Editing Terracotta Army (section)

=== Weaponry ===
[[File:Bronze jian of the Terracotta Army.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Bronze ''[[jian]]'' sword]]
[[File:Terra Cotta Warriors, Guardians of China’s First Emperor.jpg|thumb|left|A bronze helmet unearthed from the site]]
[[File:Terra Cotta Warriors, Guardians of China’s First Emperor 1.jpg|thumb|left|A suit of armor unearthed from the site]]

Most of the figures originally held real weapons, which would have increased their realism. The majority of these weapons were looted shortly after the creation of the army or have rotted away. Despite this, over 40,000 bronze items of weaponry have been recovered, including swords, daggers, spears, lances, battle-axes, scimitars, shields, crossbows, and crossbow triggers. Most of the recovered items are arrowheads, which are usually found in bundles of 100 units.<ref name="lecture" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/terra_cotta_army/weapon_1.htm |title=Exquisite Weaponry of Terra Cotta Army |publisher=Travelchinaguide.com |access-date=3 December 2011 |archive-date=2 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302224541/https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/terra_cotta_army/weapon_1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Making Weapons for the Terracotta Army |author=Marcos Martinón-Torres |author2=Xiuzhen Janice Li |author3=Andrew Bevan |author4=Yin Xia |author5=Zhao Kun |author6=Thilo Rehren |date=2011 |journal=Archaeology International |volume=13 |pages=65–75 |doi=10.5334/ai.1316 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Studies of these arrowheads suggest that they were produced by self-sufficient, autonomous workshops using a process referred to as ''cellular production'' or ''[[Toyotism]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/chinese-terra-cotta-warriors-had-real-and-very-carefully-made-weapons/2012/11/26/999b9cb4-2840-11e2-b4e0-346287b7e56c_story.html |title=Chinese terra cotta warriors had real, and very carefully made, weapons |first=Jennifer |last=Pinkowski |date=26 November 2012 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=19 October 2016 |archive-date=19 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019150519/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/chinese-terra-cotta-warriors-had-real-and-very-carefully-made-weapons/2012/11/26/999b9cb4-2840-11e2-b4e0-346287b7e56c_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Some weapons were coated with a 10–15 micrometer layer of [[chromium dioxide]] before burial that was believed to have protected them from any form of decay for the last 2200 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chinatourguide.com/xian/terracotta_warriors_details.html |title=Terracotta Warriors (Terracotta Army) |publisher=China Tour Guide |access-date=28 July 2011 |archive-date=29 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029054408/http://www.chinatourguide.com/xian/terracotta_warriors_details.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K5PpAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA102 |title=China's imperial tombs and mausoleums |author=Zhewen Luo |year=1993 |publisher=Foreign Languages Press |isbn=978-7-119-01619-1 |access-date=28 June 2010 |page=102 |archive-date=29 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329073021/https://books.google.com/books?id=K5PpAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA102 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, research in 2019 indicated that the chromium was merely contamination from nearby lacquer, not a means of protecting the weapons. The slightly alkaline pH and small particle size of the burial soil most likely preserved the weapons.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Martinón-Torres |first1=Marcos |display-authors=etal |title=Surface chromium on Terracotta Army bronze weapons is neither an ancient anti-rust treatment nor the reason for their good preservation |journal=Scientific Reports |date=4 April 2019 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=5289 |doi=10.1038/s41598-019-40613-7 |pmid=30948737 |pmc=6449376 |bibcode=2019NatSR...9.5289M}}</ref>

The swords contain an alloy of copper, tin, and other elements including nickel, magnesium, and cobalt.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/terracottawarriors/assets/tcw-exhibition-eguide.pdf |title=Terracotta Warriors |year=2009 |magazine=National Geographic |access-date=28 July 2011}}{{dead link |date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Some carry inscriptions that date their manufacture to between 245 and 228 BCE, indicating that they were used before burial.<ref name="bm">{{cite web |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/PDF/Teachers_resource_pack_30_8a.pdf |title=The First Emperor – China's Terracotta Army – Teacher's Resource Pack |publisher=British Museum |access-date=15 June 2017 |archive-date=15 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215125655/http://www.britishmuseum.org/PDF/Teachers_resource_pack_30_8a.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>