture de
Dian (A '-Ier
siècle av J -( 9) D'après Kaogu xuebao 1975 2 149, fig 52 5
c) Peigne en bronze découvert dans la tombe n" l de Xide
(Sichuan) H 22,5 cm
(fragment) ( ulture locale de la fin de l'Age du Bronze (e siècle
av J -C -if siècle
ap J-( ) D après Kaoguxue jikan 3 (1983) 146, fig 4 1
d) Vase couvert en bronze provenant de Xiaoheishigou, district
de Ningcheng
(Mongolie Intérieure) H 13,6 cm ( ulture de la couche
supérieure de Xiajiadian
(iif-if siècle av J -( l9]) D'après Wenwu 1995 5 19, fig 25 l
e) Hache-poignard en bronze en partie ornementée provenant de
Nanshan'gen,
district de ingcheng (Mongolie Intérieure) H 17 cm Culture de
la couche
supérieure de Xiajiadian (nf-if siècle av J -C l9])
D'après Kaogu 1959 6 276, fig 1
as well as the Eurasian steppes — should also be noted;
these concern the mode of representation of animals in
orderly tiers, as well as the « plaque ornament's » specific
animal iconography With respect to the former aspect, one
might look to some examples from the Upper Xiajiadian'70'
Culture, datable to the early centuries of the first
millennium BC : a round-bottomed vessel with tiers of

antelopes
and birds alternating with geometric bands (fig. 16 d),
excavated together with various similarly decorated
objects at Xiaoheishigou' , Ningcheng'721 (Inner
Mongolia)72 ; and similar representations on ornamental
plaques
and on the tang of a dagger-axe found at Nanshan'gen (73),
Ningcheng (fig 16 e)73. In each case, the animal motifs are
shown in profile and in moving poses, similar to the mode
of representation on the Moutuo «plaque ornament»,
although the stylistic details are quite different.
5) Inasmuch as motifs are concerned, while S-shaped
snakes of the lowest tier are too commonly seen in artistic
repertoires all over Eurasia to be distinctive, and the long-
tailed, large-headed animals of the middle tier are too
ambiguous with respect to their intended representational
content, the ducks or geese and antlered animals in the
upper portions of the « plaque ornament » indicate specific
associations that may be worth pursuing. Both motifs are
absent from the early phases of Chinese bronze decor ; they
make their first appearance in the Zhou culture area in
bronzes made at the Houma'74' foundry in Shanxi around
the turn of the fifth century BC74, where they were
probably adopted under the influence of bronzes obtained from
the northern steppes. Ultimately, these motifs probably
derive from the artistic traditions of western Eurasia.
That the Moutuo « plaque ornament » could have been cast
at Houma, or anywhere within the Zhou culture area can be
excluded on stylistic grounds ; yet it may be related to steppe
products similar to those that influenced the Houma foundry in
mid-Eastern Zhou times. The chronological anchor provided
by the Houma finds is useful above all because the temporal
range of the bronze-casting traditions on the steppes is still
under dispute, with proposed dates spanning most of the first

millennium BC75
Stylistically and iconographically, the Moutuo «plaque
ornament» seems, thus, to constitute a bridge between the
bronze-casting traditions of the Eurasian Steppes and
Southeast Asia (including Dian). The sometimes astonishing
stylistic
affinities between the two areas have variously been pointed
out in previous scholarship, though the modalities of
transmission processes remain unexplained76. Even more
enigmatic is
Fig. 17. Bronze dagger-axes and halberds from
Moutuo (classification according to Feng Hanji).
Ba-Shu culture (probably predating the fifth
century BC).
a) Type I (from tomb no. 1). L. 27.8 cm.
After Wenwu 1994.3 : 18, fig. 26.1.
b) Type I (halberd, from tomb no. 1). L. 23.3 cm
After Wenwu 1994.3 : 20, fig. 29.2 (see also fig 18).
c) Type II (from cache no. I). L. 27 cm.
After Wenwu 1994.3 : 33, fig. 52.7.
d) Type III (from cache no. 1). L. 21.6 cm.
After Wenwu 1994.3 : 33, fig. 52.6.
e) Type IV (halberd, from tomb no. 1). L. 20.7 cm.
After Wenwu 1994.3 : 20, fig. 29. 1.
f) Type V(from tomb no. 1). L. 23.9 cm.
After Wenwu 1994.3 : 18, fig. 26.8.
g) Type V (from cache no. 2). L. 17.8 cm.
After Wenwu 1994.3 : 35, fig. 54.4.
Fig. 1 7. Haches-poignards et hallebardes en bronze
découvertes à Moutuo (classification selon Feng

