Model of a Granary
Earthenware with Green Lead Glaze
China, 25-220 A.D. (Eastern Han Dynasty)
1953.42.25 Gift of Mrs. Albert Spalding

Model buildings, such as this granary, would supply ample food for the afterlife. Granaries in ancient China are evidence of a thriving civilization able to maintain a surplus of food.

Camel
China
Bequest of Miss Mabel Choate

Vital to prosperity in ancient China, animals such as camels carried goods along trade routes on the Silk Road, the most important Chinese connection to the West. They relied on camels to make the difficult journey through the harsh desert and mountains of Central Asia. Sculptures of camels such as this one, created in the 8th century B.C.E., were relatively common, as they were used as funerary objects and represented the wealth of the cities through trade.

Ox and Cart
China
Bequest of Miss Mabel Choate

In ancient China, most people were peasant farmers who tended to small tracts of land. Although they spent many backbreaking hours performing manual work, animals were also used to pull plows and carts. Despite the invention of bronze weapons, most farmers still used simple tools to plant and harvest, the products of which were often used to pay taxes to the government in the form of grain. This particular sculpture dates to the 6th century C.E.