The 2018–2019 excavation of the Xiwubi site in Jiangxian County, Shanxi
Abstract
A series of excavations were conducted at the Xiwubi site during 2018–2019, yielding abundant copper metallurgy remains dating to the Erlitou and Erligang cultural periods. Archaeological features include remains of smelting furnaces, charcoal kilns, houses, and refuse pits. A variety of artifacts were retrieved, ranging from copper ores, fragments of smelting furnaces, crucibles, and slag to objects made of pottery, stone, and bone. It is the first copper metallurgy site found in the Zhongtiao Mountains in the vicinity of the heartland of the Xia and Shang dynasties. Characterized by early dates, large scale, and advanced specialization in copper metallurgy, the excavation of the Xiwubi site provides substantial materials for the study of mining and use of copper ore resources by the Xia and Shang dynasties, as well as interactions between copper metallurgy and the destiny of the royal courts.
Postscript
The original article was published in Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) 2020.7:47–74, with 51 illustrations and four notes. The excavation report was prepared by Xiangming Dai 戴向明, Wei Tian 田伟, Yuyun Tang 汤毓赟, and Chunpeng Cui 崔春鹏. The English version is translated by Yuting Gao 高毓婷.
© 2021 Walter De Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- New archaeological discoveries
- The Longshan culture site at Ximengzhuang, Tengzhou, Shandong
- The Honghe site in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang
- The grand platform of Huangchengtai at Shimao site in Shenmu, Shaanxi
- The 2018–2019 excavation of the Xiwubi site in Jiangxian County, Shanxi
- Zeng state cemetery at Zaoshulin during the Spring and Autumn period, Suizhou, Hubei
- The excavation of tomb M1 in Quangou cemetery, Wulan County, Qinghai
- Reports
- The 2016–2018 excavation of the cemetery at the Sunjiagang site, Lixian County, Hunan
- The excavation of a cache of lead ingots in Liujiazhuang Locus North of Yinxu, Anyang, Henan
- Research
- Analyzing the functional structure of pottery jiandiping amphorae
- Shimao culture: naming, distribution, and chronology
- A comparative study of Shimao and Taosi
- New insights into the settlement patterns of the capital city at Erlitou
- On the brass ewer unearthed from the crypt of the Shang-fang Śarīra Stupa of Qingshan Monastery in Lintong District, Shaanxi
- The physical evolution and biocultural adaptation indicated by the human skeletons of Donghulin site, Beijing
- Plant remains unearthed at the Donghulin site in Beijing: discussion on results of flotation
