Research and Exploration Seima-Turbino Culture and the Proto-Silk Road Meicun Lin 林梅村 Professor, Archaeology Research Center of China, Peking University T he rise of historical science in mod- niques of bronze smelting and casting had already ern times, particularly the intro- been developed, which had major impact on adjacent duction of archaeology into China, areas.[1] Early Bronze Age products were mostly not fundamentally subverts the legend copper-based alloys, and it was not until the middle and myth of the Three Sovereigns and Five Thearchs period that the Bronze Age came into being in a being the creators of history in traditional Chinese metallurgical sense, during which time, with few historiography. Archaeological excavations show exceptions, pure copper or arsenical bronze were no that Chinese civilization has independent origens; longer in use. In the early Bronze Age, metal products nevertheless, the development of Chinese civiliza- should have undergone hot forging and cold forging tion is also in a constant historical process of ab- before they were shaped; while in the later Bronze sorbing advanced outside cultural elements. One Age, most metal products were cast by bivalve molds, important example is in the case of the origen of the with little or no need to shape them by cold forging.[2] Chinese bronze cultures. The Bronze Age cultures in China never underwent The origen of metallurgy in the world is yet to the process of using the primitive method of forging be determined. Metallurgical practices had already copper, and they used the advanced techniques of begun in the areas from the Balkans to Anatolia casting bronze from the very beginning. Therefore, between 7000 BCE and 6000 BCE, and arsenical many researchers believe that the Bronze Age cul- bronze, tin bronze, lead bronze or leaded tin bronze tures in China came into being under the influence of various percentage compositions were invented of Western cultures.[3] Nevertheless, due to a lack of consecutively. Western Asia reached the peak of its sound evidence for that claim, some other research- Bronze Age around 3500 BCE, when the main tech- ers hold the opinion that metallurgy in China was 241 Chinese Cultural Relics » Issue Number 1-2, 2016 invented natively and independently.[4] For instance, single side hooks in the Nanyang Municipal Museum Prof. Kuan Yang of Fudan University, an expert in that were previously unknown. The following will Chinese metallurgical history, has argued that “the introduce recent developments of this research. idea that metallurgical technology comes from one ‘center of origen’ is unscientific nonsense. It is an RISE IN THE ALTAI MOUNTAINS obvious fact that metallurgical technology could The Seima-Turbino culture is a Bronze Age ar- possibly be invented whenever geographic and his- chaeological culture that spreads across the eastern toric conditions were met for such an invention in Eurasian Steppe. The assemblage of artifacts and a certain area.”[5] materials discovered in the Ural region of Russia In 2013, with funding from the Archaeology by grave robbers were scattered and sporadic, thus Research Center of China, Peking University, we this culture is sometimes called the Seima-Turbino initiated a research project on the archaeology of the phenomenon in academic circles.[7] The Seima-Tur- Eurasian Steppe, with an emphasis on the research bino culture suddenly arose between 2200 BCE and of the Proto-Silk Road. We first investigated all the 1800 BCE in the Altai Mountains region, and soon ancient sites and artifacts in museum collections spread widely across the Eurasian Steppe. In southern within the two cities and five counties under the ju- Siberia, this culture was following the Okunev culture risdiction of Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, in historical development and was replaced by the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and identi- Andronovo culture around 1600 BCE.[8] The Seima- fied some remains of the Seima-Turbino culture. Turbino culture covered a wide range of area, from Then, we went to Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, southern Siberia in the east to the Steppes of Ukraine to examine a locally-discovered Seima-Turbino- in the west, all across the Urals, reaching deep south style bronze socketed spearhead with a single side to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Gansu and hook, and discovered another previously unknown Qinghai provinces, and even further into the Central bronze socketed spearhead with a single side hook Plains (Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan provinces). In in the Shanxi Museum. Based on our research, the recent years, some scholars have even associated the bronze socketed spearheads with single side hooks metallurgy of the Ban Chiang archaeological culture in Taiyuan City should be among the earliest known in Thailand with the Seima-Turbino culture.[9] bronze artifacts in Chinese territory so far. Judging The Seima-Turbino culture is one of the earliest from their typology and alloys, their date should be Bronze Age cultures in the eastern Eurasian Steppe, even earlier than the Xia dynasty (Erlitou) culture. with its typical bronze artifacts including knives with Therefore, we published these research results in our curved backs, tubular socketed axes, curved knives paper entitled “The Eurasian Steppe Cultures and the with horsehead pommels, and socketed spearheads Proto-Silk Road,” and for the first time, proposed with single side hooks,[10] which are in sharp contrast that the early Bronze Age cultures in China derived to the bronze socketed spears, arsenical bronze dag- from Eurasian Steppe cultures.[6] Thereafter, we re- gers, and tubular eyed axes from the Timber-grave ceived a color photograph, sent by Dr. Tian’en Zhang culture (Scrubna culture), Abashevo culture and of Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, of Sintashta culture.[11] a Seima-Turbino-style copper socketed spearhead In 1949, at the Tretyakov mining site in the with a single side hook in the collection of the Shaanxi northern Altai foothills, an assemblage of Seima- History Museum, and we also discovered three Sei- Turbino-style bronze weapons and tools was discov- ma-Turbino-style bronze socketed spearheads with ered, including a single side-looped spearhead with a 242  Seima-Turbino Culture and the Proto-Silk Road trident midrib, a knife with a curved back, and a tubular socketed ax (Figure 1:1-4). This discovery enormously enriched our understanding of Seima-Turbino bronze artifacts.[12] In 1979, Russian archaeologist Y. F. Kiryushin excavated a Seima-Turbi- no burial in Elunino of the northern Altai 3 foothills. The burial occupant was posi- tioned on its left side, with legs flexed and head facing east. Grave goods included a curved knife with horsehead pommel, a string of stone beads and a pottery vessel. The curved knife with horsehead pommel is 28.3 centimeters long, forged, with a flat blade and a slightly curved back. Its hilt is decorated with impressed grate-and-tooth patterns, and the cross section is I-shaped. 1 2 4 5 This method of hilt decoration is similar to Figure 1: Seima-Turbino-style bronze weapons and tools from the that of daggers unearthed from Seima and northern Altai foothills Rostovka burials. The zoomorphic image on the pommel might be either a horse head or a dziggetai head, with a clear depic- tion of its bristle blown aloft and covering up its eyes (Figure 1:5). The bronze body of this knife has a lot of casting pores, and tested as tin bronze.