A Study Of The Plaque Ornaments From The Bronze Age To Early Iron Age In Xinjiang

Xinjiang has been an important area for economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West since ancient times,who remains a rich cultural-heritage.The Bronze Age to the early Iron Age in Xinjiang was around 2000 BC to around the BC.Based on the detailed collection and sorting of the plaque ornaments,this paper classifies the plaque ornaments unearthed from the Bronze Age to the early Iron Age in Xinjiang.At the same time,according to tomb materials,the authors discussed the wearing and using habits of the plaque ornaments and cultural exchanges with other regions as seen in plaque ornaments,trying to deepen the understanding of the archaeological culture in Xinjiang during this period.Xinjiang is located in the northwest of China,and the climate is dry and the precipitation is scarce.Since the beginning of the 20th century,there have been investigations from foreign countries that have investigated the remains of different periods.After the founding of New China,the archaeological work in Xinjiang has gradually become systematic and scientific.For the study of archaeological culture in Xinjiang,scholars have been already gain a certain understanding from the type of archaeological culture,the analysis of cultural types and sites,tombs of various regions,the understanding of plaque ornaments,the changes in its form and the connotation of the decorative style.Among this archaeological discoveries from the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age in Xinjiang,a large number of exquisite bronzes and gold and silver wares reflect the production,life and spiritual world of ancient residents.Through systematic research on these bronzes and gold and silver products,we can understand some processing and production methods of the metal that people have mastered at that time.At the same time,we can also analyze and judge the usage and relevance of other items according to other information in the tombs or sites.On the basis of trying to restore the production and life landscape of ancient residents to the greatest extent,we will deeply understand the inherent meaning of these metal wares.As a kind of metal ornaments that people decorate and wear at waist,plaque ornaments can reflect their status.It is an entry point to explore the life of ancient residents.Through the systematic study of metal plaque ornaments in unearthed materials and other examples of correlation,we will be able to reveal the spiritual connotation of the grassland nomadic material culture in the background of Eurasian grassland.According to the published materials,there are 35 sites for unearthing(or collecting)of plaque ornaments in this period,from eight different regions,which can be divided into three stages in time,and the number of plaque ornaments available for statistics is 75.It can be seen that the materials of plaque ornaments from the Bronze Age to the early Iron Age in Xinjiang were copper,iron,gold and silver,including 47 pieces of copper,10 pieces of iron,15 pieces of gold and 11 pieces of silver.From the staging and zoning situation,the first period only has copper plaque ornaments,except for Tianshanbeilu cemetery in Hami,it is scattered in Balikun area and central Tianshan Valley area;In the second period,the number of copper plaque ornaments increased significantly and spread throughout the each region in Xinjiang.By the way,iron plaque ornaments began to appear,and iron plaque ornaments was only found in Turpan Basin area;In the third period,the number of copper plaque ornaments was slightly lower than that of the second period,the number of iron plaque ornaments increased,and the distribution range was further expanded.The southernmost to the Baozidong cemetery in Wensu county was found.Gold and silver plaque ornaments are concentrated in eastern Xinjiang region and Turpan Basin,and the animal decorative style is remarkable.When sorting out the relevant materials of plaque ornaments,it is classified according to the forms and decorative patterns.Earlier copper and iron plaques were divided into plain and textured,with simple ornamentation divided into perforations,buttoned,and embossed patterns.The are also some animal decorative plaques,such as sheep,tigers,birds,wild boars and other animal images.The feature in the gold and silver plaque ornaments were tiger-shaped,horse-shaped or Griffin ornaments.From the Bronze Age to the early Iron Age,the tombs of metal plaque ornaments unearthed in Xinjiang were mostly buried in crunches trunk-straight legs,both single,double and multi-person burial are exist.From the wearing and using of plaque ornaments,it is generally worn on the waist of the owner of tomb,a few will be worn on the chest,both the male and female tombs are worn.As a kind of burial object,the plaque ornaments sometimes were placed next to the head of the owner of tomb,so that the value of the metal plaques can be seen.The plaque ornaments seen in Xinjiang reflects some possible cultural exchanges with surrounding areas.The skeleton plaques unearthed from Tianshanbeilu cemetery may have a certain impact on surrounding Balikun area as a local cultural factor.At the same time,the butterfly-shaped plaques and circular plaques bulge in the middle may be influenced by Siba culture from the east.Similar circular plaques bulge in the middle are also found in Karasuk culture.Radial round plaques may have an impact on Qijia culture.The animal decorative plaques unearthed in Xinjiang have some similarities and differences with the upper Xiajiadian cultures which is popular in northern China and the other adjacent archaeological cultures of Eurasian grassland.