This seals was found at the waist of an attendant who was buried in the tomb passage at Shizhishan. The inscription shiguanjian yin receals the title of its owner as Inspector of Food Officer. Two categoriea of shiguan were described in he Hanshu texts: onw was responsible for protecting material for the imperial tombs., the other food for the court. The owner of this seal belonged to the latter category. Preparing food for the afterlife was an important activity during the Han dynasty. Human sacrifice was rare during this time and had mostly been replaceed in burial bu earthenware figures. However, there were a few examples of cttendants being buried with their masters, including the King of Nanyue’s chef. It is impossible that these chefs were consided so irrelacable that their masters wished them to continue their service in the afterlife.

       During the Han dynasty,chefs must have enjoyed considerable status at court as they were buried with honours and luxury objects along with their masters. This inspector of Food Officer of the inlaid with jade plaques in additon to other personal belongings. Another example, dating to the early Western Han, can be found at the M1 tomb at Zaoyuancun, northern Xi’an. One attendant was identified as a leading buried with 7 jade discs and bronze and iron weapons, and more than 2000 broken jade fragments wrapped with silk were placed in each hand.