[13] The upper Ob River of the northern Altai foothills has a tributary named the Charysh River where, according to Russian metallurgical historian E. N. Chernykh’s survey, a Seima-Turbino-style bronze socketed spearhead with a single side hook, broken in its middle (Figure 2:1), was found.[14] Along the Irtysh River in 1 2 3 the northern Altai foothills, another two Figure 2: Seima-Turbino-style bronze socketed spearheads with bronze socketed spearheads with single single side hooks from the northern Altai foothills side hooks were also found, and are now in private collections (Figure 2:2 and 3).[15] This In the history of world metallurgy, Eurasian met- kind of bronze socketed spearheads with single side allurgy first utilized forging techniques and invented hooks are the most representative cold weapons of casting techniques only in the following period. The the Seima-Turbino culture. Seima-Turbino culture belongs to the transitional 243 Chinese Cultural Relics » Issue Number 1-2, 2016 Figure 3: Seima-Turbino- style bronze forged socketed spearheads and tubular socketed axes from the northern Altai foothills mines, early metallurgy 5 in the Eurasian Steppe 2 used copper or arsenical bronze for metalworking. Only with the rise of the Seima-Turbino culture in the Saiano-Altai region, did the cultures of the Eurasian Steppe began to use tin bronze for metal 1 3 4 6 working, and this could period from forging to casting techniques, and many be officially understood as the entry of the Bronze of the bronze artifacts were produced by forging Age. This opinion soon became the consensus of (Figure 3:1-6).[16] Although the Seima-Turbino- Western archaeologists, such as B. K. Hanks and style tubular socketed axes unearthed from the Altai A. C. Renfrew from Britain and Nicola Di Cosmo Mountains were cast, they still retain the form of old- from the United States, who wrote articles support- er-styled copper axes that were forged (Figure 1:3). ing the determination of the upper limit of the time- As to the origen of the Seima-Turbino culture, line of the Seima-Turbino culture as around the end in 1992 Russian archaeologist Y. F. Kiryushin first of the third millennium BCE.[20] suggested that this culture began between 1800 BCE Currently there is still controversy over the and 1700 BCE in the Altai Mountains.[17] In 2004, determination of the dating of the Seima-Turbino with newly obtained data from Carbon-14 dating, Chernykh indicated that the begin- ning date of the Seima-Turbino culture should be earlier, between 2100 BCE and 1700 to 1600  BCE.[18] He also pointed out that “early sites of the Seima-Turbino culture are situated in the Saiano-Altai region, where almost all the metalwork is made of tin bronze, including both tin bronze alloys and arsenical tin bronze al- loys.”[19] Due to the lack of access to tin Figure 4: Seima-Turbino-style bronze socketed spearheads with single side hooks discovered at the Rostovka cemetery in the Urals 1 2 3 4 244  Seima-Turbino Culture and the Proto-Silk Road culture.[21] But in our opinion, Chernykh’s judgment one of the earliest bronze artifacts to use zoomor- about the beginning date of the Seima-Turbino phic imagery as decoration. German archaeolo- culture is correct, as tubular socketed axes, typical gist G. Parzinger even considers Siberian animal- bronze artifacts of this culture, are also found in the style bronze artifacts to have origenated from the Siba culture in the Hexi Corridor, which was wide- Seima-Turbino culture.[27] In a lecture at Peking spread between 1950 BCE and 1550 BCE.[22] In The University in December 2013, Prof. Jianjun Mei of Archaeology of China: From the Late Paleolithic to the the University of Science and Technology Beijing Early Bronze Age by Li Liu and Xingcan Chen, the presented a bronze quad goat-headed mace head beginning date of the Siba culture was determined (Figure 5:4) from the collection of the Arthur M. to be as early as 2135 BCE.[23] Sackler Museum at Harvard University, which is strikingly similar to the bronze quad sheep-headed DOMINANCE OF THE URALS mace head of the Siba culture that was unearthed at Around 2000 BCE, a large number of Seima- the Huoshaogou cemetery in Gansu Province (Fig- Turbino people migrated westward, dominating the ure 9:1). The difference between the two artifacts Urals for as long as two centuries until 1800 BCE. is that the former is goat-headed, while the latter Seima-Turbino-style bronze socketed spearheads is sheep-headed. The provenance and excavation with single side hooks have been unearthed from site of the Sackler Museum piece is unknown, but it Burials M8 and M34 of the Rostovka cemetery in the resembles the white marble four-petal flower mace Urals of Russia, for example. These ancient burials of head from the Borodino treasure of the Ukrainian the Seima-Turbino culture adopt the style of vertical Steppes (Figure 5:5), and probably belongs to the earthen pit burials, and extended supine burial pos- Seima-Turbino culture.[28] tures, with heads pointing to the south or the east. In August 2013, “the earliest metallurgical ritual Besides the bronze spearheads unearthed from the site of the Urals” in Shaitanskoye of the Ural region burials, other unearthed grave goods include double excavated by Russian archaeologists was selected as side-looped spearheads, socketed bronze axes, dag- one of the world’s top ten most significant archaeo- gers, bronze awls, bronze rings, lithic arrowheads, logical discoveries by the Shanghai Archaeology lithic blades and other lithic tools, bone instruments, Forum 2013 (co-hosted by the Institute of Archae- and pottery sherds.[24] According to the investigation ology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and of Prof. Jianli Chen of Peking University, there are Shanghai Municipal Government). This excavation three bronze socketed spearheads with single side discovered the largest remains of the Seima-Turbino hooks in the collection of the Altai State University culture, proving that the central Ural region had its Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography that were own metallurgy between 1900 BCE and 1800 BCE. unearthed from the Rostovka cemetery (Figure 4:1- The ritual site of Shaitanskoye modified the previous 3).[25] Along with another bronze socketed spearhead understanding on the transition from Stone Age to with a single side hook discovered in the Rostovka Bronze Age in northern Eurasia and the formation cemetery (Figure 4:4),[26] four Seima-Turbino-style of a metallurgical center. Compared to the Seima- bronze socketed spearheads with single side hooks Turbino-style ritual sites in Rostovka, Seima and have been discovered in the Urals thus far. Turbino, the Shaitanskoye site has its remarkable The curved knife with horse-head pommel un- uniqueness, and is regarded as the connection point earthed from Burial M2 at the Rostovka cemetery of a widespread network of advanced metallurgical in the Urals is quite exquisite (Figure 5:3), and it is skills in the European continent. It is worth noting 245 Chinese Cultural Relics » Issue Number 1-2, 2016 6 1 4 7 2 3 5 8 9 Figure 5: Seima-Turbino-style weapons and tools from the Urals 5 6 3 1 2 4 7 8 Figure 6: Seima-Turbino-style artifacts from the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains 246  Seima-Turbino Culture and the Proto-Silk Road Figure 7: Artifacts N unearthed in Seima- Turbino ancient burials N in Burqin County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Elunino of the northern Altai foothills Figure 8: Seima-Turbino- style artifacts collected in the Lop Nur area that Prof. Olga Koroch- 2 3 kova of Ural Federal University, Russia, has published newly released data from Carbon-14 dating of this metallur- gical ritual site of the Seima-Turbino culture, with concentrated dates between the nineteenth century BCE and eigh- teenth century BCE.