Page 154 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

the early Shang bronzes did not arise until after the Erlitou period. The inlaid plaques are the
exception. The evident paucity of decorated objects from Erlitou and the elaborate repertory
of painted designs at Dadianzi, known from no other culture at this period, have led to specula-
tion that some design elements later seen on bronzes — including most importantly the taotie
image (see cat. 42) — may have appeared first at Dadianzi.
The shared characteristics of the designs on the Dadianzi pottery and those on the inlaid
plaques from Erlitou may, however, be susceptible of a somewhat different explanation. The
patterns on the Dadianzi ceramics, outlined in black against a red ground, call to mind nothing
more strongly than carved lacquerware. We also know from the archaeological reports that
lacquer was used at Erlitou to decorate not only wooden vessels but a wider range of objects,
including coffins. 9 Although virtually none of this material has been made available in illus-
tration, the drawing of a single fragment of lacquered wood from an Erlitou burial shows the
carved design of two oval eyes with C-shaped curls above, reminiscent of an early form of the
taotie. 10 The abundance of lacquered objects at Erlitou and the evidence that some of them

bore carved decoration suggest that the patterns on the inlaid bronze plaques and the Dadianzi
ceramics may both reflect a tradition of carved lacquer decoration current at Erlitou. 11
Given the fact that we do not yet know in any detail what forms the lacquered decoration
at Erlitou took, it would seem a rush to judgment to assign the priority of such important de-
signs as the taotie to the Dadianzi culture. Real answers to the sources of the painted designs
on the Dadianzi ceramics and to the broader issue of the relationship between these two early
Bronze Age cultures await further information that only future archaeological excavations may
be able to provide. LF-H

1 A complete report of the excavations at Dadianzi is pro- 7 Lin 1986, 250; Fitzgerald-Huber 1995, 24 - 25.
vided in Zhongguo 1996. A convenient synopsis of the 8 The best preserved of the Dadianzi lacquered gu is illus-
Lower Xiajiadian culture by Guo Daoshun, translated into trated in Zhongguo 1996, color pi. 20:1.
English, is available in Nelson I995b, 147-181. 9 Lacquerware from Erlitou burials is noted in Zhongguo
2 M 612 is described in Zhongguo 1996, 54-56. Erlitou 1983, 203 - 205; and Yang 1984, 39 - 40.
3 Examples of gui and jiao vessels showing imitation rivets 10 Zhongguo Erlitou 1983, 203, fig. 9:9 (80 YL in M 2:2).
are illustrated in Zhongguo 1996, 82, fig. 41:1-3, 5; 84, fig. n The painted designs on the Dadianzi ceramics also share
42:4; Zhongguo 1993, 133, fig. 105:1 - 2. See Fitzgerald- certain similarities with the older tradition at Taosi (cats.
Huber 1995, 20-21. 25-26). At Taosi, where fragments of lacquer have been
4 Zhongguo 1996,188 -191; pi. 56:3; Zhongguo 1993,134, fig. found, the palette of red and black is sometimes present,
106:2. The earrings are discussed in Fitzgerald-Huber but more striking are specific design motifs later seen at
1995, 65-66, n. in; Bunker 1998, 607-609, 611. Dadianzi, among them the running spiral, and, even more
5 Compare Kuzmina 1998, fig. 5:10 -18. surprisingly, the motif of the coiled serpent (Zhongguo
6 The Dadianzi cast-bronze fittings are illustrated in Zhong- Shanxi 1983, 42; Zhongguo 1996,1124, fig. 65:2 - 4; color
guo 1996,190, fig. 86:1-5; pi. 56:1-2, 4. A reconstruction pi. 16:3 [spirals]; 137, fig. 73:6; color pi. 12:3 [coiled ser-
of how two of these fittings were placed on a haft is shown pent]). A question arises whether designs similar to the
in Zhongguo 1993, 134, fig. 106:3. A Bactrian finial similar ones on the Taosi pottery may have had a wider currency
to one from Dadianzi (Zhongguo 1996,190, fig. 86:3; pi. in the Central Plains area in lacquerware and whether
56:4) is shown in Ligabue 1988,165, fig. 8g; Pettier 1984, they may have been transmitted to Erlitou and ultimately
177, fig. 43:316. to Dadianzi in the north.

153 I TOMB S OF THE LOWER X I A J I A D I A N CULTUR E