The 2015–2019 excavation of the bronze foundry site at the Huanbei Shang City in Anyang, Henan
Abstract
The Anyang Team of Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences conducted five excavations of a bronze foundry site at the Huanbei Shang City from 2015 to 2019. A variety of archaeological features were discovered, ranging from the foundation built from calcareous nodules and rammed earth, bronze melting and casting area, refuse area, sacrificial pit, ash pit, well, and cache pit. Many artifacts related to metallurgy were also unearthed, including clay molds, models, cores, bellow nozzles, slag, furnace fragments, charcoal, bone gravers, and whetstones. The discovery of this bronze foundry site is of great value for the study of the Huanbei Shang City layout, the operation, and management of bronze casting, technological transmission, and other questions. Bronze casting technology at Huanbei Shang City was still in its early stages of development, but it laid a solid foundation for the later flourishing of the bronze civilization at Yinxu.
Postscript
The original article 河南安阳市洹北商城铸铜作坊遗址2015–2019 年发掘简报, prepared by Yuling He 何毓灵, Zhanwei Yue 岳占伟, Junjie Zhao 赵俊杰, and Kuan Yang 杨宽, was published in Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) 2020.10:3–29 with 62 figures and 13 notes. This abbreviated English version, translated by Daisy Holden 何岱晴, has removed 21 figures and the notes.
Further readings
He, Yuling 何毓灵. 2019. 论殷墟手工业布局及其源流 (On the layout of the handicraft industry in Yinxu and its origin). Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) 6:75–88.Search in Google Scholar
Li, Yungti. 2003. Anyang foundry: archaeological remains, casting technology, and production organization. A thesis for Ph.D. at Harvard University.Search in Google Scholar
Liu, Yu 刘煜. 2018. Yinxu chutu qingtong liqi zhuzao gongyi yanjiu 殷墟出土青铜礼器铸造工艺研究 (A study on the casting process of bronze ritual vessels unearthed at Yinxu). Guangzhou: Guangdong renmin chubanshe.Search in Google Scholar
© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- New archaeological discoveries
- The Piluo Paleolithic site in Daocheng, Sichuan
- The Huangshan Neolithic site in Nanyang, Henan
- The sacrificial area at the Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, Sichuan
- The Guozishan Warring States tomb M1 in Zhangshu, Jiangxi
- The 2021 excavation on the Zhengjiahu cemetery in Yunmeng, Hubei
- Tang dynasty Tuyuhun royal tombs in Wuwei, Gansu
- Reports
- The excavation of M793 at Liujiazhuang North in Yinxu, Anyang, Henan
- The 2015–2019 excavation of the bronze foundry site at the Huanbei Shang City in Anyang, Henan
- Research
- The Lushanmao site and the formation of the Xitu type architectural tradition
- Archaeological observations on agro-pastoralist integration in south-central Inner Mongolia during the Eastern Zhou
- On crescent-shaped objects of the early Bronze Age in southern Siberia and the surrounding areas
- Further discussion on the origins of horse stirrups
- Research on the pottery decorations and manufacturing techniques of the Houtaomuga Phase I culture
- Scientific examination and study of the Qijia culture bronze artifacts from Mogou site in Lintan, Gansu
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- New archaeological discoveries
- The Piluo Paleolithic site in Daocheng, Sichuan
- The Huangshan Neolithic site in Nanyang, Henan
- The sacrificial area at the Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, Sichuan
- The Guozishan Warring States tomb M1 in Zhangshu, Jiangxi
- The 2021 excavation on the Zhengjiahu cemetery in Yunmeng, Hubei
- Tang dynasty Tuyuhun royal tombs in Wuwei, Gansu
- Reports
- The excavation of M793 at Liujiazhuang North in Yinxu, Anyang, Henan
- The 2015–2019 excavation of the bronze foundry site at the Huanbei Shang City in Anyang, Henan
- Research
- The Lushanmao site and the formation of the Xitu type architectural tradition
- Archaeological observations on agro-pastoralist integration in south-central Inner Mongolia during the Eastern Zhou
- On crescent-shaped objects of the early Bronze Age in southern Siberia and the surrounding areas
- Further discussion on the origins of horse stirrups
- Research on the pottery decorations and manufacturing techniques of the Houtaomuga Phase I culture
- Scientific examination and study of the Qijia culture bronze artifacts from Mogou site in Lintan, Gansu
