Analyses of fingerprints in Terrakota Army images have brought new information to those who may have participated in the creation of one of China’s most popular archaeological discoveries.
Researchers analyzed 79 traces stored in clay figures found in a part of the mausoleum of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, and the results suggest that not only adult men but women and children may have participated in the process.
According to the statistical model used in the study, about 45 percent of the symptoms were attributed to adult men, 32.7 percent to women, and 22.3 percent to those under the age of 15.
However, these percentages refer to analysed tracks rather than to the number of people who have worked on creating images. Researchers point out that the results should be carefully interpreted, since a person may have left some impressions, while others may not have left hidden traces.
The research, published in the science magazine Journal of Cultural Heritage, is based on the characteristics of the line of fingerprints, which can provide information on the age and gender of those who have left it.
According to researchers, children may have helped with easier work, while women may have been part of the workshop’s workforce. However, fingerprints are not enough to confirm exactly what tasks they have performed.
Terrakota’s army was discovered in 1974 near the Chinese city of Sin. The complex includes thousands of clay figures representing soldiers, horses, and war chariots designed to accompany Emperor Qin Shi Huang to the afterlife.
The size of this project required a major job organisation, while the new study opens up opportunities to better understand who may have contributed to the creation of these figures some 2,200 years ago.
The study authors stress that further analysis and additional data are needed to verify the results.
The signal where the truth speaks before the news!
Source Layer: Signal