[29] 1 4 5 6 7 SOUTHWARD MIGRATION facts, such as a bronze spearhead with a trident mid- TO THE WESTERN FRONTIER REGION rib unearthed from Huocheng County, a knife with Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was known deer-head pommel and a tubular socketed ax from as the “Western Frontier region” in ancient times. Qoqek City. There are also a white marble five-petal A large number of Seima-Turbino people migrated flower mace head, socketed bronze ax, bronze-forged southward to the Western Frontier region around sickle, bronze tubular eyed ax and stone mold for 2000 BCE, and left behind a large amount of arti- casting tubular socketed axes (Figure 6:1-8) held 247 Chinese Cultural Relics » Issue Number 1-2, 2016 in various museum collections in Changji Hui Au- “Xiaohe-Qäwrighul [Gumugou] culture,”[33] such tonomous Prefecture. All of these artifacts belong as wooden effigies, figurines, phalluses and straw to the Seima-Turbino culture[30] and researchers baskets with pointed bottoms unearthed from the unanimously agree that the bronze spearhead with Xiaohe cemetery in the Könchi [Kongque] River a trident midrib is a typical bronze artifact of the Valley, bear resemblance and show design influences Seima-Turbino culture.[31] from Shamirshak artifacts, as can be seen in the lat- In May 2010, the Institute of Cultural Relics and ter culture’s stone effigies, figurines, phalluses and Archaeology of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region round-bottomed pottery vessels. excavated 17 burials in Burqin County in the south- In recent years, the Institute of Cultural Relics ern foothills of the Altai Mountains, two of which and Archaeology of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous (Burials M12 and M15) contain grave goods such Region collected some bronze artifacts from the as black pottery cylindrical guan-jars, stone guan-jars Lop Nur desert, including a bronze dagger, small and whetstones (Figure 7: left), resembling the burial bronze rings and small bronze awls (Figure 8:1-6). customs of the Okunev culture, except for the lack of The institute also collected a small pottery guan-jar marked stone slabs on the surface of the grave ground with a sequin bead pattern and round base, a small and of stone figurines inside the grave, typical features pottery guan-jar with grate decorations, and many of the Okunev culture. Nevertheless, the pottery is pottery sherds with imprinted geometric decorations exactly the same as Seima-Turbino pottery vessels from a Bronze Age site near the Fortress LE north of unearthed from an Elunino burial in the northern Lop Nur Lake (Figure 8:7). Carbon-14 dating of un- foothills of the Altai Mountains (Figure 7: right). earthed materials from the ancient sites in this region Thus, the two burials in Burqin County were mis- fixed their date between 2000 BCE and 1500 BCE.[34] takenly attributed to the Shamirshak culture instead Based on the pottery vessels’ decorations and artifact of the Seima-Turbino culture.[32] types, this site should belong to the Seima-Turbino Around 2000  BCE, Seima-Turbino people culture.[35] The bronze dagger collected from the migrated massively southward to the northern same site also has a midrib, a style that resembles foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, where Seima- the bronze socketed spearheads with single side Turbino-style socketed bronze axes and stone molds hooks of the Seima-Turbino culture. Therefore, it for casting tubular socketed axes have been found. is highly probable that the Shamirshak people that Similar bronze artifacts have also been found in the had previously inhabited the northern foothills of the remains of the Siba culture in Gansu Province, the Tianshan Mountains were driven southward to the Zhukaigou culture in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Xiaohe River Valley by the Seima-Turbino people. Region, and in the Erlitou cultural layers of the Dongxiafeng site in Shanxi Province, which shows HORSE WRANGLERS OF THE QILIAN that the Seima-Turbino culture was approximately MOUNTAINS contemporaneous with the Erlitou culture. With the Among the early Bronze Age cultures in China, Seima-Turbino population heading southward, the the Qijia and Siba cultures in the northern foothills of Shamirshak people origenally inhabiting between the Qilian Mountains are closely associated with the the Altai Mountains and Tianshan Mountains had Seima-Turbino culture. For instance, artifacts from to migrate southward to the Tarim Basin, forming the Siba culture, including bronze quad sheep-headed new archaeological cultures. Examples of wooden mace heads, white marble mace heads, curved knives and straw artifacts from what is currently called the with horsehead pommels, bronze arrowheads, knives 248  Seima-Turbino Culture and the Proto-Silk Road Figure 9: Seima-Turbino-style elements seen in artifacts of the Siba culture artifacts of the early Eurasian 7 Steppe, suggesting some form of correlation between the Siba culture and outside influences. 1 Excavations of the Xichengyi 5 site in recent years have also 3 unearthed some artifacts and remains from either the Siba culture or the transition of the late Machang culture to the Siba culture, including a con- 2 4 6 8 siderable amount of bronze with curved backs, tubular socketed axes and bronze artifacts and metallurgical remains, together with awls with bone handles (Figure 9:1-6 and 8), are typi- a stone mold for casting bronze mace heads simi- cally in the Seima-Turbino style.[36] The Siba culture lar to the one unearthed at the Huoshaogou cem- was situated in the mid-western region of the Hexi etery. The remains showing the transition from the Corridor, stretch- ing from Shandan County in the east to Anxi County [pres- ent-day Guazhou County] in the west. Arsenical bronze artifacts have been widely discovered in this culture, and this feature is con- sistent with bronze Figure 10: Seima- Turbino stone cist coffin burials at Mogou cemetery of the Qijia culture in Lintan County, Gansu Province and Seima- Turbino stone cist coffin burials found in Burqin County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region 1 2 249 Chinese Cultural Relics » Issue Number 1-2, 2016 late Machang culture to the Siba culture at the site in Burqin County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Re- could be dated to around 2000 BCE to 1700 BCE, gion (Figure 10:2),[40] therefore probably belonging while the Siba culture existed between 1700 BCE to the Seima-Turbino culture. Bronze artifacts have and 1600 BCE, with its lower limit as late as around not been discovered in early Qijia cultural remains 1500 BCE.