Hanji). Culture de Ba-Shu (probablement avant le
Ve siècle av. J.-C.)
a) Type I (découverte dans la tombe n° 1).
L. 27.8 cm. D'après Wenwu 1994.3 ; 18, fig. 26.1.
b) Type I (hallebarde, découverte dans la tombe
n° 1). L. 23,3 cm. D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 20,
fig. 29.2. (voir aussi infra fig. 18).
c) Type II (découverte dans la fosse n" 1). L. 27 cm.
D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 33. fig. 52.7.
d) Type III (découvert e dans la fosse n° 1).
L. 21.6 cm. D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 33. fig. 52.6.
e) Type IV (hallebarde, découverte dans la tombe
n° 1). L. 20,7 cm. D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 20.
fig- 29.1.
f) Type V (découverte dans la tombe n° 1).
L. 23.9 cm. D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 18. fig. 26.8.
g) Type V (découverte dans la fosse n" 2).
L. 17,8 cm. D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 35. fig. 54.4.
their possible date. Radiocarbon dates suggest a dating range
from ca. 800 BC to the first century AD for Dian finds, though
the best-known materials seem to date between the fourth and
the first centuries BC. Once contextualized by further
discoveries, the Moutuo « plaque ornament, » as well as other
elements
in the Moutuo assemblage, to be discussed below, may turn out
to be of historical significance in documenting the avenue and
time of the northern stimulus that was crucial to the formation
of the Dian bronze-casting tradition.
Other ornamental items found in Ml include small beads
and bosses, which likewise have parallels on the Eurasian
steppes77.

F. «Ba-Shu» Weapons
The majority of weapons found at Moutuo represent «Ba-
Shu» types and were in all likelihood manufactured in the
Sichuan Basin, though they have typological antecedents in
North China. They are classifiable as gre*75) dagger-axes78,
jp® halberds79, mao^ spears80, and jian^78^ daggers (see
Table) (as a rule, only the blades are preserved of the jian ;
remains of a wooden grip, lined with silk thread, were found
on one specimen from Ml)81. Curiously, yue^ axes, the only
other major class of «Ba-Shu» weapons, are absent from the
assemblage — a phenomenon that may reflect customs or
preferences of the local «Cist-building» populations82.
Table 1
■.;
Fig. 18. Bronze halberd with dagger-axe of Type I from tomb
no. 1 at Moutuo.
L. 23.3 cm. Ba-Shu culture (probably predating the fifth century
BC). After
Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji v. 13 (Ba Shu), pi. 146 (see also
supra fig. 17 b).
Fig 18. Hallebarde avec hache-poignard en bronze de Type I.
découverte dans
la tombe n" 1 de Moutuo. L. 23,3 cm. Culture de Ba-Shu
(probablement avant
le e siècle av. J.-C.) D'après Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji v. 13
(Ba Shu), pi. 146
(voir aussi supra fig. 17 b).
«Ba-Shu» Weapons Found at Moutuo

dagger-axes
halberds
spearheads
daggers
Totals:
Ml
25
3
2
2
32
Kl
3
1
-
3
7
K2
4
-
2
1
7
K3
-

-
-
-
-
Totals
32
4
4
6
46
NB: This table excludes the weapons and scabbards discussed in
Section G.
It seems unnecessary here to unroll the details of «Ba-
Shu» weapon typology, which have been well-studied
elsewhere83. We may observe, nevertheless, that Moutuo
yielded
specimens of all five types of «Ba-Shu» dagger-axes (figs. 17
and 18) as classified according to Feng Hanji's widely-followed
scheme (though Type IV, on which the base of the blade is
extended both upward and downward, occurs only in
composite halberds [fig. 17 e])84. Especially noteworthy is the
presence, in Ml, of specimens of Feng's Type I (characterized
by
protruding bars at the base of the blade, which were used in
hafting [figs. 17a-b and 18]) — a dagger-axe type that occurs
at Zhuwajie, but which has not been seen in later «Ba-Shu»
contexts. The other dagger-axe types are less chronologically
specific and are often seen together in « Ba-Shu » assemblages,
just as they are at Moutuo. Each type can be traced back to
Shang or Western Zhou antecedents, though some of them are

