FA 34a Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: List Of Neolithic Cultures Of China, Liangzhu Culture, Taotie
Document Summary
Bronze production was pervasive and closely tied with kingship. The bronze age in china is associated with the shang and zhou dynasties. The shang had a strict social hierarchy with a wide gap between the upper and lower classes. The shang social hierarchy is not unlike egypt"s hierarchy. The existence of a social hierarchy was already suggested in some phases of neolithic. China, especially in the production of prestige goods, such as jade bi and cong from the. Many prestige goods were made to display authority and power. Bronze is an alloy made of copper and tin. Adding tin lowers the melting point, making it easier to work with. Bronze would be made in huge quantities by a large number of people in mines. Such a large workforce of 50 100 people also suggests the presence of a social hierarchy. The lost wax method was impractical for the production of large quantities of bronze.