The Ears may Tell a Story!

[Randy W]

from the Smithsonianmag

 

Were the Terracotta Warriors Based on Actual People?

 

To answer that question, archaeologists are looking at variations in the soldiers' ears

 

http://thumbs.media.smithsonianmag.com//filer/c6/16/c6169fc7-2151-4d59-8bef-b1a0fc84866b/mar2015_h08_phenom.jpg__800x600_q85_crop.jpg

 

Were standard parts fit together in a Mr. Potato Head approach or was each warrior sculpted to be unique, perhaps a facsimile of an actual person? How could you even know?

 

Short answer: The ears have it. Andrew Bevan, an archaeologist at University College London, along with colleagues, used advanced computer analyses to compare 30 warrior ears photographed at the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in China to find out whether, statistically speaking, the auricular ridges are as “idiosyncratic” and “strongly individual” as they are in people.

 

Turns out no two ears are alike—raising the possibility that the figures are based on a real army of warriors. Knowing for sure will take time: There are over 13,000 ears to go.

 

[Catherineli]

Your ear story makes me think of Hui'an woman from Fujian Province. They wear scarf traditionally all year round to cover their ears, because whoever sees her ears should marry her, I was told so.

Here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LvcPSseKAU

Here is the pix that I took when I was visiting Fujian Province.