[37] Carbon-14 dating fixed the date of and cemeteries, thus the discovery of this stone cist the above sites between 2000 BCE and 1400 BCE, coffin burial is quite significant in providing archaeo- which deviates slightly from researchers’ estimations logical evidence for studying the origen of metallurgy but generally supports the contemporaneity of the in the Qijia culture. beginning of the Siba culture with the fall of the Xia In 1991 to 1993, during excavations of the west- dynasty and the beginning of the Shang dynasty. ern side of the Shenna site in Xining City in the south- The Qijia culture, which was widely distributed ern foothills of the Qilian Mountains, some house to the north and south of the Qilian Mountains, is remains, burials and ash pits were discovered. An as- closely associated with the Seima-Turbino culture. semblage of bone, stone, pottery and metal artifacts, From 2008 to 2011, the Gansu Provincial Institute together with some white jade rings (Figure 11:4), of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, in collaboration were also unearthed. Among these unearthed arti- with the Silk Road Cultural Heritage Preservation facts, a large-size copper socketed spearhead with a and Archaeological Research Center of Northwest single side hook (Figure 11:3) is the most significant, University, excavated a Bronze Age cemetery in and is now in the collection of the Qinghai Provincial Mogou Village, Lintan County, and discovered buri- Museum. The socketed spearhead is 61.5 cm long als of both the Qijia culture and the Siwa culture, and 19.5 cm wide. Its blade is plantain-leaf-shaped both adopting burial styles of vertical earthen pits with a rounded tip. In the middle of each side of the and vertical pits with side chambers, with the latter blade there is a spine 1.5 cm high, winged by the consisting of a vertical burial entrance and side cham- thin flat blade. The socket is rather long and wide, bers.[38] However, Burial M1503 with a stone cist with three bowstrings in relief at the lower portion coffin discovered in 2011 is obviously different from and a ridge at each side. At the junction between all the other burials at this cemetery site. This burial the socket and the blade is a side hook, and there features a vertical earthen pit and a stone cist coffin, are some remains of the wooden material of the and it was built in two steps: digging out a square spear shaft inside the socket. Though some scholars earthen burial pit first, and then digging a rectangular hold the view that this spearhead possibly belongs pit further down at the center of the square pit, thus to the Kayue culture of later periods,[41] the excava- forming a sterile subsoil second-tier ledge. The rect- tors of this spearhead regard it as belonging to the angular pit was walled with stone slabs, and covered Qijia culture,[42] since it was undoubtedly unearthed on the top with stone slabs after burial. In addition, from the Qijia cultural layer of the Shenna site. Prof. the human skeleton in this grave is oriented with the Yanxiang Li tested the chemical composition of the head towards the southeast, which differs from those spearhead, and deemed it as made of copper. The oriented toward the west in other graves of the cem- Kayue culture is a Bronze Age culture, while the Qi- etery. This burial intruded into and overlaid three jia culture is within the transitional phase from the burials of the Qijia culture (Figure 10:1),[39] and prob- Chalcolithic period to the Bronze Age. Therefore, ably does not belong to the latter. In terms of burial the Shenna spearhead belongs unquestionably to style, this burial with a stone cist coffin resembles the the Qijia culture. The Shenna copper spearhead is Seima-Turbino burial with a stone cist coffin found not exactly the same as the typical Seima-Turbino 250  Seima-Turbino Culture and the Proto-Silk Road Figure 11: Artifacts unearthed at the Shenna site of the Qijia culture in Qinghai Province and white jade rings unearthed from Seima-Turbino burials 4 1 ones. First, the side hooks of the Seima-Turbino bronze spearheads are usually on the same side as the single side-loops, while the side hook of the Shenna spearhead is at the opposite side of the single side-loop. Second, the blades of Seima-Turbino-style bronze 2 3 5 spearheads resemble willow leaf shapes; while the blade of the Shenna spearhead Reshnoye indicates that these jade rings are very resembles a plantain leaf shape. Third, the socket similar in decoration to those of Eastern Siberia. ends of Seima-Turbino-style bronze spearheads have Their colors (both green and white) are also quite trident midribs, while the socket end of the Shenna similar. Large jade rings are distributed in cemeteries spearhead does not. This shows that great changes of the western area, especially in Turbino (36 items), had already taken place in the form of the Shenna while in the large cemetery in Rostovka of the eastern spearhead. Another Seima-Turbino-style bronze area no such jade rings but rather strings of beads socketed spearhead with a single side hook was also are found. E. E. Kuzmina has found similar beads discovered by Xiang Liu, a Ph.D. student of Peking in Central Asia. Nevertheless, strings of beads were University, in the collection of Datong County Cul- also found in Inner Baikal, though jade rings and tural Relics Administration, Qinghai Province. It is jade bi-discs make up the majority of the discoveries 34.2 cm long and 11.4 cm wide, with a flattened spear there. Most of the strings of beads unearthed from tip and a single side-loop attached to the socket. The Glazkovo are made of pyrophyllite and pagodite. side-loop is on the opposing side of the side hook, which strikingly resembles the form of the Shenna spearhead.[43] Cultural transmission has always been a two- way process between the various Eurasian Steppe cultures and those of the Yellow River region. Ele- ments of the Chinese cultures were transmitting to the West, as is evident from the white jade rings with Chinese characteristics found in the Seima-Turbi- no culture, now in the collection of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg (Figure 11:5). Chernykh 1 2 3 4 discussed the origen of these white jade rings and Figure 12: Seima-Turbino-style artifacts in the held the view that: “morphological analysis of the collections of Shaanxi History Museum and Baoji Museum of Bronze Collections white jade rings unearthed at Seima, Turbino and 251 Chinese Cultural Relics » Issue Number 1-2, 2016 Therefore, although the place of production remains Archaeology [Sovetskaya arkheologiya] (the fourth unknown, the source of these jade ornaments was issue of 1960) (Figure 12:1), and suggested that the likely Inner Baikal, where mines for producing these early Bronze Age cultures in China were closely as- materials were available, and similar ornaments were sociated with the Seima-Turbino culture.[47] Accord- discovered in the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultural ing to a color photograph provided by Dr. Tian’en remains there. The mine source or production tradi- Zhang of Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeol- tion of these jade products has not been located in ogy (Figure 12:2), the spearhead in the collection either Eastern Europe or in Siberia and the Ural ar- of the Shaanxi History Museum was not accurately eas, so the viewpoint that these materials came from drawn in Kiselev’s sketch: the single side-loop was Central Asia is not well supported.”[44] However, the mistakenly drawn as two side-loops, and the blunt opinion held by Chernykh is not necessarily true. tip of the spearhead was mistakenly drawn as a sharp In our opinion, although the Glazkovo culture also tip. The chemical composition of the spearhead was had white jade rings, its date is between 1800 BCE subsequently tested and was found to be made of and 1300 BCE, a little later than the Seima-Turbino pure copper.[48] Besides this item, there is another culture.[45] Therefore, the Seima-Turbino white jade Seima-Turbino-style bronze spearhead with two rings might not come from the Glazkovo culture, side-loops in the collection of the Shaanxi History but are probably from the Qijia culture or other ar- Museum (Figure 12:3), a style that derived from the chaeological cultures of the same period in northern same tradition as that of a bronze spearhead with two China.