not seen at Zhuwajie and may have been introduced into
Sichuan in a later time. This situation may indicate that
Moutuo occupies a position chronologically intermediary
between
Zhuwajie and later «Ba-Shu» finds.
As on most « Ba-Shu » weapons found within the « Ba-Shu »
culture area, the ornaments on the majority of specimens from
Moutuo are extremely close to those seen, e.g., at the Early to
Middle Western Zhou cemeteries at Baoji, and thus to the
Shang and Zhou iconographie and stylistic mainstream. On
some items, however, the decorations observed take on a
idiosyncratic, playful, and occasionally flamboyant character,
attesting to the creative spirit of local artisans. Examples for
this may be seen in the macaw-like bird ornamenting a
dagger-axe from Ml (fig. 17 a); the snake ornament on a dagger-
axe from a halberd from Ml (figs. 17 b and 18) ; and the lizard
ornament on a dagger-axe from Kl (fig. 17 d). While such
idiosyncratic weapon designs are absent at Zhuwajie, they
appear
with some frequency on specimens from «Ba-Shu»
archaeological contexts datable to the Warring States period;
this
may show, once again, that the Moutuo finds postdate
Zhuwajie. On the whole, however, the decoration of «Ba-Shu»
weapons is not a very reliable chronological indicator: for
although the idiosyncratic mode of decoration probably
emerged after the Shang-Zhou derived motifs, it did not
replace them, and the two modes of decorations continued
side-by-side over a long timespan.

G. Other Types of Weapons
The Moutuo finds comprise a small number of weapons
— one halberd and eight daggers — that cannot easily be
relegated to the «Ba-Shu» bronze-casting tradition. They
warrant discussion in some detail.
1. A fragmentary halberd with curl-shaped prong from K2
(fig. 19 b)85 is typologically related to specimens from the
Zhou
culture area dating to the Early Western Zhou; the closest
parallels come from the large tomb at Baifu(80), Changping(81)
(Beijing), which also yielded numerous weapons of northern
Steppe affinities (fig. 19 a)86. Stylistically, however, this item
is
the most similar among objects from Moutuo to products of the
Dian culture : its decoration consists of panels delineated by
tiny ridges, with rows of geometric design featuring
herringbone and spiral patterns, all executed in shallow sunken
lines.
Although no halberds of exactly the same shape have so far
been recovered from Dian sites, the tubular hafting device,
never seen in «Ba-Shu» weapons or in Western Zhou
halberds, reflects an amply-documented Dian preference, which
seems to originate in weapons made on the Steppes during the
time contemporary with the Shang dynasty. Another similarity
to both Dian weapons and their much earlier ancestors in the
Eurasian Steppes is the presence, in the center of the blade, of
Fig. 20. Bronze daggers with animal-headed handles.
a) From Chaodaogou, Qinglong (Hebei). L. 30.2 cm. Regional
Bronze Age culture
(possibly Upper Xiajiadian), thirteenth century BC or later.
After Kaogu 1962.12 : pi. 5.5.
b) From Baifu, Changping (Beijing). L. 25 and 34 cm. Early
Western Zhou

