ABSTRACT
Few of the Liaoning “Northern Bronzes” have been excavated by archaeologists. They tend to have been deposited in caches which were found by villagers and later described by archaeologists. Thus, while it may be known which items were found together, the exact arrangement of the artifacts was not recorded. Not all caches have bronzes from the same time period; thus we know that bronzes were kept, perhaps as heirlooms, for considerable lengths of time.
