74 Field Museum of Natural History — Anth., Vol. X. 



an agricultural implement of this type (Fig. n). T. de Lacouperie ' 

 looked upon it as a survival of an implement of the stone age and 



likened it to "the shouldered celt proper to 

 southeastern Asia, which has hitherto been 

 found only in Pegu, Cambodia (Tonle-Sap), 

 and Central India (Chhota-Nagpur)." This 

 identification, however, is by no means perfect 

 and only partially justified, as there is a 

 remarkable difference in the curves of the 

 edges which are convex in the stone celts and 

 concave in the Chinese spades. Figure n is 

 drawn after an ancient specimen of a bronze 

 spade-shaped coin in our collection which is 

 covered with a 

 fine russet, blue 

 and green pa- 

 tina. The edge 

 is curved in, 

 of almost half- 

 circular shape, 



Spade-Shaped Bronze Coin (from 

 Specimen in Field Museum). 



terminating m 

 two lateral 

 tips; the blade is i mm thick. The 

 shoulders are symmetrical, each i cm 

 wide. The handle, the sides of which are 

 in the shape of triangles, is a hollow cast 

 forming a socket betraying the applica- 

 tion of a wooden handle; there is a small 

 triangular opening 2 in the upper part of 

 one of the broad faces of the handle to 

 admit of the passage of a cord for closer 

 attachment to the wooden hilt. Related 

 types may be seen also in the jade dance- 

 hatchets of the Han period, as illustrated 

 in Figs. 1-4. These are far advanced 

 products of a higher art, and an attempt 

 to trace them back to their primeval 

 ancestral forms will probably lead to a 

 reconstruction closely related to the 

 type of the spade-shaped celt of stone. 



Fig. 12. 

 Bronze Hatchet of Han Period. 



1 Catalogue of Chinese Coins, p. 4 (London, 1892). 



2 This is not made in the cast, but cut out after casting. Also the corresponding 

 pieces figured in the Kin-shih so show such apertures of various irregular forms. 



