ABSTRACT
The Liangzhu Culture was an important late Neolithic archaeological culture in the Lower Yangtze region and cast a major influence on the formation and development of Chinese civilisation. As one of the major fine crafts of the Liangzhu Culture its systematic use reflects different levels of resource control between central, sub-central, and ordinary settlements as well as between different individual settlements. Zhang Min is one of the earlier scholars to commence systematic investigations into jade production in the Lower Yangtze Region. In 1984, he identified straight line cutting, curved line cutting, and tubular drilling as the three methods to cut jade, based on three jade production samples excavated from the Mopandun site. Tubular drilling cuts out or extracts a core using a revolving tool and the aid of abrasive sand. Ivory, lacquerware, silk, and especially jade represented cultural conceptions and beliefs of the Liangzhu Culture and can reflect the rank and scale of settlements and identity and status of tomb occupants.
