Volume 12, Issue 1

Since 2007, the excavations to the Dahekou Cemetery of the Western Zhou Dynasty located in Yicheng County, Shanxi Province have found over 600 burials and 20 chariot-and-horse pits, over 300 burials of which have been excavated. All of these burials were vertical shaft pit tombs in rectangular plan, most of which had waist pits containing dogs, some of which even had recesses on the walls. The burial furniture assemblages were single coffin, one outer coffin and one inner coffin or one outer coffin and two inner coffins. Most of the tomb occupants were in extended supine position; the grave goods of large - and medium-sized tombs were mainly bronzes and that of the small-sized tombs were mainly potteries. It is known from the inscriptions of the bronzes unearthed in this cemetery that the state clan name of the occupants of this cemetery was Ba 霸 and Ba Bo (the Earl of Ba) was the paramount ruler. The excavation to Dahekou Cemetery is significantly meaningful for the researches on the enfeoffment system, ritual vessel-using system and the ethnic assimilation of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

In 2009 and 2010, a series of archaeological investigations were conducted in and around the Mudu archaic city site located in the southwestern highland of Greater Suzhou, Jiangsu. The excavations revealed sections of the north circumference wall at Wufeng and the water gate of the south circumference wall at Xinfeng. The surveys identified the possible locations of the east and the west circumference walls. Diagnostic proto-porcelain and stamped potsherds were recovered. It is tentatively argued that both the north and the south walls were built and in use during the late Spring-and-Autumn Period. The Mudu Site, therefore, was a large-scale walled settlement functioned as a regional center of its time. These findings are instrumental in the search for the lost capital of Wu State of the Spring-and-Autumn Period, the understanding of the relationship among the various contemporary settlement sites, cairns, earthen mounds, and caches distributed in the region, and the reconstruction of the local cultural history of Eastern Zhou.

In 2010, excavations were conducted to the Tuyoq Grottoes located in Shanshan (Piqan) County, Xinjiang. The excavation uncovered about 2500sq m in total, from which remains of over 50 grottoes and attached architectures and one ground level Buddhist temple were recovered. In the remains, about 200sq m of murals were unearthed, as well as large amounts of fragments of manuscripts, silk paintings and wooden implements. The caves of the Tuyoq Grottoes were arranged as multistoried clusters centered by chaityas around which viharas, meditation caves and caves with other functions were opened. The two new-recovered chaityas would be opened around the fifth century and belonged to the Early Phase of Tuyoq Grottoes. The excavation to Tuyoq Grottoes provided precious materials for the researches on the ancient Buddhist cave temples and the history and cultures of the Turfan area.

Since 1995, four terms of survey and excavation have been conducted on the Laosicheng Site in Yongshun County, Hunan Province. It resulted in the preliminary clarification of the distribution of the functional areas within the city. The palace and government office areas were in the center of the city, around which were a residential area, a tusi graveyard, a religious activity area, a villa and garden area, and so on. The building materials revealed in these areas include bricks, tile-ends and eave tiles. The unearthed porcelain sherds are largely of blue-and-white wares, and their inscriptions contain rich information on the tusi system of Yongshun County. The Laosicheng Site and the structures nearby it were mostly built in the Ming Dynasty. The excavation of the site is very significant to researches on the internal structure of tusi society in Yongshun County, the tusi domination system, and the relationship between the central government and the minorities in the Ming Dynasty.

In April through July 2010, archaeological excavation was conducted to the sunken ship “Nan'ao I” of the Ming Dynasty in the sea area of Shantou (Swatow) City, Guangdong Province. The discovered ship body was about 20m long with 17 bulkheads and 16 compartments, the longest one of which was 7.5m in length. Over 10,000 pieces of artifacts of various categories were recovered, most of which were porcelains, followed by potteries, bronzes and iron and tin wares, as well as over 15,000 bronze coins. Most of the porcelains were blue-andwhite wares produced in Zhangzhou Kiln at the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th centuries, and the date of the sinking of the ship would be roughly the same. The discovery and recovering of “Nan'ao I” provided direct evidence for the researches on the material cultural interchanges among different civilizations and regions.

