Page 135 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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Jade beads and plaque By quantity, beads dominate the inventory of Liang-
zhu burial goods — some tombs contain more than
1
Beads: length 2.7-3 (i-i /*)
5
!
Plaque: height 4.2 (i /s), width 6.3 (2 /2) a hundred — and they are the oldest form of jade
objects among cultures
coast, with
eastern
of the
Liangzhu Culture, c. 3200-2000 BCE
From Yaoshan, Yuhang, Zhejiang Province examples dating back to the fifth millennium BCE.
Jade beads were carved in tubular, spherical, and
Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Archaeology, barrel-shaped forms; tubular beads are by far the
Hangzhou predominant type. Most beads are undecorated,
but some tubular forms bear face motifs similar
to those cut in sunken lines on the cong, often so
finely executed that the details are visible only
under magnification. Despite their modest, undeco-

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