Item number: X28

Year: circa 476-221 BC

Material: Bronze

Size: 43.1 x 13.7 x 6.5 mm

Weight: 8.95 g

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2023

This object is a bronze arrowhead, representing a morphology that has never been documented in any excavation reports.

The object is lozenge-shaped, with pronounced grinding and filing marks visible along all four edges. One face features a distinct central ridge, whereas the opposite face is entirely smooth and flat.

An arrowhead is a edged missile weapon mounted onto the fore-end of an arrow shaft and propelled over long distances using a bowstring or a crossbow trigger mechanism, serving as a core piece of military equipment with a remarkably high rate of consumption during periods of warfare. Bronze arrowheads emerged as early as the Erlitou culture period; within the Central Plains and Guanzhong regions, they predominantly circulated in three distinct typological configurations: double-winged, triple-winged, and trihedral. Among these, the trihedral type, characterized by a triangular cross-section, was more frequently fabricated from bone in Longshan and early Shang dynasty sites. Although bronze trihedral arrowheads had already existed since the early Shang period, it was not until after the early Warring States period that they truly became widely prevalent. Throughout their evolutionary trajectory, trihedral arrowheads can be classified into three types based on their morphological features: Type A exhibits a relatively elongated body that tapers obliquely and straightly from the base toward the tip; Type B features a comparatively shorter body, with iron tangs frequently observed in early Warring States tombs, encompassing both “slightly barbed” and “barbless” variants; Type C belongs to the middle-to-late Warring States period, possessing a narrow, elongated body with slightly upturned barbs at the base. Furthermore, arrowhead tangs from the Shang and Zhou periods were generally short, whereas those developing into the Warring States period universally exhibited diverse forms—such as long tangs, double-winged openwork designs, or conical shapes—aimed at maximizing lethality in response to new combat methods and weapon advancements. This particular object does not conform to any of these types; moreover, both of its ends terminate in points, lacking any structural feature intended for connection to an arrow shaft. Additionally, the cutting edges have been entirely ground flat, which is incompatible with its ostensibly functional purpose.

Alternatively, it is highly plausible that this object was utilized as a core pin or a spacer. Bronze artefacts excavated from the Erlitou culture period demonstrate that the piece-mold casting method had already entered widespread use. Sites such as Yinxu have yielded an abundance of clay molds, thereby significantly advancing contemporary understanding of ancient metallurgical processing technologies. Throughout the casting process of the piece-mold method, such minute components could potentially be employed in several instances. The first possibility is within the mortise-and-tenon structures used to secure the relative positions of individual clay mold components; however, the excavation record indicates that corresponding concave and convex registration marks were predominantly fashioned directly upon the clay molds themselves, rendering this scenario less likely until the widespread adoption of metal molds. The second possibility occurs during the fabrication of vessels, where the mold assembly is divided into outer molds that shape the exterior form and an inner core that occupies the internal space; pre-cast bronze spacers were inserted between the core and the outer molds to maintain the requisite gap for the walls of the finished vessel, and these bronze spacers would subsequently fuse completely with the molten bronze during pouring. In the early stages, these spacers were mostly irregular in shape, but they were occasionally cast into specific configurations later on to meet casting requirements or to enhance structural support. The third possibility lies within the internal structures of large-scale castings, where core pins were frequently utilized during casting to join two separate components together.

物件編號: X28

年代: 公元前約 476-221 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 43.1 x 13.7 x 6.5 mm

重量: 8.95 g

來源: 福君錢幣 2023

這是一件青銅箭頭，但此型態從未於發掘報告中被記錄。

該物件呈菱形，菱形四邊皆有明顯的磨鑢痕跡。一面中央有脊，一面光平。

箭簇是安裝在箭杆前端、用弓弦或弩機彈發射遠的鋒刃兵器，為戰時消耗量極大的核心軍事裝備。青銅簇自二里頭文化時期便已出現，在中原與關中地區主要流行有雙翼、三翼與三棱三種形制。其中，斷面呈三角形的三棱簇在龍山及商前期遺址中多見骨質製品，青銅製的三棱簇雖自商前期便已存在，但直到戰國早期以後才真正廣泛流行。在演變過程中，三棱簇依形制可分為三型：A型簇身較長且由底部向鋒部斜直聚斂；B型簇身相對較短，在戰國早期墓葬中常見有鐵鋌、且包含「略出后鋒」與「無後鋒」兩種樣式；C型則屬於戰國中晚期，具有窄而長的簇身且底部后鋒微上翹。此外，商周時期的簇鋌一般較短，發展至戰國時期則因應新作戰方法與武器改進，普遍出現了長鋌、雙翼透雕或錐形等更加追求殺傷力的多樣化形制。此物件則不屬任何一型，且兩端皆為尖端，沒有與箭桿相接的結構。此外，鋒刃處盡皆磨平，不合使用目的。

該物件亦有可能是用作芯栓或墊片。自二里頭文化所出土的青銅器物，便已開始廣泛使用塊範法。而殷墟等更是出土了豐富的泥範，增進了對於古代金屬加工技術的了解。在塊範法的鑄造過程中，有數個地方可能會用到這種細小部件。其一為固定各部件泥範相對位置的榫卯結構，但出土紀錄中多為直接在泥範上製作對應的凹凸部，故可能性較低，至金屬範普遍使用時較有可能。其二為製作容器時，模範分為形塑外部形狀的外範與填充內部空間的內範，內範與外範間會使用預製的青銅墊片，以撐起成品容器壁所需的空間，青銅墊片會在澆鑄後與青銅熔液融為一體。早期多為不規則型，後因鑄造所需，或增加支撐力，有時會鑄成特定形狀。其三為大型鑄件在鑄造時，常會使用芯栓內部結構，將兩個部件拼合。