From March through June 2010, new coring and excavations were conducted at the Daxinzhuang site in Jinan City, during which a new cemetery from the later stage of the early Shang Dynasty to the late Shang Dynasty was uncovered. Among the excavated tombs, Tomb No. 139 is the largest: it is an earthen shaft tomb with a ledge around the bottom on which human victims were found. The burial furniture included one inner coffin and one outer chamber, beneath which a waist pit was located. Numerous grave goods were unearthed from this tomb, including large-sized bronzes, jades and stone artifacts. The scale, burial furniture, human victims and grave goods of this tomb all reflect that Tomb No.139 was a rare high-ranking elite tomb of the Erligang Period.

In June of 2008, archaeologists excavated a tomb (M38) of the Chu State from the late Spring-and-Autumn Period. It was a rectangular vertical pit tomb with a wooden tomb chamber and two coffins; the opening at ground level was 7m long from north to south and 5m wide from east to west. The two coffins were laid side by side in the north part of the chamber. The grave goods included bronzes, jade and stone wares, leather armor, etc. The bronzes were especially fine, including chariot-and-horse fittings, tools, ritual vessels of various types, and a wide variety of weapons. The tomb yielded five lidded ding tripods. Judging by the inscriptions on the ritual vessels and weapons, the owner Peng She must have been a high aristocrat of the Chu State. Several tombs of the Peng family had already been found nearby this tomb. So this area appears to have been the cemetery of Peng clan.

Locality S9 within the Shizitan site complex in Jixian County, Shanxi Province is one of the late Paleolithic sites at Shizitan. This locality yielded rich cultural remains. Chipped stone technology, similar to that common in North China, is represented by small sized flake stone tools including scrapers, points and choppers, which was produced by hard-hammer percussion, followed by pressure flaking technique for micro-blade production. Stone querns, stone grinding rollers, pigment pieces and pigment pulverizing tools, and ornaments made of clam shells and ostrich eggshells are also unearthed. Shizitan Locality S9 cultural remains provided abundant information for researches on the transition from late Paleolithic to early Neolithic periods in the region as well as on origins of agriculture in North China in general.

From November 2005 to January 2006, Han Chang’an Archaeological Team of the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences excavated the northern periphery of Architectural Complex VI located in the northwest of Changle Palace site. The primary result was bringing to light a pair of auxiliary compounds on the east and west wings of the main hall of Complex VI. The auxiliary compounds comprised of structures of halls, verandas, rain aprons and open-air courtyards. The hall structures were indicated by raised rammed-earth foundations, rows of stone pillar bases on the perimeter, and a set of semi-subterranean features in the west compound. The floors of the verandas were lined with square bricks, flanked by rows of stone pillar bases with occasional traces of wooden pillars. The rain aprons were paved with pebbles and rectangular bricks. The courtyards featured water systems comprised of wells, saturation pools, pipelines, runoff ditches and drainage. The assemblage of material remains comprised mainly of architectural components of semi-cylindrical tiles, flat tiles, tile-ends, bricks, pipes, well curbs, etc., and a small amount of pottery, iron and bronze artifacts, as well as bronze coins. The chronology of the material remains and their context suggested that the complex was built in the early years of Western Han and continued to be occupied till the Wang Mang Interregnum. Combined with previous archaeological findings and historic documents, complex VI was most likely the front hall of Changle Palace.

In 1993, archaeologists carried out a rescue excavation to the Yuyang Tomb situated to the west of Xianjia Lake in Changsha City, Hunan. The graveyard covers an area of more than 1ha. Surrounding the main burial pit were three outer burial pits arranged to the east, west, and south into a triangular plan. The main body is a vertical rock pit tomb with a ramp passage and wooden coffins. It is in a 甲-shaped plan with a length of 37m, composed of an earth mound, a tomb passage, and a tomb chamber. The burial style was ticou - the tomb chamber was enclosed by piles of heartwood logs. Although the tomb had been looted several times, a lot of grave goods were unearthed. There were a variety of lacquer wares of especially fine quality. The characters Yuyang (which might be the name of the tomb occupant or the name of a county of the Western Han Dynasty) were found on several lacquer wares. The tomb occupant might have been certain imperial princess of the early Western Han, who was married to a vassal king of the Changsha Kingdom for political reasons.