dynasty (late eleventh-early tenth century). After Kaogu 1976.4
: 253, fig. 9.4-5.
c) From tomb no. 1 at Moutuo. L. 32.6 cm. Late Bronze Age
(exact date unclear).
After Wenwu 1994.3 : 36. fig. 55.3 (see also infra fig. 21).
Fig. 20. Poignards en bronze à manche terminé par une tête
d'animal.
a) Provenant de Chaodaogou, district de Qinglong (Hebei). L.
30,2 cm. Culture
régionale de l'Age du Bronze (éventuellement culture de la
couche supérieure de
Xiajiadian) xnf siècle av. J.-C. ou plus tardif. D'après Kaogu
1962.12 : pi 5.5.
b) Provenant de Baifu, district de Changping (Beijing). L 25 et
34 cm. Phase
antérieure des Zhou Occidentaux (fin f -début Xe siècle av. J.-
C.) D'après Kaogu
1976.4: 253, fig. 9.4-5.
c) Découvert dans la tombe n° 1 de Moutuo. L. 32,6 cm. Age du
Bronze tardif
(date exacte inconnue). D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 36, fig. 55.3
(voir aussi infra
fig. 21).
Fig. 19. Bronze halberds with curled-back prongs.
a) From Baifu, Changping (Beijing). H. 20 cm. Early Western
Zhou dynasty
(late eleventh-early tenth century). After Kaogu 1976.4 : 252,
fig. 7.8.
b) From cache no. 2 at Moutuo. H. 16.9 cm. Late Bronze Age
(exact date
unclear). After Wenwu 1994.3 : 35. fig. 54.6.
Fig. 19. Hallebardes en bronze à terminaison incurvée vers
l'arrière.
a) Provenant de Baifu, district de Changping (Beijing). H. 20

cm. Phase
antérieure des Zhou Occidentaux (fin xf -début Xe siècle av. J.-
C).
D'après Kaogu 1976.4 : 252, fig. 7.8.
b) Découverte dans la fosse n° 2 de Moutuo. H. 16,9 cm. Fin de
l'Age du Bronze
(date exacte inconnue). D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 35, fig. 54.6.
a roundel (now fragmentary) defined by concentric circles that
are connected by radial lines.
The stylistic parallels with Dian, though strong, are not
specific enough to allow exact cross-dating of the Moutuo
halberd with a specific site or stage of the Dian culture. At
present, it seems prudent to leave open the possibility that this
is
not actually a Dian product, but, like the «plaque ornament»
discussed above, an object, of uncertain date, that combines
features of north-central Eurasian and Southeast Asian
Bronze Age traditions.
2. A dagger from Ml features a pommel in the shape of a
sideways-bent animal head with geometricized features
articulated in raised-line concentric circlets (figs. 20 c and
21)87;
it is impossible to guess what kind of animal might have been
intended. The handle is divided into three sections by two
horizontal ribs, with a vertical band of dotted circlets running
all the way down to the level guard. The dagger comes in an
unornamented bronze scabbard that was affixed to the
bearer's belt by means of two small lateral handles. The animal-
head pommel of this object recalls those of the so-called

« Karasuk daggers » from southern Siberia ; such daggers are
widely distributed along the northern peripheries of the
Chinese culture area in contexts datable to the time
contemporary
with Shang and Early Western Zhou (fig. 20 a)88. The stylistic
specifics, however, differ greatly. While the handles of most of
the early «Karasuk daggers» are curved, the straight-handled
Moutuo specimen shows some similarity to two daggers from
Baifu (fig. 20 b), which have pommels in the shape of a horse
head and a falcon head, respectively89. The history of this kind
of weapon is as yet insufficiently traced; no later pieces
similar to the Moutuo specimen have been reported from the
Zhou,
« Ba-Shu » or Dian culture areas90. The stylistic distance from
all known typological parallels is so considerable that the
latter are of no help in dating, though the use of concentric
circlets may constitute a stylistic link to the «plaque ornament»
discussed earlier.
3 and 4. Two daggers from Ml with similarly sectioned
handles, and likewise featuring ornamentation of concentric
circlets (fig. 22 a-b)91, are clearly related to the preceding
specimen, though their simple rectangular pommels do not
represent animal heads. Both were found with elaborate
double-sheathed scabbards (one sheath being empty in each
case) ; one scabbard is decorated with an abstract interlaced
ornament derived from Late Western Zhou bronze decoration
style. Ml yielded the back plate of an additional scabbard with
similar decoration92, now lacking associated daggers.
Similar double-sheathed scabbards with closely
comparable ornaments have been found, but with typical «Ba-
Shu»
dagger blades in them, in two locations in Chengdu (fig. 22
c)93.

