Shijiahe culture jade

Before the excavation in November that led to the discovery of about 240 jade pieces, archaeologists had unearthed 406 jade pieces in sites related to Shijiahe culture.

Among them were human figurines, models of cicadas and Chinese dragons and birds, tube-shaped ornaments, rings, hairpins, tiger heads, plaques, pendants, spindle whorls, deer heads, beads, adze, knives and phallic ornaments.

Analysis of samples from Shijiahe jade, which is green-white, shows it is nephrite composed of sulfur dioxide, magnesium oxide, calcium oxide and aluminum oxide, and has a hardness of about 5.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which ranges from one to 10. A small amount of Shijiahe jade is also made of chalcedonite, crystal, steatite, quartz and turquoise.

Each jade figurine is believed to symbolize a spirit, with human figurines based on ancestors. The animal figures may represent magical creatures from ancient mythology. Back then, people believed spirits possessed the power to communicate between heaven and Earth.

Some of the jade may have been used as badges or accessories sewn on clothing, with others serving as jewelry.

Similar jade figures were also unearthed in the remains of Shang (1600-1406 BC), and Zhou (1406-476 BC) dynasties. These figures share some significant similarities such as the shape and relief lines on the surface.

China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly 01/22/2016 page18)