From June to August 2008, a joint archaeological team excavated a mural tomb at Shuiquanliang Village in Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province. The tomb is situated about 1.5km west of the village. In the tomb, grave goods such as pottery figurines, pottery models and glazed ceramic vessels as well as many well-preserved murals were found. The tomb structure, murals, and tomb furnishings suggest that the tomb was built in the late Northern Qi Dynasty; the occupant of the tomb may have been the military commander of Shuozhou City. This excavation is very important for the study of the history and culture of Shuozhou area in the Northern Qi Dynasty.

In 2010, the Gate No. 1 and Architectural Foundation No. 4 of the Zuling Mausoleum precinct of the Liao Dynasty in Bairin Left Banner, Inner Mongolia are excavated. The excavation revealed that Gate No. 1 was composed of gateways, precinct walls, ramps, culverts and the lofty gate tower; it would be the “Heilong Men (Black Dragon Gate)” in the historic literature. Architectural Foundation No. 4 is in a roughly square plan and facing east; six column bases are found on each side, which means that the main body of the original architecture was composed of five bays both longitudinally and transversely. The porcelains, bronzes and iron wares unearthed from a pit (K1) to the east of this architectural foundation proved that it was an offering hall. This is the first excavation to the gates of the imperial mausoleums of the Liao Dynasty and has important academic meanings.

In October of 2004, archaeologists excavated a stone crypt of the Liao Dynasty in Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province. The unearthed artifacts include porcelains, glass wares, silverwares, lacquer wares, wooden articles, a stone casket with sarira (Buddha relics), and a stone tablet with a dated inscription. All of these are of fine quality. They provide valuable information for the study of the development and diffusion of Buddhist culture in the Chaoyang region. As the inscription recorded, the stone crypt was dedicated on the eleventh day of the fourth moon in the second year of the Tonghe Era (984 CE) of the Liao Dynasty; the sponsor was Yao Hanying. This excavation was also very important for understanding the layout of the old Chaoyang City during the Liao Dynasty.

In ancient China, there were well-developed fu (utilitarian axes) and yue (battle-axes) and a strict institution of their use. These weapons not only played the role of morphologically deriving the character “Wang 王 (king)”, but also deeply went into the ritual system and political life. Their appearance on the ancient political stage was primarily due to their special relationship with ancient warfare, especially in the prehistoric wars, the users of battle-axes often played a decisive role in close combats. Historic literatures and archaeological discoveries at home and abroad reflected that battle-axes not only symbolized monarchical power, but also led to the establishment of their using institution based on the politics operated by monarchical power, in which the presence or absence of battle-axes and their quality, size and arrangement were all concerned with their users’ status and position. Moreover, they were often deified and used as sacred objects in religious and sacrificial activities or directly taken as implements of the god of war. The ancient Chinese battle-axes using institution was spread to the Korean Peninsula, Japan and other areas of East Asia, exerting wide and profound influences.

In the pre-Qin Period, mu 墓 (grave) and zhong 冢 (burial mound or tumulus over grave) are two exclusively different concepts: mu was burial place without mound over it, and a general term for the burials of common people and some nobles; zhong was large-scale burial with artificial mound over it, and the term specially used for the royal or high-ranking elite burials. The meanings of these two terms began to be mixed up since the Spring-and-Autumn Period, and referred to the same concept in the Qin-Han Period. In the pre-Qin Period, the zhongji 冢祭 , which were sacrifice offering ceremonies held on the sites of the mounded royal or high-ranking elite tombs, did unquestionably exist; but the muji 墓祭, which were sacrifices held on the sites of the graves of common people or some nobles, was only one step in the procedure of funeral ceremonies and not held regularly as a rule. The opinion of “in the ancient times, muji was not held” by the scholars in the Han to Jin Dynasties was held just on this aspect.

