Page 150 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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perforation, the same four segments to the putative 1 First suggested by Jessica Rawson; see Bagley 1980, 76.
cutting edge, and teeth above and below. If the disk 2 Excavated in 1980 (¥^13:4); reported: Zhongguo Erlitou
1983,199-205, 219 and pi. i.
variant was used actually as an axe blade, it must 3 Shao 1993.
have been hafted, but no obvious method of attach- 4 Excavated in 1981 (8mvM 6:1); reported: Zhongguo Erlitou
ment is apparent from the Erlitou examples. Like 1984, 37-40 and pi. 3.
the zhang blade, this well-crafted stone may have
been carried as regalia or insignia.
The main affinities between the large Erlitou
hardstone blade types and outlying cultures are
found in the Northwest macroregion (present-day
Shaanxi) and the Upper Yangzi macroregion (the
Sichuan basin). The Sanxingdui site (cats. 65-75)
has yielded copious quantities of similar blades.
Just as the use of imported turquoise as inlay in
Erlitou bronzes implies contacts with other areas
(see cat. 38), it may be argued that the Erlitou type
site was in communication with distant regions —
in this instance at the receiving end of a tradition
of fashioning hardstones. As yet, it appears unlikely
that Erlitou was itself a center for such craft. RT

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