Southeast Asia, Thailand, Ban Chiang culture, ca. 1st millennium BCE. A trio of circular arm bands, two with scalloped outer edges and one with a tapered, pointed edge, each with a small separation to allow them to bend. The variation in the chemical composition of the bronze is clear, with one of the scalloped-edged bands having a particularly blueish patina, caused by high tin content in the alloy. These are from the Ban Chiang tradition. Ban Chiang is considered by UNESCO to be the most important prehistoric settlement so far found in Southeast Asia; alongside its worth in demonstrating when people in the region began to develop agriculture, it also shows how they began to experiment with materials such as bronze. Ban Chiang is a large, manmade mound, wherein have been excavated all of the raw materials and production facilities to make bronze -- as well as a number of weapons, tools, and ornaments. This makes it the earliest known site of bronze tool production in Southeast Asia. Size of largest: 3" W (7.6 cm)

Provenance: Ex-Private Rochester, MN collection

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#118307

Varying wear, as shown.