| Abstract: |
Until very recently nearly everything that was known archaeologically of the ancient Chinese state of Chu came from excavations in the vicinity of Changsha, Hunan. Some 2000 Chu graves have been excavated here. A chronology for these graves which is widely but not universally accepted places about 100 of them in the Spring and Autumn period: this dating implies that some twenty iron artefacts found in the graves are to be dated to ca. 500 B.C. or before. These would then be among the earliest iron artefacts (other than meteoritic iron) yet found in China. <br> It happens that the question of the first use of iron in China is important to me, and I have therefore studied the Changsha material rather carefully. This study has forced me to the conclusion that the usual chronology of the Chu graves is faulty. and that currently available material does not permit a better dating for these graves than "pre-Han''. <br> The purpose of the present article is to argue this negative conclusion in detail. The final sections then reconsider briefly the evidence concerning the cultural context of the first use of iron in China.
|
