早期镈钟在学术界特别在考古界是一个颇有争议的问题。一般认为早期镈钟在南方的长江流域起源和发展,约在西周中晚期期传播到北方的中原地区。但南方地区青铜器尤其是钟类器的年代往往缺乏支撑点,学术界对其争议极大。例如包括兽面纹镈钟的新干大洋洲铜器群的年代,较多学者认为其年代在殷墟文化一、二期之际,但也有学者认为 Early chimes are a controversial issue in academia, especially in archeology. It is generally believed that the early Chime bells originated and developed in the Yangtze River basin in the south and spread to the Central Plains region in the north during the middle and late Western Zhou Dynasty. However, the bronze age in the south, especially the age of the bell-type device often lacks supportive points, and the academic circles have great controversies over it. For example, the age of the bronze clique of the Sinan Oceania, which includes the beast-bellied bell, is considered by many scholars to be of the first and second phases of Yin Ruin culture. However, some scholars think