This suggests that the Moutuo scabbards, as well, may be of
« Ba-Shu » manufacture, though the origin of scabbards of this
kind is to be sought on the northern Eurasian Steppes ;
specimens datable to the period contemporary with Late
Western
Zhou and Early Springs and Autumns have been found at the
Upper Xiajiadian cemeteries of Nanshan'gen and Xiaoheishi-
gou (fig. 22 d)94. While the possibility that the daggers found
in
such scabbards at Moutuo might have been made in « Ba-Shu»
workshops should not be excluded (especially since the shape
of their blades resembles that of ordinary «Ba-Shu» daggers),
it is not at all certain whether daggers and scabbards
originally belonged together; in principle, thus, the affiliation
and
date of these two daggers seems as uncertain as in the case of
the preceding item.
Fig. 21. Bronze dagger with animal-
headed handle from tomb no. 1 at
Moutuo. L. 32.6 cm. Late Bronze Age
(exact date unclear). After Zhongguo
qingtongqi quanji v. 13 (Ba Shu),
pi. 163 (see also supra fig. 20 c).
Fig. 21. Poignard en bronze à
manche terminé par une tête
d'animal découvert dans la tombe
n° 1 de Moutuo. L. 32.6 cm. Fin de
l'Age du Bronze (date indéterminée).
D'après Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji
r. 13 (Ba Shu), pi. 163 (voir aussi
supra fig. 20 c).

Fig. 22. Bronze daggers and two-sheathed scabbards.
a) From tomb no. 1 at Moutuo. L. 32 cm. Late Bronze Age
After Wenvvu 1994.3 : 36, fig. 55.4.
b) From tomb no. 1 at Moutuo. L. 29 cm. Late Bronze Age
After Wenvvu 1994.3 : 36. fig. 55.5.
c) From Luojianian, Chengdu. L. ca. 25 cm. Ba-Shu culture (or
Zhou import),
eighth-sixth century or later. After Kaogu xuebao 1977.2 : 37,
fig. 4.
d) From Xiaoheishigou, Ningcheng (Inner Mongolia). L. 36.5
cm. Upper
Xiajiadian culture (eighth to seventh century BC I?]). After
Wenvvu 1995.5 : 17,
fig. 22.4.
Fig. 22. Poignards avec fourreau double en bronze.
a) Découvert dans la tombe n° 1 de Moutuo. L. 32 cm. Fin de
l'Age du Bronze
tardif (date indéterminée). D'après Wenvvu 1994.3 : 36, fig.
55.4.
b) Découvert dans la tombe n° 1 de Moutuo. L. 29 cm. Fin de
l'Age du Bronze
(date indéterminée). D'après Wenvvu 1994.3 : 36, fig. 55.5.
c) Provenant de Luojianian. district de Chengdu. L. ca. 25 cm.
Culture de Ba-Shu
(ou importé de la sphère culturelle des Zhou), vf-f siècle av.
J.-C. ou plus tard.
D'après Kaogu xuebao 1977.2 : 37, fig. 4.
d) Provenant de Xiaoheishigou, district de Ningcheng
(Mongolie Intérieure).
L. 36,5 cm. Culture de la couche supérieure de Xiajiadian
(iif-uf siècle av. J.-C. [?]). D'après Wenvvu 1995.5 : 17, fig.
22.4.

Fig. 23. Bronze daggers with pronounced pommels.
a) From cache no. 1 at Moutuo. L. 28. 1 cm. Late Bronze Age
After Wenvvu 1994.3 : 33, fig. 52.4 (see also infra fig. 24).
b) From Xiaoheishigou, Ningcheng (Inner Mongolia). L. 36.7
cm. Upper
Xiajiadian culture (eighth to seventh century BC I?]).
After Wenvvu 1995.5 : 17. fig. 22.2.
c) From Baifu, Changping (Beijing). L. 37.5 cm. Early Western
Zhou dynasty (late
eleventh-early tenth century). After Kaogu 1976.4 : 253, fig.
9.2.
d) From tomb no. 1 at Moutuo. L. 25.9 cm. Late Bronze Age
After Wenvvu 1994.3 : 36, fig. 55.7.
Fig. 23. Poignards en bronze à pommeau renforcé.
a) Découvert dans la fosse n° 1 de Moutuo. L. 28,1 cm. Fin de
l'Age du Bronze
(date indéterminée). D'après Wenvvu 1994.3 : 33, fig. 52.4
(voir aussi infra fig. 24)
b) Provenant de Xiaoheishigou, district de Ningcheng
(Mongolie Intérieure).
L. 36,7 cm. Culture de la couche supérieure de Xiajiadian
(vf-if siècle av. J.-C. [?]). D'après Wenvvu 1995.5 : 17. fig.
22.2.
c) Provenant de Baifu, district de Changping (Beijing). L. 37,5
cm.

