Sheling

Ling, also known as clapper-bells, are a form of bell found in Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeological sites in China. They consist of a hollow bell body and a clapper dangled inside, which produces sound as it strikes the internal rim of the bell. Initially made from ceramic by the Yangshao culture and neighboring cultures in northern China, copper ling were produced by the end of the Longshan culture, with one example recovered from the site of Taosi in Shanxi. Both ceramic and bronze ling have been found at the Bronze Age site of Erlitou, where they were used as a grave good. Although relatively scarce from around 1500 to 1200 BCE, they reemerge during the Late Shang (1250–1046). Late Shang bronze ling are commonly found around the necks of animals buried as death attendants, especially dogs, although some examples have been found attached to elephants, cows, and a monkey. By the end of the Late Shang and the beginning of the Western Zhou, they were commonly incorporated into bronze ritual vessels.

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