Show pottery and stoves in ancient chinese graves the ancient chinese like the egyptians were much concerned about ek extending tending the necessities comforts and conveniences of life to their deceased relatives and friends consequently they buried with the dead various implements and even human servitors among the things buried with the dead were pottery models of stoves so that the cooking of food might be continued in the other world A number of these dating to about the beginning of the christian era are in the hall of chinese arche of field museum of natural history chicago also exhibited is a cast iron stove of a type practical for actual use in cooking this although likewise found buried in a grave is of the type of stove upon which the people of the period did their cooking according to a curator af sinology made during the later han dynasty A D 25 it is one of the oldest extant cast iron objects in the world the process of casting iron was unknown to the ancient greeks and romans but was the basis bagis of an important industry in ancient china iron founders amassed large fortunes and in B C during the reign of emperor wu the industry became beame a state monopoly |