Book ID: CBB797678613

Kingly Crafts: The Archaeology of Craft Production in Late Shang China (2021)

unapi

Li, Yung-ti (Author)


Columbia University Press


Publication Date: 2021
Physical Details: 240
Language: English

The site of Anyang, the last capital of the Shang dynasty, dated to around 1200 to 1000 BCE, is one of the most important sources of knowledge about craft production in Bronze Age China. Excavations of the settlement demonstrate both the advanced level of Shang craft workers and the scale and capacity of the craft industries of the time. However, over the past ninety years, materials unearthed in Anyang by different expeditions have been stored separately in mainland China and Taiwan and rarely considered as a single group, making a thorough study of this important aspect of life in Shang China all but impossible. Through a systematic analysis of the archaeological materials available in both mainland China and Taiwan, Kingly Crafts provides a detailed picture of craft production in Anyang and paves the way for a new understanding of how the Shang capital functioned as a metropolis. Kingly Crafts focuses on the craft-producing activities represented archaeologically in Anyang, including bronze casting, bone working, shell and marble inlay working, lithic working, and pottery production, and reviews the material remains, the technology, aspects of operational sequence, and the production organization of the craft industries. While the level of Shang craftsmanship can be observed from an examination of the finished products, Yung-ti Li demonstrates that it is necessary to study workshop remains and their archaeological context to reconstruct the social and political contexts of craft production. By synthesizing and contextualizing the available examples of these remains excavated in Anyang, Kingly Crafts reveals the relationships between the craft industries and the political authority of the late Shang period.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB797678613/

Similar Citations

Article Tyshchuk, Marharyta; (2013)
Genesis of Constructions of the Hand Looms (To the Question of Analysis) (/isis/citation/CBB001321263/)

Book Acton, Peter Hampden; (2014)
Poiesis: Manufacturing in Classical Athens (/isis/citation/CBB001422638/)

Book Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt; (2022)
The Borders of Chinese Architecture (/isis/citation/CBB159495956/)

Article Liu, Ciyuan; Ma, Liping; (2004)
A Few Astronomical Issues in the Project of the Chronology of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties (/isis/citation/CBB000411108/)

Book Popplow, Marcus; (2010)
Technik im Mittelalter (/isis/citation/CBB001421000/)

Article Unwin, Joan; (2014)
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn---Their Uses in the Sheffield Cutlery Industry (/isis/citation/CBB001450111/)

Book Voskuhl, Adelheid; (2013)
Androids in the Enlightenment: Mechanics, Artisans, and Cultures of the Self (/isis/citation/CBB001452021/)

Article Barone, G.; Mazzoleni, P.; Aquilia, A.; Barbera, G.; (2014)
The Hellenistic and Roman Syracuse (Sicily) Fine Pottery Production Explored by Chemical and Petrographic Analysis (/isis/citation/CBB001320845/)

Article Sharada Srinivasan; (2016)
Metallurgy of Zinc, High-tin Bronze and Gold in Indian Antiquity: Methodological Aspects (/isis/citation/CBB790789167/)

Book Asha Shukla Choubey; (2022)
Crafts and Craftsmen in Pre-Colonial Eastern India: Technology and Culture (/isis/citation/CBB317005179/)

Article Berg, Maxine; (2013)
Useful Knowledge, “Industrial Enlightenment”, and the Place of India (/isis/citation/CBB001421541/)

Authors & Contributors
Bai, Gengchen
Liu, Yanqi
Wang, Gang
Ren, Xiaolei
Lyu, Xiaolong
Asha Shukla Choubey
Concepts
Crafts and craftspeople
Technology and culture
Archaeology
Bronze
Museums
Manufacturing
Time Periods
Shang dynasty (China, ca. 1766-1027 B.C.)
Ancient
18th century
17th century
Zhou dynasty (China, 1122-221 B.C.)
19th century
Places
China
Europe
India
England
Greece
Rome (Italy)
Institutions
East India Company (English)
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment