68 4·The Bronze Age There are several intriguing questions that demand answers. One of them is concerned with the query about whether or not bronze was "invented"in only one region of the world (namely the Middle East,as many scholars used to believe)or indepen- dently at several places.The final word on this has not been spo- ken yet.However,recent archaeological evidence indicates that besides the Mediterranean area(considered by many westerners to be the "cradle of civilization),independent bronze-producing centers existed in northern Thailand (Ban Chiang)during the third or fourth millennium B.c.,and additionally in the isolation of China during the Shang dynasty starting at about 1400 B.C. The mode of transition into the bronze age in the just- mentioned areas,which were considerably separated from each other,seemed not to have been identical.For example,Indo- China (which is said to have given to mankind a number of es- sential food plants such as rice,bananas,coconuts,yams,taro, and sugarcane)had a remarkable bronze production.The in- habitants of this area lived in light bamboo houses,made pot- tery,and domesticated pigs,chickens,and cows.In this region, bronze axes,spearheads,socket tools,bronze bracelets,clay cru- cibles,and sandstone molds have been found dating back as far as3000to2300B.c. The most interesting find is that the Ban Chiang people seemed to have skipped copper production and arsenical bronze alto- gether and jumped immediately into the tin-bronze age.The raw materials for bronze were certainly available at essentially one and the same place(in contrast to the Near East,as we shall elu- cidate below).Indeed,rich alluvial deposits of tin as well as cop- per ores are found from southern China down to Thailand and Indonesia.Another interesting observation was made by archae- ologists who state that the Thai people seemed to have lived in a "peaceful bronze age"since no swords,battle axes,daggers,or mace heads have been found.Instead,bronze was mostly used for decoration and adornment.Its possession did not seem to ex- press a status symbol since many children were buried with bronze bracelets. In contrast to this,early Chinese bronze,made during the Shang dynasty (1600-1122 B.c.),was mainly utilized for cere- monial vessels,that is,for offering of food and wine to ancestral spirits (Plate 4.3).The bronze contained from 5 to 30%tin and between 3 and 5%lead (which makes the melt flow easier). ISoil deposited by flowing water.There are several intriguing questions that demand answers. One of them is concerned with the query about whether or not bronze was “invented” in only one region of the world (namely the Middle East, as many scholars used to believe) or indepen￾dently at several places. The final word on this has not been spo￾ken yet. However, recent archaeological evidence indicates that besides the Mediterranean area (considered by many westerners to be the “cradle of civilization”), independent bronze-producing centers existed in northern Thailand (Ban Chiang) during the third or fourth millennium B.C., and additionally in the isolation of China during the Shang dynasty starting at about 1400 B.C. The mode of transition into the bronze age in the just￾mentioned areas, which were considerably separated from each other, seemed not to have been identical. For example, Indo￾China (which is said to have given to mankind a number of es￾sential food plants such as rice, bananas, coconuts, yams, taro, and sugarcane) had a remarkable bronze production. The in￾habitants of this area lived in light bamboo houses, made pot￾tery, and domesticated pigs, chickens, and cows. In this region, bronze axes, spearheads, socket tools, bronze bracelets, clay cru￾cibles, and sandstone molds have been found dating back as far as 3000 to 2300 B.C. The most interesting find is that the Ban Chiang people seemed to have skipped copper production and arsenical bronze alto￾gether and jumped immediately into the tin–bronze age. The raw materials for bronze were certainly available at essentially one and the same place (in contrast to the Near East, as we shall elu￾cidate below). Indeed, rich alluvial1 deposits of tin as well as cop￾per ores are found from southern China down to Thailand and Indonesia. Another interesting observation was made by archae￾ologists who state that the Thai people seemed to have lived in a “peaceful bronze age” since no swords, battle axes, daggers, or mace heads have been found. Instead, bronze was mostly used for decoration and adornment. Its possession did not seem to ex￾press a status symbol since many children were buried with bronze bracelets. In contrast to this, early Chinese bronze, made during the Shang dynasty (1600–1122 B.C.), was mainly utilized for cere￾monial vessels, that is, for offering of food and wine to ancestral spirits (Plate 4.3). The bronze contained from 5 to 30% tin and between 3 and 5% lead (which makes the melt flow easier). 68 4 • The Bronze Age 1Soil deposited by flowing water