Chinese

“Are these the remains of a two-million-year-old playground? Stones found at Chinese site could be toys used by man’s early relatives, say scientists”

The problem of Modern archaeology. The item is either a gift fro a mother that shows the loves caringly placed into making it or random stone fragments. We’re not really sure. **EB

“Are these the remains of a two-million-year-old playground? Stones found at Chinese site could be toys used by man’s early relatives, say scientists”

by Julian Robinson via “Daily Mail“

Scientists believe they may have uncovered evidence of a two-million-year-old playground in China.

Researchers found more than 700 stone artefacts in an area of less than six square metres in the Nihewan Basin, Hebei province.

Experts working at the Heitugou site have suggested the items were toys made by early hominids between 1.77million and 1.95million years ago.

Discovery: Scientists believe they may have uncovered evidence of a two-million-year-old playground in China (file picture)

The leader of the project, paleoanthropologist Wei Qi, has described the discovery as ‘amazing’.

The South China Morning Post quotes the Chinese Academy of Sciences expert as saying: ‘The site is a treasure chamber that may hold some useful clues to answer a lot of important questions, from the social structure of the early hominids to whether, when and how they arrived in Asia all the way from Africa.’

Close to 20,000 fragmented pieces but larger items – the majority between 20 and 50mm long – are believed to have been made by women and children.

Wei said one ‘finely made and beautifully shaped’ item was possibly a gift made by a mother for her child adding that ‘you can almost feel the maker’s love and passion’.

Researchers said the lack of evidence of animal remains and large stone tools added weight to the argument that the area was used by children rather than adults.

Scientists dated the site, discovered in 2002, using a special geochronological tool.

Researchers found more than 700 stone artefacts in an area of less than six square metres in the Nihewan Basin (pictured), Hebei province

The items have been excavated and documented with the findings due to be published in an archaeological journal in China.

Nihewan Basin used to be a huge lake and it is thought the items were buried in a sudden landslide.

However, a debate has surfaced over the findings and researcher Gao Xing of the CAS Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology said it was important to determine whether the artefacts were all hand made.

The South China Morning Post report him as saying: ‘It is difficult to rule out the possibility that they were just stone fragments created by natural forces.

‘To determine whether they were hand-made artefacts may go beyond the limit of science today.’

Coming Exhibition: China Through the Looking Glass

“China Through the Looking Glass”

Who: Met Museum

When: May. 7, 2015 – Aug. 16, 2015 (View Hours Here)

Where:

Chinese Galleries / Anna Wintour Costume Center
Metropolitan Museum
1000 Fifth Ave.
at 82nd Street
New York, NY 10028

How Much: (View Pricing Here)

More Information: Here

“This exhibition, organized by The Costume Institute in collaboration with the Department of Asian Art, will explore how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries, resulting in highly creative distortions of cultural realities and mythologies. High fashion will be juxtaposed with Chinese costumes, paintings, porcelains, and other art, as well as films, to reveal enchanting reflections of Chinese imagery.

From the earliest period of European contact with China in the sixteenth century, the West has been enchanted with enigmatic objects and imagery from the East, providing inspiration for fashion designers from Paul Poiret to Yves Saint Laurent, whose fashions are infused at every turn with romance, nostalgia, and make-believe. Through the looking glass of fashion, designers conjoin disparate stylistic references into a pastiche of Chinese aesthetic and cultural traditions.

The exhibition will feature more than one hundred examples of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear alongside Chinese art. Filmic representations of China will be incorporated throughout to reveal how our visions of China are framed by narratives that draw upon popular culture, and also to recognize the importance of cinema as a medium through which to understand the richness of Chinese history.

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“More than 100 relics from Yuanmingyuan displayed”

This is where my specialty lies! It’s really amazing to see these on exhibition in China again.**DB

“More than 100 relics from Yuanmingyuan displayed”

via “China Daily“

A vase is on display during an exhibition of treasures of the Yuanmingyuan at the Shandong Provincial Museum in Jinan, capital of east China’s Shandong province, Jan 9, 2015. Bronze heads of cow, tiger, monkey and pig, and more than 100 relics from the Yuanmingyuan were on display in the exhibition.

(more…)

Mummified Buddha Statue Contains Actual Monk Mummy

“Mummified Buddha Statue Contains Actual Monk Mummy”

by James Maynard via “Modvive“

A Buddha statue in China examined by researchers using a CT scan, like those in medical facilities, was found to contain the remains of an actual mummy.

The 1,000-year-old monument is painted in gold, and the body inside discovered when examinations of the artifact started, soon after its discovery. The latest investigation involved studies of samples from the body itself, as well as the CT scan.

However, the mummy discovery contrary to some reports is not as shocking as it may seem, as The History Blog notes: “It was known to be inside the statue all along … that’s why it was sent to the Drents Museum in the first place as part of the Mummies exhibition.”

Inside the statue, the body may be the remains of a well-respected monk who may have achieved status as an enlightened being. The artifact was likely stored in southeastern China for several centuries, housed at a monastery.

During the Cultural Revolution, which began in China in 1966, Mao Zedong encouraged Chinese citizens to seize private property, in an effort to rid the nation of bourgeois cultural influences. Investigators believe the statue may have left China during this time, before being sold in the Netherlands, to a private buyer. When the new owner decided to have the artifact restored in 1966, the restorer first noticed the statue appeared to be kneeling on a pair of pillows.

When these were removed, the human remains inside were first seen. The mummy was sitting on a rolled pillow, inscribed with writing.

“He looked right into the bottom of this monk. You can see part of the bones and tissue of his skin,” said Vincent van Vilsteren, archaeology curator at the Drents Museum in Holland.

The outer shell of the statue is composed of a form of papier-mâché, covered in lacquer.

Samples from the artifact were examined by researchers, looking for ratios of different isotopes of carbon, in order to determine its age. This investigation revealed that the monk likely lived sometime in the 11^th or 12^th centuries, while the carpet on which he sat was found to be about two centuries older than the body.

The mummy was studied with CT scans at both Meander Medical Center in Amersfoort, Netherlands, as well as Mannheim University Hospital in Germany.

Chinese archaeologists find 2,800-year old burial of chariots and horses

“Chinese archaeologists find 2,800-year old burial of chariots and horses”

by Ruth Schuster via “Reuters“

Archaeologists excavating ancient tombs in central China have unearthed 28 chariots and 49 pairs of horse skeletons dating back three millennia.

The 2,800-year-old group of tombs, which dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-476 BC) is located in the city of Zaoyang, in the province of Hubei. Current explorations have found at least 30 tombs of various sizes.

Preliminary studies show that the tombs belong to high-ranking nobles of the period in Chinese history.

Now a new 33-meter long, four-meter wide chariot pit has been discovered. “This chariot and horse pit is different from those discovered previously along the Yangtze River. The chariots and horses were densely buried,” said Liu Xu, professor from School ofArchaeology and Museology of Peking University. ” Many of the wheels were taken off and the rest parts of the chariots were placed one by one.”

At least 28 chariots were discovered in three months of excavation. About five meters away the chariot pit was a horse pit, where at least 49 pairs of horse skeletons were discovered.

“Judging from the way the horses were buried, they were buried after they were killed, as there was no trace of struggle. Second, it is the way they were laid. They were laid back to back, lying on their sides. It means that two horses pull one chariot,” said Huang Wenxin, researcher from the provincial archaeological institute. . . .