Phase antérieure des Zhou Occidentaux (fin f -début Xe siècle
av. J.-C.)
D'après Kaogu 1976.4 : 253, fig. 9.2.
d) Découvert dans la tombe n° 1 de Moutuo. L. 25,9 cm. Age du
Bronze tardif
(date indéterminée). D'après Wenvvu 1994.3 : 36, fig. 55.7.
5 and 6. Two daggers from Kl with willow-leaf shaped
blades and very broad pommels (figs. 23 a and 24) exhibit a
different set of similarities to weapon types of the northern
steppe cultures95. On both specimens, the slightly bulging
handle is ornamented with rows of small raised studs ; near
the blade, the handle terminates in an area ornamented with
herringbone ornament, flanked by downward-bent struts
(HeftzipfeJ) that undoubtedly derive from the more elaborate
guards of antecedent dagger types. As is the case with items 2-
4, there are no exact typological parallels to such daggers in
the known record of the Zhou, « Ba-Shu », and Dian cultures.
Daggers with similar «guard-struts» have been found at
Baifu, Nanshan'gen, and elsewhere (fig. 23 c)96; and
specimens with similarly wide pommels (but with separate «
pipa-
shaped» blades of Northeast Asian type, lacking a guard) were
found at Xiaoheishigou and other sites (fig. 23 b)97. None of
these very distant parallels are, however, at all helpful in
Fig. 24 : Bronze dagger with
pronounced pommel from cache
no. 1 at Moutuo. L. 28. 1 cm.
Late Bronze Age (exact date

unclear). After Zhongguo
Qingtongqi quanji v. 13
(Ba Shu), pi. 166 (see also
supra fig. 23 a).
pommeau renforcé découvert
dans la fosse n" 1 de Moutuo.
L. 28,1 cm. Fin de l'Age du
Bronze (date indéterminée).
D'après Zhongguo Qingtongqi
quanji v. 13 (Ba Shu). pi. 166
(voir aussi supra fig. 23 a).
Fig. 25. Daggers with twisted handles.
a) Bronze handle with iron blade, from tomb no. 1 at Moutuo. L.
38.5 cm. Late
Bronze Age (exact date unclear). After Wenwu 1994.3 : 36, fig.
55.9.
b) Bronze, from Xinjiangdui, Baoxing (Sichuan). L. 48 cm. Late
Bronze Age local
culture (sixth century BC-second century AD). After Kaogu
1978.2 : 139, fig. 1.2.
c) Bronze. From tombs no. 87 and 50 at Aofengshan, Jianchuan
(Yunnan).
L. 33.5 and 30.5 cm. Late Bronze Age local culture (sixth
century BC or later I?]).
After Wenwu 1986.7: 7. fig. 25.2-3.
d) Bronze handle with iron blade. From tomb no. 21 at
Lijiashan, Jiangchuan
(Yunnan). L. 26.6 cm (fragm.). Dian culture, fourth— first
century BC? After
Kaogu xuebao 1975.2 : 141, fig. 46.3.
Fig. 25. Poignards à manche orné d'une torsade.
a) Manche en bronze, lame enfer. Découvert dans la tombe n° 1
de Moutuo.
L. 38,5 cm. Fin de l'Age du Bronze (date indéterminée).

