Precious Stones and Bronzes in Jade Age and Bronze Age of China

This article aims to revisit the terms ‘Jade Age’ and ‘Bronze Age’ in respect to Chinese archaeology and history. It argues that the active exchanges of techniques, ideas, and tools between the bronze and stone producers have blurred the definitions of these periods and proposes that we focus more on the concrete agents in history. This article adopts evidence from the cold mechanical treatments of precious stones and bronzes. It presents and analyzes traces of polishing and chiseling on bronze surfaces and argues that some of the traces may have been left by abrasives as practiced in the lithic industry. This demonstrates that lapidary skills and the post-casting treatments of bronze objects were interrelated.