The bow-shaped object emerged in the Shang-Zhou Period of China and was used as rein holder for charioteers and riders to free their hands. It can be classified into two types: the narrow-backed and the wide-backed. Samples of the narrow-backed type were found at the waist of human skeletons or depicted on Mongolian deer stones, at the waist of human images in association with bow and bow case figures. It suggests that this type of bow-shaped object was tied to or hung on waist belts. On the other hand, wide-backed ones were usually brought to light from chariot boxes in chariot-and-horse burial pits and, in Mongolia and Central Asia, were seen in chariot images of deer stones, with the reins shown tied to or hung on chariot boxes. Judged from these discoveries, at least a part of wide-backed bow-shaped objects were used as rein holders tied to the front edge of chariot boxes.

In the Spring-and-Autumn and Warring-States Periods, North China went through remarkable changes in material culture, economic type, social formation and ethnographic aspect and entered a period of great prosperity. Were the main ethnic groups in this cultural zone concerned with the “Rong”, “Di” and “Hu” recorded in ancient Chinese documents? What difference existed between them? How was the replacement of the Rong and Di by the Hu reflected in material culture? The present paper tries to answer these questions through an integrated study of related archaeological data and literal evidence. Based on a typological and morphological examination of northern bronzes and related artifacts, the available cultural remains can be classified into two types. The two types of remains are varying chronologically and reflect distinct difference in material culture, ethnographic aspect and economic life.

This paper makes an in-depth analysis to the Xiongnu tombs in the light of recently discovered data and new achievements in the study of relevant issues. It comprises four parts: distribution and date, unearthed typical artifacts, structural features and burial ritual, and periodization and zoning. By analyzing the unearthed artifacts, this paper sums up the general characteristics (identity) and traditional regional elements of the Xiongnu culture. By studying the tomb types, coffin structures and burial customs, this paper makes conclusions on the general characteristics, burial ritual systems and regional differences of Xiongnu tombs and their hierarchies reflected from the tomb structure and grave goods. Finally, based on the grave goods and tomb features, as well as the evolution and the identity and variety of burial ritual systems, this paper divides the available Xiongnu tombs into the early (late 3rd century BCE to mid 1st century CE), transitional (mid 1st century to early 2nd century CE) and late (early 2nd century to mid 3rd century CE) phases and, geographically, into the area from Transbaikalia to the middle Yellow River valley, that in the middle and upper Yellow River valley and that in Semirechye, with the first area further divided into four sub-areas. This paper believes that the first area was the dominion of the Xiongnu Empire; the second one, the region of the South Xiongnu submitting to the Han Dynasty; and the third one, the territory where the North Xiongnu launched their activities after their westward migration.

The present paper divides the generally recognized Xianbei tombs into five groups. The first group is in the Hailar River valley; the second group, in the West Liaohe River valley; the third group, in the Chaoyang area; the fourth group, along the boundary between Inner Mongolia and Shanxi; and the fifth group, in northern Shanxi, middle Inner Mongolia and the zone a little west of them. In cultural aspect, the tombs of the second group present Xianbei features in pottery but distinct difference from the already affirmed Xianbei graves in burial manner. Referring to literature records, it may be reasonable to attribute them to the Wuhuan rather than to the Eastern Xianbei. The tombs of the third group centering on Chaoyang belong to the Murong Xianbei and present distinct features related to the second group tombs, which suggests that the Murong Xianbei culture may have partly inherited the Wuhuan culture. The fifth group tombs are the closest to the Northern Wei burials so far excavated, so they may represent the source of the Tuoba Xianbei culture. The first group of remains can hardly be taken as the direct forerunner of the fifth group graves and Northern Wei tombs, so they may have belonged to the Eastern Xianbei rather than to the Tuoba Xianbei. As the fifth group tombs show certain similarity in grave goods to the fourth group that may have belonged to Tan Shihuai’s reign, to speak in temporal terms, it was hardly possible that the Tuoba Xianbei entered the Datong area through the route on the western side of the Greater Khingan Mountains. Moreover, as the fifth group tombs are related to a certain extent to the Xiongnu tombs near Lake Baikal, it can be inferred that the Tuoba Xianbei originated in the northern Greater Khingan Mountains, then went into the zone near Hulun Buir, from there migrated southwestwards, and later, turning eastwards, entered the middle area of present-day Inner Mongolia.