D'après Wenwu 1994.3 : 36, fig. 55.9.
b) Provenant de Xinjiangdui, district de Baoxing (Sichuan).
Bronze. L. 48 cm.
Culture locale de la fin de l'Age du Bronze (f siècle av. J..-C.-
if siècle ap. J.-C).
D'après Kaogu 1978.2 : 139. fig. 1.2.
c) Découverts dans les tombes n" 87 and 50 de Aofengshan,
district de
Jianchuan (Yunnan). Bronze. L. 33,5 et 30,5 cm. Fin de l'Age
du Bronze
(f siècle av. J.-C. ou après l?]). D'après Wenwu 1986.7 : 7, fig.
25.2-3.
d) Manche en bronze, lame enfer, découvert dans la tombe n° 21
de Lijiashan,
district de Jiangchuan (Yunnan). L. 26,6 cm (fragm.). Culture
de Dian,
ie-f siècle av. J.-C? D'après Kaogu xuebao 1975.2 : 141, fig.
46.3.
determining the date or place of manufacture of the Moutuo
specimens under discussion.
7. Possibly related to the two specimens just described is a
dagger from Ml, with a similarly broad pommel (fig. 23d). The
handle has a straight profile and is ornamented with rows of
concentric circlets in small rectangular fields. It terminates in
a horizontal band that extends into a single, asymmetrical
hook-shaped protrusion similar to the paired «guard-struts»
of the preceding items. Instead of herringbone ornament
above the blade, this dagger features slanted rectangles
ornamented with parallel lines extending onto the upper part

m
X-
tï
Fig. 26. Bronze dagger with twisted
handle (polished) from Tomb A at
Liulige, IluiXian (Ilenan).
L. 30.5 cm. Late sixth-early fifth
century BC. After Chen Guimiao, éd.,
Zhongguo gudai qingtongqi (Taibei :
Zhonghua Minguo Guoli Lishi
Bowuguan, 1987), no. 71.
manche orné d'une torsade (poli)
découvert dans la tombe A à Liulige,
district de Hui Xian (Ilenan).
L. 30.5 cm. Fin f -début e siècle
av. J.-C. D'après Chen Guimiao,
éd., Zhongguo gudai qingtongqi
(Taibei : Zhonghua Minguo Guoli
Lishi Bowuguan, 1987), n° 71.
^. I
Fig. 27. Long sword with bronze
handle and iron blade from tomb
no. 26 at Lijiashan, Jiangchuan
(Yunnan). L. 68.5 cm. Dian culture,
fourth-first century BC? After Kaogu
xuebao 1975.2: 141, fig. 46.1.
Fig. 27. Epée longue à manche en
bronze et lame enfer, découverte
dans la tombe n° 26 de Lijiashan,
district de Jiangchuan (Yunnan).

L. 68,5 cm. Culture de Dian,
ie-f siècle av. J.-C? D'après Kaogu
xuebao 1975.2 : 141, fig. 46.1.
of the blade, which is considerably squatter in its proportions
than those of the preceding items. Two specimens of identical
shape have been reported from the tomb no. 3 at Yingpan-
shan(82), Maowen(83) (Sichuan) — a cemetery of «stone-cists»
not far from Moutuo, to which it exhibits strong similarities in
tomb shapes and ceramic inventory98. The ornamentation
with concentric circlets may possibly constitute a linkage to
other Moutuo items of enigmatic provenience.
8 and 9. Unlike the preceding seven items, which are
problematic precisely because of their idiosyncracies, two
daggers
with bronze handles and iron blades found in Ml (fig. 25 a)99
can be related to a large number of similar objects found in
southwestern Sichuan and northern Yunnan. Each specimen
has an oval pommel, and the grip is fashioned in the shape of
twisted strands, undoubtedly in imitation of cords or bands
that were wrapped around sword handles to make them more
comfortable to grasp. The guard is three-pronged: the iron
blade is fitted between the outer prongs (which may be
developed from the «guard-struts» observed on the specimens
discussed under nos. 5 and 6), and the middle prong extends
onto the center of the blade.
A bronze dagger with a detachable handle of similar shape
was found at Tomb A at Liulige(84), Hui Xian(85) (Henan)
(fig. 26)100. Its pommel and twisted grip are identical to the
Moutuo specimens, but the highly-ornate guard is different in
shape and betrays a place of manufacture within the Zhou
culture sphere (possibly at Houma) ; the object dates to around
500 BC and may, however circuitously, allude to stylistic
influence from the Steppe areas, where knives and daggers