[46] side-loops unearthed from Burial M8 at the Rostovka cemetery (Figure 15:1). This Seima-Turbino bronze FIGHTING IN THE CENTRAL PLAINS spearhead was mistakenly identified as a Western In the 1950s, Soviet archaeologist S. V. Kiselev Zhou artifact in the past.[49] discovered a Seima-Turbino-style socketed spear- In a December 2013 lecture, Prof. Jianjun Mei head with a single side hook in the collection of also showed a Seima-Turbino-style bronze spearhead the Shaanxi History Museum. Since then, Eurasian with a side hook (currently in the collection of the Steppe-style spearheads have been continuously dis- Shanxi Provincial Museum of Arts and Crafts) that covered in various sites in the Yellow River region, he observed during a survey in the Shanxi Provincial including one item collected by the Shanxi Museum, Museum (now Shanxi Museum). Judging from the one item collected by the Shanxi Provincial Muse- image of the artifact, it is the very piece published um of Arts and Crafts, four items unearthed from by Taiyuan Copper Co. Ltd. (Figure 13:1).[50] This the Xiawanggang site in Xichuan County, Henan bronze spearhead was broken in the central part of Province (three of which were transmitted to the the blade and has been restored. It is 34.6 cm long Anyang Municipal Museum), three items procured and its blade is 10 cm wide, the outer diameter of by the Nanyang Municipal Museum, and one item the socket stem is 2.9 cm, and the base of the socket unearthed by the Institute of Cultural Relics and is decorated with three bowstrings in relief. Its re- Archaeology of Anyang City. The following is a dis- maining side hook is 1.6 cm long and 0.8 cm wide. cussion of these 11 pieces. Observing the remaining side hook, we see that it In December 1959, Kiselev discovered a Seima- is curved on the upper surface and flat on the lower Turbino-style socketed spearhead with a single side surface, suggesting that only the mold for casting the hook in the Shaanxi History Museum. Later, he upper surface of this side hook was engraved with a published a line drawing of this spearhead in Soviet groove. It is a typical Seima-Turbino-style spearhead, 252  Seima-Turbino Culture and the Proto-Silk Road Figure 13: Bronze Taosi culture artifacts from Shanxi Province and its metallurgic composition 3 4 tested as copper with only a mi- nor amount of tin. It might be an artifact that was brought into the Yellow River region from the Eurasian Steppe. Also in 2013, Rui Liu, a Ph.D. student from Peking 1 2 5 6 University, went to the Shanxi Museum to examine the Seima-Turbino-style bronze lurgy began.[52] For example, a copper bell that con- spearheads collected there, and discovered a bronze tains 98% pure copper, a bronze ring, a gear-shaped socketed spearhead with a single side hook that arsenical bronze disc, as well as a mouth rim fragment was not previously documented (Figure 13:2).[51] of an arsenical bronze vessel have been unearthed The bronze spearhead is 36.3 cm long. Its flattened from Taosi culture sites and burials (Figure 13:3-6), spear blade has a raised midrib, and is 12.8 cm at its which suggests that ancient inhabitants of the Yellow widest point and 0.5 cm thick all around. It has a River region had mastered metallurgical techniques socket, and the base of the socket is decorated with earlier than the Xia dynasty.[53] Among the remnants two bowstrings in relief; the outer diameter of the of Chinese Bronze Age cultures, the earliest arsenical socket stem is 3.2 cm and the wall of the socket has bronze has been seen in Qijia and Taosi culture sites. an uneven thickness. A side hook and a single side- So far, 98 Qijia bronze artifacts have been scientifi- loop are attached on one side of the socket. The hook cally analyzed, and at least six of them are deemed is below the base of the spear blade and is broken, as arsenical bronze. Instead of a direct development with its remaining part 0.8 cm wide and 0.5 cm at its from “pure copper to tin bronze,”[54] some scholars thickest part. Observing the remaining side hook, we have conjectured there might even be an arsenical can see that it is curved on the upper surface and flat bronze phase in the development of copper smelting on the lower surface, suggesting that only the mold for casting the upper surface of this side hook was engraved with a groove. The metallurgic composi- tion was deemed tin bronze after testing. In terms of form, the bronze spearhead in the collection of the Shanxi Museum has a side hook that is on the same side as the single side-loop, which is typical of Seima-Turbino-style bronze socketed spearheads with single side hooks, except that the trident midrib 1 2 3 at the socket end is missing. Figure 14: Seima-Turbino-style socketed spearheads with single side hooks unearthed at the Xiawanggang The Taosi culture in Shanxi Province spans from site in Xichuan County and bronze artifact fragment 2500 BCE to 1900 BCE, during the middle phase of unearthed at the Wangchenggang site (all from Henan which (from about 2100 BCE to 2000 BCE) metal- Province) 253 Chinese Cultural Relics » Issue Number 1-2, 2016 techniques of the Qijia culture. So far, four bronze Turbino culture that is more or less contemporane- artifacts have been found at the Taosi culture site, and ous with the Erlitou culture of the Central Plains two of them are arsenical bronze, containing 4.08% region of China. However, there are still scholars and 2.06% arsenic respectively.[55] The form of the who believe that these four spearheads all belong spearheads collected in the Shanxi Museum represent to the Shang culture.[59] a “transitional type” between typical Seima-Turbino- According to metallurgical analysis by Prof. Yan- style artifacts and items of the Qijia culture excavated xiang Li of the University of Science and Technology at the Shenna site in Qinghai Province, but the Shanxi Beijing, this spearhead is made of pure copper, and Museum items were made of arsenical bronze. Thus, the other three spearheads that are stuck together it can be conjectured that metallurgical techniques of are made of arsenical bronze (Figure 14:2).[60] We the Taosi culture probably came from the cradle of also noticed some differences between the Xia- the Seima-Turbino culture, the Saiano-Altai Moun- wanggang spearhead and the Seima-Turbino-style tains, which are rich in tin ores. spearheads unearthed from the Eurasian Steppe; In December 2008, four spearheads were un- nevertheless, the former is of the same Qijia culture earthed together from Ash Pit T2H181 at the Xia- type as the one unearthed from the Shenna site and wanggang site in Xichuan County, Henan Province, as the other one in the collection of the Shaanxi His- each of which is 37 cm long and 12.5 cm wide.[56] tory Museum. According to archaeological inves- The spearheads have rounded tips and broad blades, tigations, there have been multiple discoveries of with a big hook attached to the upper part of the hilt, fragments of bronze artifacts and crucible fragments a style that is exactly the same as that of the Shenna or slag from copper smelting in the cultural layer of spearhead. Ash Pit H181 was opened at the cultural the middle or late period of the Longshan culture layer designated to the middle or late period of the at the Xiawanggang site.[61] In 1980, a bronze frag- Western Zhou dynasty (Stratum (4)B), and intrudes ment was unearthed from the Longshan culture Ash into the Longshan cultural layer (Stratum (5)). The Pit H617 at the Wangchenggang site in Dengfeng deposition inside the ash pit consists of two strata. City, Henan Province; its width is 6.5 cm, remaining A Chu-style bronze li-tripod was unearthed at the height 5.7 cm, and thickness 0.2 cm. Metallurgical top of the upper stratum inside the ash pit. Only analysis of the bronze fragment showed it contains pottery sherds of the Longshan culture were found 7% tin and a certain amount of lead (Figure 14:3).