Tibetan gold and silver artworks were recorded in Tang literal documents and enjoyed a great fame throughout the world for their unique and exquisite styles, but their samples have been seldom discovered. Based on a study on the Tibetan gold and silver wares recently unearthed from Tibetan tombs in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and known from collections abroad, this paper believes that both historical records and archaeological discoveries proved the high accomplishments of Tibetan gold and silver crafts. Compared to gold and silver products made in the Central Plains of Tang China as well as in Central and Western Asia, the essence of the Tibetan articles can be said to have been roughly paralleling with those products in technological sense, which indicates that by that time Tibet had become an important production center of gold and silver wares in the East Asia. Tibetan gold and silver wares demonstrate clearly interaction and absorption among the cultural elements of Tibet and those of Tang China’s other regions as well as Sogdiana and Persia. Moreover, they reflect that Tibet in its annexing and expanding procedure came into close relationships with nomadic tribes in the steppes of northern and northwestern China.

This paper discussed the jade-carving techniques, summarized the characteristics of blade saw cutting, thread cutting and wheel cutting, and then pointed out that there should not be any wheel tool or wheel cutting technique in the prehistoric period and the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties. The metal wheel tool first appeared in the Spring-and-Autumn Period. Since then, the jade art was improved more and more because of the development of private craftsmanship, the commerce and the destruction of the rigid ritual system.

Investigations show that the settlements of the Xinglongwa and Zhaobaogou Cultures (a. 8-6ka BP), the subsistence types of which were mainly gathering, fishing and hunting, were located within the timberland zone largely concentrated at altitudes between 400-600m above the sea level suitable for these economic activities, while the zones higher and lower than these altitudes only occasionally played this role. In the Hongshan through Upper Xiajiadian Cultures (a. 6-3ka BP), the weather became cold and dry, primitive agriculture increased its importance in the means of subsistence and the population grew gradually, all of which caused the settlements to be expanded from timberland to lower steppes. Every change in the subsistence pattern was embodied in the relationship between the settlement and the environment, and the breakthrough in the settlement location choices by expanding living space from forest margin was just a result of promotion by agricultural production. The gathering, fishing and hunting economy of the Xinglongwa and Zhaobaogou periods made the settlement occupation shorter than that in the Hongshan period and later times when agriculture had held the leading position in economy. Both the duration of settlement occupation and the alteration of settlement culture prove that the man-land relationship in the prehistoric West Liaohe River Valley was kept in a relative equilibrium.

Through the analyses of the number of identified specimens (NISP), minimum number of individuals (MNI) and estimation of meat available from the animal remains unearthed from representative sites of the Chengdu Plain Type and Eastern Chongqing Type of the Shi’erqiao Culture, this paper discusses the subsistence strategy of this culture. The results show that the meat resources of the Chengdu Plain Type were mainly domesticated animals, while those of the Eastern Chongqing Type were mainly hunted animals. This paper draws the conclusion that in the early stage of human civilization, the subsistence strategies of different types of the same archaeological culture might be different, while those of different archaeological cultures might be similar; the factors influencing the subsistence strategies are mainly the natural environment, regional economic traditions, and population pressures.

Based on morphological identifications of sheep and goat bones unearthed at Yinxu and statistical analyses of the Number of Identified Specimens (NISP), Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI), and ubiquities, this paper discusses the percentage of mutton in the diet of the residents in the capital of the late Shang Dynasty, the percentage of the sheep and goats used in animal sacrifices in burials, and the ratio between sheep and goats. Through the analysis of mortality profiles, this paper argues that the sheep and goats consumed by the residents of Yinxu were mostly juvenile individuals, matching the slaughter profile for sheep and goat husbandry aimed at meat consumption. The sources of the sheep and goats slaughtered for consumption were mainly from outside supplies. The sheep and goats in the animal victims were also mainly juvenile individuals, reflecting the funeral rituals of“ serving the dead as they were alive”.