with twisted handles have also been found, though known
specimens are difficult to contextualize and to date101.
Closer to Moutuo, daggers of identical and related shapes
have been found at a great number of localities, including
contexts assigned to the «Stone-Cist Building Culture
(fig. 25 b)»102, the Dian Culture103, and at various non-Dian
(probably pre-Dian) Bronze Age sites in northwestern Yunnan
(fig. 25 c)104. So far, specimens are remarkably absent from
«Ba-Shu» and «Dolmen-Building Culture» contexts. In most
cases, the blade is made of bronze ; aside from Moutuo, the
only other instance of an iron-bladed specimen of this type
of dagger comes from the Dian cemetery at Lijiashan
(fig. 25 d)105.
The occurrence of iron in itself cannot any longer be taken
as indicating a late date. Recent finds within the Zhou culture
sphere have documented iron-bladed daggers with
exuberantly ornate bronze handles as status indicators in
aristocratic
tombs at least as early as the Early Springs and Autumns
period106. A consensus seems to be emerging that these early
stages of iron use in China are the result of diffusion from
western Eurasia by way of Central Asia107. Although it is
usually assumed that iron use began very late in the
mountainous areas of southwest China, the issue might bear
reconsideration in the light of such new insights. In a context
such as
Moutuo, located far to the west of the Zhou realm, and with its
manifest ties to more northerly steppe areas, it might not be
surprising to see iron objects relatively early in the first
millennium BC — perhaps even before they became widespread
in
the Zhou cultural sphere.

The dating range proposed for the archaeological contexts
in southwest China in which daggers with spiral-shaped
handles have been found ranges from the second quarter of
the first millennium BC all the way through the Han dynasty.
Further research may succeed in building a typological
sequence of such daggers; even from cursory observation,
however, it seems obvious that specimens with inward-bent
(convex-profiled) lateral guard-prongs, as seen on the Moutuo
and Aofengshan specimens (figs. 25 a and c), precede
specimens where the guard-prongs are bent outward
(concave-profiled), as is the case in the twisted-handled dagger
from Lijia-
shan (fig. 25 d; see also fig. 25 b). The latter type of dagger, in
turn, is clearly ancestral to the well-known long swords with
iron blades and elaborate bronze handles (fig. 27), specimens
of which have been found in Dian contexts contemporary with
the Han dynasty, as well as in several locations in Sichuan108.
From such preliminary considerations, one may conclude,
minimally, that the Moutuo specimens probably predate finds
from third to second-century BC Dian sites. As in the case of
the Houma connections with the «plaque ornament»
discussed above, the Liulige parallel might indicate, albeit
indirectly,
a date before which a putative common typological ancestor
must have been current in the Eurasian Steppes.
The Date and Significance of
the Moutuo Bronzes
The Moutuo finds include objects in the following
categories:

1) Vessels and bells originating in the Zhou culture area —
including one object of Western Zhou metropolitan
manufacture, several Eastern Zhou vessels made in Chu, and a
bo from
an east-central workshop ;
2) Vessels and bells from the non-Zhou regional bronze
manufacturing traditions of the Middle Yangzi region;
To judge from parallels in the Sichuan Basin, many or all
objects of these two groups were probably mediated through
the «Ba-Shu» culture area. Additionally, we have seen:
3) Bo bells of idiosyncratic features, possibly made in Sichuan
under the inspiration of objects of Middle Yangzi manufacture;
4) Weapons imported from «Ba-Shu» workshops (which
constitute the majority of bronzes found), and
5) Objects — mainly weapons, but also including bronze cups,
a clapper-bell, and ornaments — that relate simultaneously to
the bronze-casting traditions on the Eurasian steppes and to
those of Yunnan, and some of which can be connected with
prototypes of astonishingly early (Shang to Early Western
Zhou) date.
Although the last-mentioned category is defined mainly by
process of elimination, it seems of particular importance in
assessing the local dimensions of the assemblage. To judge
from stylistic differences among them, objects in this group
may not all have been made in one place, but some of them, at
least, may be products of the same workshop tradition that,
among other things, favored decoration with concentric
circlets. Possibly, they represent the metal-casting workshops of
the «Stone-Cist Building Culture» of western Sichuan. Given
its geographical location, it would seem plausible that this as-
yet virtually unknown bronze casting tradition occupies a
mediating position in the cultural transfer processes between
the Steppe zone and the Dian culture area; and if it could be

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