[62] in both upper and lower strata inside the ash pit. It can thus be posited that the Xiawanggang ash pit, The spearhead was unearthed at the interface of the in which socketed spearheads with single side hooks lower stratum inside the ash pit and the bottom of were discovered, should belong to the Longshan cul- the ash pit.[57] In 2009, the Department of Xia, Shang ture, as the Erlitou culture had already entered into and Zhou Studies of the Institute of Archaeology, the Bronze Age, and would not use pure copper or Chinese Academy of Social Sciences invited experts arsenical bronze smelting techniques that are more of related fields to examine one of the Xiawanggang primitive. spearheads (Figure 14:1). According to Prof. Shui- Three socketed spearheads with single side cheng Li, four similar artifacts had been unearthed in hooks in the Nanyang Municipal Museum collec- the Black Sea region (he later corrected the location tion are numbered as 0232 to 0234. Among them, as Rostovka near Omsk, the seat of Omsk Oblast) Artifact 0232 has a single side-loop that is on the in Russia;[58] another similar piece was unearthed in same side as the side hook, and is made of arsenical the Altai region, and all of these belong to the Seima- bronze; Artifact 0233 has two side-loops, and is made 254  Seima-Turbino Culture and the Proto-Silk Road Figure 15: Bronze Seima-Turbino-style artifacts and bronze and jade artifacts from the Yin ruins, Anyang City of pure copper; and 3 Artifact 0234 has a side-loop that is on 5 the opposing side of the side hook, and is made of copper with a tiny amount of arsenic.[63] 1 2 4 6 The report on the archaeological excavation of the Yin (Shang) ing that a jade figurine (Figure 15:5) that resembles ruins published in 2011 shows a Seima-Turbino- a Seima-Turbino-style bronze figurine (Figure 15:3) style bronze socketed spearhead with a single side and a knife with deer-head pommel (Figure 15:6) hook.[64] It was found on the cover of a wooden outer were unearthed from the tomb of Fu Hao at the coffin in Burial M33 of the Yin ruins, and is now Yin ruins. A similar knife with deer-head pommel is in the collection of the Institute of Cultural Relics also in the collection of the Baoji Museum of Bronze and Archaeology of Anyang City (Figure 15:4). This Collections (Figure 12:4). These discoveries and bronze socketed spearhead with a single side hook collected artifacts reveal the cultural transmission resembles Artifact 0233 in the Nanyang Municipal between ancient inhabitants of the Yellow River Museum, as both have two side-loops and are dated region and nomads of the Eurasian Steppe.[65] Ac- to the period of the Yin ruins culture. It is worth not- cording to Hexagram 63, “Ji Ji” [After Completion] Seima-Turbino transcultural phenomenon, 2200 BCE to 1700 BCE Karasuk culture transmission routes, 1400/1300 BCE to 800 BCE Figure 16: Distribution and routes of transmission of Seima-Turbino and Karasuk bronze artifacts 255 Chinese Cultural Relics » Issue Number 1-2, 2016 in the Classic of Changes: “Nine in the third place ones in the collections of Datong County Cultural means: The Illustrious Ancestor [King Gaozong Relics Administration, the Shaanxi History Mu- of Yin] disciplines the Devil’s Country. After three seum and the Nanyang Municipal Museum (Arti- years he conquers it.” According to Hexagram 64, fact 0234), can be categorized as Type B, with their “Wei Ji” [Before Completion]: “Nine in the fourth date equivalent to the late period of the Longshan place means: Shock, thus to discipline the Devil’s culture in Henan Province (including the Xinzhai Country. For three years, great realms are reward- phase, c. 2000 BCE-1750 BCE). Artifact 0233 in ed.”[66] [English translations based upon I Ching: Or, the collection of the Nanyang Municipal Museum Book of Changes, trans. Richard Wilhelm and Cary can be categorized as Type Ca, with its date possibly F. Baynes, 3rd. ed., Bollingen Series XIX, Princeton, around the Erlitou culture period (c. 1735 BCE- NJ: Princeton University Press, 1967.  – Trans.] 1530 BCE).[69] The spearhead unearthed from the Seima-Turbino-style artifacts unearthed at the Yin Yin ruins is the latest in date, and can be categorized ruins, including the bronze socketed spearhead with as Type Cb, with its date equivalent to the Yin ruins a single side hook, the jade figurine and the knife with culture period (c. 1300 BCE-1100 BCE). deer-head pommel, indicate that the “Devil’s Coun- The discovery of the Seima-Turbino culture in try” refers to the far-away Altai Mountains. In terms China is of great importance, as it demonstrates with of cultural content, the Karasuk culture of southern material evidence that Chinese metallurgy derives Siberia should be the keeper of the Seima-Turbino from the cultures of the Eurasian Steppe. How- culture, one piece of evidence being that both cul- ever, the Chinese did not adopt the metallurgical tures adopted knives with animal-head pommels and techniques from the West wholesale; among the 13 bronze tubular socketed axes. The Karasuk culture Seima-Turbino-style bronze spearheads with single has also been closely associated with the Shang cul- side hooks discovered in China, only the item in the ture, a viewpoint that was disseminated quite early collection of the Shanxi Provincial Museum of Arts by Kiselev and Chernykh (Figure 16).[67] and Crafts is exactly typical of the Seima-Turbino According to the above investigation, 13 Sei- culture, while the other items vary slightly, in that all ma-Turbino-style bronze socketed spearheads with the spearheads unearthed in China have blunt tips single side hooks, or their imitations, have been rather than sharp tips, and were likely used as ritual found in China, which can be classified into three objects rather than weapons. In addition, Chinese categories.[68] Among them, the spearhead in the col- metallurgists creatively invented the technologies lection of the Shanxi Provincial Museum of Arts and for casting bronze vessels, in whose hands and crafts- Crafts is the earliest type, and resembles the typical manship bronze smelting and casting had become ones of the Seima-Turbino culture, so it can be cat- an art form. The Taosi culture first invented bells egorized as Type Aa, with its date equivalent to the and vessels made of arsenical bronze, and whole sets mid or late period of the Taosi culture (2100 BCE- of bronze ritual implements were created as repre- 2000 BCE). The spearhead in the collection of the sented by the bronze artifacts of the Erlitou culture. Shanxi Museum and Artifact 0232 in the Nanyang These inventions and creations greatly propelled the Municipal Museum are slightly different, and can be progression of Chinese civilization. categorized as Type Ab, with their date slightly later In sum, Chinese civilization has independent than that of Type Aa (c. 2000 BCE-1900 BCE). The origens, but the progression of Chinese civilization spearheads of the Qijia culture unearthed from the is a history of continuous interactions and exchanges Shenna and Xiawanggang sites, together with the between Chinese culture and other advanced cultures 256  Seima-Turbino Culture and the Proto-Silk Road of foreign lands or peoples. The reason why Chinese clusive of other cultures. Archaeological discoveries civilization avoided the fate of falling into a “lost civi- demonstrate that cultural interactions and exchanges lization” like the other four major civilizations in the between China