2,000-year-old steel acupuncture needles unearthed in Chinese tomb

Archaeologists in China have uncovered the world’s oldest known steel acupuncture needles, dating back approximately 2,000 years, in the tomb of Emperor Liu He (Marquis of Haihun) from the Western Han Dynasty. The discovery was made in Jiangxi Province, where five heavily corroded needles were found inside a broken jade tube within a gilded lacquer box. Advanced testing revealed the needles were made using an early steel-making technique called the “frying” process, which combines cast iron and wrought iron through melting. Remarkably, these needles are extremely thin—0.3 to 0.5 millimeters in diameter—comparable to modern acupuncture needles, demonstrating the high level of metallurgical skill and craftsmanship achieved during that era. The identification of these artifacts as medical tools was confirmed by a nearby wooden label inscribed with “Nine Needles Complete,” linking them to descriptions in ancient Chinese medical texts such as the Huangdi Neijing. This find sheds new light on the evolution of