Bronze seashell container unique to ancient Yunnan culture

The bronze seashell container exhibited in Yunnan provincial museum (Photo by Yunnan Daily)

For long in human history, seashells were widely used as a universal currency. In order to store them, ancient people specifically created a special bronze container.

Within Yunnan's bronze civilization, the seashell container bears rich ethnic characteristics and is one of the most representative cultural relics. Over 90 containers have been discovered in Yunnan to date with each containing a large number of seashells from the Indian Ocean.

Experts speculated that these shell coins were likely used as "foreign exchange" to purchase goods from overseas. The coins were used by the aristocracy of ancient Dian Kingdom (278 BC-109 BC), which located in the middle and east of Yunnan province.

These containers were crafted with techniques like casting, welding and gilding, representing the highest level in Yunnan's bronze casting.

Source: Xinhua; trans-editing by Wang Yunya