Khan Academy: Jade Ornament for the Top of an Axe Shaft (Neolithic China)

Graves of the Hongshan culture (about 3800-2700 B.C.E.) might have held as many as 20 jade artifacts while those of the Liangzhu culture (about 3000--2000 B.C.E.) had as many as 300. These included bead necklaces and other decorative pieces such as this ornament for an axe. Many are carved with motifs derived from monster and human-like faces. The carving is often of the highest quality, with fine modulated relief, openwork and complicated incised designs. The massive jade cong and discs and such fine personal jades as this example must have belonged to a society of considerable complexity.