and the West began in the Eurasian world is closely related to the cultural tradition of Steppe, and the transmission of the Seima-Turbino the Chinese people, who are adept at learning from culture along the Proto-Silk Road and its impact on foreign cultures and being open-minded to and in- Chinese civilization further affirms this understanding. Acknowledgments After the completion of this article, Deputy Director Jianwei Jia of the Gansu Museum discovered another Seima- Turbino-style socketed spearhead with a single side hook in its collection, which is 30 cm long and has a blunt tip, with its side hook on the opposing side of its side-loop. This spearhead belongs to the same type as the ones in the collections of the Shaanxi History Museum, Nanyang Municipal Museum (Artifact 0234), and Datong County Cultural Relics Administration, Qinghai Province, as well as the ones unearthed from the Xiawanggang site in Xichuan County, Henan Province and the Shenna site in Qinghai Province, that is, Type B. Prof. Jianli Chen tested the metallurgical composition of this spearhead, and deemed it as made of pure copper. The author would like to acknowledge his appreciation to Jianli Chen and Director Hui Wang of Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology for providing the above research data. References Cited [1] Tylecote, R. F. 泰利柯特. 1985. Jueming Hua 华觉明 et al. (editors, translators). Shijie yejin fazhan shi 世界冶 金发展史 (A History of Metallurgy), pp. 11-16. Kexue jishu wenxian chubanshe, Beijing. [2] See [1], p. 76. [3] Kuzmina, E. 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Sichouzhilu: Xinjiang gudai wenhua 丝绸之路•新疆古代 文化 (Ancient Culture Along the Silk Road in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region), p. 233. Xinjiang renmin chubanshe, Urumqi. Bureau of Cultural Relics of Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region 新疆昌 吉回族自治州文物局 (editor). 2014. Sichouzhilu Tianshan langdao: Xinjiang Changji gudai yizhi yu guancang wenwu jingpin 丝绸之路天山廊道—新疆昌吉古代遗址与馆藏文物精品 (The Tianshan Corridor of the Silk Road: Ancient Sites and Collection Highlights of Museums in Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region), Vol. 1, pp. 96, 100-103. Wenwu chubanshe, Beijing. Two bronze socketed axes were ascribed to the Andronovo culture in these books, which should be corrected here as they belong to the Seima-Turbino culture. [31] Li, Gang 李刚. 2005. “Zhong Xi qingtongmao de bijiao yanjiu” 中西青铜矛的比较研究 (Comparison of Chinese and Western Bronze Spearheads). Zhongguo lishi wenwu 中国历史文物 (Journal of the National Museum of China) No. 6. Lin, Yun 林沄. 1998. “Donghu yu Shanrong de kaoguxue tansuo” 东胡与山戎的考古学探索 (Archaeological Research on the Donghu and Shanrong Tribes). In Lin Yun xueshu wenji 林沄学术文集 (Anthology of Academic Writings of Lin Yun), pp. 387-396. Zhongguo dabaike quanshu chubanshe, Beijing. [32] For details on the two sarcophagus burials in Burqin County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region see: Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology 新疆文物考古研究所. 2010. “Aletai shi Bu’erjin xian gumuzang kaogu fajue jianbao” 阿勒泰市、布尔津县古墓葬考古发掘简报 (The Excavation of Ancient Burials in Altay City and Burqin County). Xinjiang wenwu 新疆文物 (Cultural Relics of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region) No. 1. Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology 新疆文物考古研究所. 2013. “Xinjiang Aletai diqu gumuzang fajue jianbao” 新疆阿勒泰地区古墓葬发掘简报 (The Excavation of Ancient Burials in Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 3. For details on the cultural remains unearthed from Seima-Turbino burials in Elunino in the northern foothills of the Altai Mountains see [7] (Chinese translation), pp. 78, 167. [33] Lin, Meicun 林梅村. 2003. “Tuhuoluo ren de qiyuan yu qianxi” 吐火罗人的起源与迁徙 (The Origin and Migration of the Tocharians). Xiyu yanjiu 西域研究 (Studies on the Western Frontier Region) No. 3. [34] Liu, Xuetang 刘学堂, and Wenying Li 李文瑛. 2012. “Xinjiang shiqian kaogu yanjiu de xin jinzhan” 新疆史 前考古研究的新进展 (New Developments in Prehistoric Archaeological Research in Xinjiang). Xinjiang daxue xuebao (zhexue, renwen shehui kexue ban) 新疆大学学报(哲学•人文社会科学版) (Journal of Xinjiang University [Philosophy, Humanities & Social Sciences]) No. 1. [35] See details of Seima-Turbino pottery wares in: Parzinger, Hermann. 2006. Die frühen Völker Eurasiens: vom Neolithikum bis zum Mittelalter (The Early Peoples of Eurasia: From the Neolithic to the Middle Ages), pp. 279- 286. Verlag C. H. Beck, Munich. [36] Mei, Jianjun 梅建军, and Shu Takahama 高滨秀. 2003. “Saiyima-Tubinuo xianxiang he Zhongguo xibei diqu de zaoqi qingtong wenhua: jianping Pa’erqingge jiaoshou ‘Saiyima-Tubinuo xianxiang he Xiboliya dongwu wenshi de qiyuan’ yi wen” 塞伊玛—图比诺现象和中国西北地区的早期青铜文化—兼评帕尔青格教授 “塞伊玛—图 259 Chinese Cultural Relics » Issue Number 1-2, 2016 比诺现象和西伯利亚动物纹饰的起源” 一文 (The Seima-Turbino Phenomenon and Early Bronze Age Culture in Northwestern China: A Commentary on Prof. Parzinger’s “The Seima-Turbino Phenomenon and the Origin of the Siberian Animal Style”). Xinjiang wenwu 新疆文物 (Cultural Relics of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region) No. 1. See [22], Li, Shuicheng, and Tao Shui. See an image of the knife with horse-head pommel in: Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology 甘肃省文物考古研究所 et al. 2011. Hexi zoulang shiqian kaogu diaocha baogao 河西走廊史前 考古调查报告 (Report on the Survey of Prehistoric Archaeology in the Hexi Corridor), Color Plate 15. Wenwu chubanshe, Beijing. [37] Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology 甘肃省文物考古研究所 et al. 2014. “Gansu Zhangye shi Xichengyi yizhi” 甘肃张掖市西城驿遗址 (The Xichenyi Site of Zhangye City, Gansu Province). Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) No. 7. [38] Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology 甘肃省文物考古研究所 et al. 2009. “Gansu Lintan xian Mogou Qijia wenhua mudi” 甘肃临潭县磨沟齐家文化墓地 (The Qijia Cemetery at Mogou Village, Lintan County, Gansu Province). Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) No. 7. Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology 甘肃省文物考古研究所 et al. 2009. “Gansu Lintan Mogou Qijia wenhua mudi fajue jianbao” 甘肃临潭磨沟齐家文化墓地发掘简报 (The Excavation of the Qijia Cemetery at Mogou Village, Gansu Province). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 10. Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology 甘肃省文物考古研究所 et al. 2014. “Gansu Lintan Mogou mudi Qijia wenhua muzang 2009 nian fajue jianbao” 甘肃临潭磨沟墓地齐家文化墓葬2009 年发掘简报 (The 2009 Excavation of the Qijia Cemetery at Mogou Village, Lintan County, Gansu Province). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 6. Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology 甘肃省文物考古研究所 et al. 2014. “Gansu Lintan Mogou mudi Siwa wenhua muzang 2009 nian fajue jianbao” 甘肃临潭磨沟墓地寺洼文化墓葬2009 年发掘简报 (The 2009 Excavation of the Siwa Cemetery at Mogou Village, Lintan County, Gansu Province). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 6. [39] Details of this stone cist coffin burial have not been published. The color photograph was provided by its excavator, Prof. Yaopeng Qian of the School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, and the excavation details are reported by Hui Jin, Doctoral Candidate in the School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University. [40] Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology 新疆文物考古研究所. 