ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

Sanxingdui Bronze Shaping Techniques: A Comparative Perspective from Southwest China (1200-1050 BCE)

• In Event: Sciences of the Deep Past

English Abstract

Under the classification of the two major metallurgical shaping systems of the Bronze Age—casting (liquid-state forming) and fabrication (solid-state forming)—this paper systematically examines the bronze-shaping techniques of Sanxingdui. It finds that Sanxingdui’s bronze-shaping technologies straddle both systems, demonstrating flexibility and abundant innovation in technological choices. Like the Shang culture, the mainstream technique at Sanxingdui was mold-based casting; however, Sanxingdui developed new casting technologies not seen in the Shang, such as the use of core rods, transverse strip chaplets, and three-dimensional openwork structures. Meanwhile, Sanxingdui also employed a variety of fabrication techniques, including forging, soldering, wire drawing, cutting, drilling, and mechanical assembly. Comparative analysis with the Shang culture, southern Chinese bronze cultures, and other Bronze Age centers worldwide—such as South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, North Africa, and Southern Europe—shows that the bronze-shaping techniques of Sanxingdui not only provide vital information for understanding the unique characteristics of Sanxingdui culture, but also enrich our knowledge of early Chinese Bronze Age metallurgical framework, and contribute an important piece to the puzzle of the Bronze Age world system.

Author

• Xiaoge He, Harvard University