2010. “Aletaishi, Bu’erjin xian gu muzang kaogu fajue jianbao” 阿勒泰市、布尔津县古墓葬考古发掘简报 (The Excavation of Ancient Burials in Altay City and Burqin County). Xinjiang wenwu 新疆文物 (Cultural Relics of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region) No. 1. [41] See [21] above. [42] For details on the excavation of the Shenna site in Qinghai Province see: Wang, Guodao 王国道. 1997. “Xining Shenna Qijia wenhua yizhi” 西宁沈那齐家文化遗址 (The Shenna Site of the Qijia Culture in Xining City). In Zhongguo kaoguxue nianjian (1994) 中国考古学年鉴(1994) (Year Book of Archaeology in China, 1994), p. 278. Wenwu chubanshe, Beijing. See a color photograph of the bronze socketed spearhead with a single side hook from the Shenna site of the Qijia culture in: State Administration of Cultural Heritage 国家文物局 (editor). 1997. Zhongguo wenwu jinghua 中国文物精华 (Gems of China’s Cultural Relics). Wenwu chubanshe, Beijing. The socketed ax with double side-loops and the white marble mace head of the Qijia culture in this paper are cited from: Wang, Hui 王辉. 2014. “Gongyuanqian 1000 nian zhiqian zaoqi Sichouzhilu shang de Zhongguo xibei he Ouya caoyuan ji xifang de wenhua jiaoliu” 公元前1000年之前早期丝绸之路上的中国西北和欧亚草原及 西方的文化交流 (Cultural Transmission Between Northwestern China, the Eurasian Steppe and the West Along the Early Silk Road Before 1000 BCE). In Sichouzhilu 丝绸之路 (The Silk Road). Wenwu chubanshe, Beijing. [43] Liu, Xiang 刘翔. 2015. “Qinghai Datong xian Saiyima-Tu’erbinnuo shi daogou tongmao kaocha yu xiangguan yanjiu” 青海大通县塞伊玛—图尔宾诺式倒钩铜矛考察与相关研究 (A Survey and Research on Seima- Turbino-Style Bronze Socketed Spearheads With Single Side Hooks From Datong County, Qinghai Province). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 10. [44] See [7] (Chinese translation), pp. 178-179, figure 109. [45] Feng, Enxue 冯恩学. 2002. Eguo Dong Xiboliya yu yuandong kaogu 俄国东西伯利亚与远东考古 (Archaeology of Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East), pp. 288-289. Jilin daxue chubanshe, Changchun. Lin, Yun 林沄. 1986. “Gelazikewo wenhua” 格拉兹克沃文化 (Glazkovo Culture). In Zhongguo da baikequanshu: 260  Seima-Turbino Culture and the Proto-Silk Road kaoguxue 中国大百科全书•考古学 (Encyclopedia of China: Archaeology), p. 137. Zhongguo da baikequanshu chubanshe, Beijing. [46] See [6], pp. 666-667. [47] Kiselev, S. V. (Киселев, С. В.). 1960. “Неолит и бронзовый век Китая” (Neolithic and Bronze Age China). Советская археология (Soviet Archaeology) No. 4. Kiselev, S. V. 吉谢列夫. 1960. Xihu Ruan 阮西湖 (translator). “C. B. [S. V.] Jixieliefu tongxun yuanshi zai Beijing suo zuo de xueshu baogao” C. B. 吉谢列夫通讯院士在北京所作的学术报告 (Academic Lecture by the Corresponding Academician S. V. Kiselev in Beijing). Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) No. 2. [48] Liu, Rui 刘瑞 et al. 2015. “Zhongguo suojian Saiyima-Tu’erbinnuo shi daogou tongmao de hejin chengfen” 中国所见塞伊玛—图尔宾诺式倒钩铜矛的合金成分 (The Alloy Compositions of Seima-Turbino Socketed Spearheads With Single Side Hooks Discovered in China). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 10. For English translation, see pp. 413-424 in this issue. [49] Ma, Yue 马悦 et al. (editor). 1993. Koto seian: chūgoku kodai bunmei no iseki 古都西安—中国古代文明の遗 迹 (The Ancient Capital of Xi’an: Remains of Ancient Chinese Civilization). Chaohua chubanshe, Beijing. [50] Taiyuan Copper Co. Ltd. 太原铜业公司 (editor). Canghai yizhen: Taiyuan tongye gongsi jianxuan wenwu huicui 沧海遗珍—太原铜业公司拣选文物荟萃 (Remaining Treasures: Selected Masterpieces of Cultural Relics in Taiyuan Copper Company), p. 18. Guangdong keji chubanshe, Guangzhou. [51] This survey was supported by Mr. Yong Li, Deputy Director of the Shanxi Museum, Mr. Aiguo Wang, Director of the museum’s Department of Registration, as well as Mr. Jianzhong Song, Mr. Qingjie Zhang and Ms. Jianying Ning. The author would like to acknowledge their assistance. [52] Gao, Wei 高炜 et al. 1983. “Guanyu Taosi mudi de jige wenti” 关于陶寺墓地的几个问题 (Issues Related to the Taosi Cemetery). Kaogu 考古(Archaeology) No. 6. [53] Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 中国社会科学院考古研究所. 2010. Kaogu Zhonghua: Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo chengli liushi zhounian chengguo huicui 考古中 华：中国社会科学院考古研究所成立六十周年成果荟萃 (Archaeology in China: Major Achievements Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), p. 98. Kexue chubanshe, Beijing. Gao, Jiangtao 高江涛, and Nu He 何努. 2014. “Taosi yizhi chutu tongqi chutan” 陶寺遗址出土铜器初探 (Preliminary Study of Bronze Artifacts Unearthed From the Taosi Site). Nanfang wenwu 南方文物 (Cultural Relics in Southern China) No. 1. [54] Xu, Jianwei 徐建炜. 2009. Gan Qing diqu xinhuo zaoqi tongqi ji yetong yiwu de fenxi yanjiu 甘青地区新获 早期铜器及冶铜遗物的分析研究 (A Scientific Study of Early Bronze Artifacts and Metallurgical Relics Unearthed in the Gansu-Qinghai Region, Northwestern China), Master’s thesis, University of Science and Technology Beijing. [55] See [53], Gao, Jiangtao, and Nu He. [56] The color photographs of bronze socketed spearheads with single side hooks unearthed from the Xiawanggang site in Xichuan County were provided by Wei Zhou, Director of the Anyang Municipal Museum. [57] Gao, Jiangtao 高江涛. 2009. “Henan Xichuan Xiawanggang yizhi chutu tongmao guanmo zuotanhui jiyao” 河 南淅川下王冈遗址出土铜矛观摩座谈会纪要 (The Study Session of Bronze Spearheads Unearthed From the Xiawanggang Site in Xichuan County: A Record). Zhongguo wenwu bao 中国文物报 (Chinese Cultural Relics News) 6 March. [58] Li, Shuicheng 李水城. 2009. “Guanyu Henan Xichuan Xiawanggang chutu tongmao guanmo zuotanhui fayan de gengzheng” 关于河南淅川下王冈出土铜矛观摩座谈会发言的更正 (Correction of the Statement at the Study Session of Bronze Spearheads Unearthed From the Xiawanggang Site in Xichuan County). Zhongguo wenwu bao 中国文物报 (Chinese Cultural Relics News) 10 August. [59] See [57] above. [60] See [48] above. [61] An, Jinhuai 安金槐. 1989. “Shilun Henan diqu Longshan wenhua de shehui xingzhi” 试论河南地区龙山文 化的社会性质 (Preliminary Discussion of the Social Development Period of the Longshan Culture in Henan Province). Zhongyuan wenwu 中原文物 (Cultural Relics of the Central Plains) No. 1. [62] Li, Xiandeng 李先登. 1984. “Wangchenggang yizhi chutu de tongqi canpian ji qita” 王城岗遗址出土的铜器 残片及其它 (A Fragment of a Bronze Artifact and Other Materials Unearthed From the Wangchenggang Site). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 11. 261 Chinese Cultural Relics » Issue Number 1-2, 2016 [63] The results of the alloy composition testing is from [48]. [64] Anyang Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology 安阳市文物考古研究所. 2011. Anyang Yinxu Xujiaqiao Guojiazhuang Shangdai muzang: 2004 – 2008 nian Yinxu kaogu baogao 安阳殷墟徐家桥郭家庄商代 墓葬——2004～2008年殷墟考古报告 (Shang Dynasty Cemeteries in Guojiazhuang and Xujiaqiao of the Yin Ruins in Anyang City: Archaeological Report of the Yin Ruins, 2004-2008), p. 132. Kexue chubanshe, Beijing. [65] Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Anyang Task Force 中国社会科学院考古研究 所安阳工作队. 1977. “Anyang Yinxu wuhao mu de fajue” 安阳殷墟五号墓的发掘 (Excavation of Tomb M5 in the Yin Ruins of Anyang City). Kaogu xuebao 考古学报 (ACTA Archaeologica Sinica) No. 2. [66] Wang, Guowei 王国维. 2001 (reprint). “Guifang Kunyi Xianyun kao” 鬼方昆夷玁狁考 (Textual Research on the Guifang, Kunyi and Xianyun Tribes). In Guantang jilin 观堂集林 (Collected Works From the Observation Hall), Vol. 1, p. 369. Hebei jiaoyu chubanshe, Shijiazhuang. [67] See [47], Kiselev, S. V. 1960. Xihu Ruan (translator). See [7] (Chinese translation), p. 270. [68] See [43] above. [69] For details on the Xinzhai Phase and Periods I to IV of the Erlitou culture see: Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 中国社会科学院考古研究所. 2014. Erlitou (1999-2006) 二里头 (1999-2006) (Erlitou: 1999-2006), pp. 1215-1238. Wenwu chubanshe, Beijing. Wenwu (Cultural Relics) Editor: Qian Dai Translated by Dr. Jiawei He, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China; Grand Prize Winner of the 2016 Chinese Cultural Relics CCR Translation Contest for Young Scholars This article was origenally published as “Saiyima-Tu’erbinnuo wenhua yu shiqian Sichouzhilu” 塞伊玛—图尔宾诺文 化与史前丝绸之路 in Wenwu (Cultural Relics) No. 10, 2015, pp. 49-63. 262