Volume 23, Issue 1

The Piluo site, located on the southeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, underwent excavation and systematic survey from April to November 2021. The work was a joint effort between the Sichuan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University. The excavation revealed seven cultural strata that had been deposited continuously since the late Middle Pleistocene. Tens of thousands of lithics, including typical hand axes, were discovered, along with many remains of Paleolithic Age cultural activities such as residential floors created by prehistoric populations. These findings provide valuable data for investigating issues such as early human evolution in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, as well as the distribution, origin, and development of East Asian hand axes.

The Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, in conjunction with the Nanyang Municipal Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, carried out excavations across an area of 2400m 2 at the Huangshan site in Nanyang City from May 2018 to January 2022. The site spans various cultural periods, ranging from the Yangshao and Qujialing to Shijiahe cultures. The excavation uncovered a wide variety of structures and artifacts, including one dock, one section of a canal, 48 houses and stone/jade workshops, 157 tombs, eight sacrificial pits, and more than 140 urn burials. As many as 45,000 jade/stone artifacts was also unearthed. These findings confirm that Huangshan was a core settlement bounded by waterways and specialized in large-scale production of stone/jade objects. The excavation also revealed natural transportation waterways connecting the site to the well-known jade quarry of Dushan Mountain. This significant discovery fills a gap in current understandings of Neolithic jade production sites in the Central Plains and middle Yangtze River region.

Since May 2022, six newly-discovered sacrificial pits have been excavated at the Sanxingdui site, revealing 13,000 cataloged artifacts. Over 3000 of them are intact, well-preserved artifacts made of ivory and other materials. Considering the discoveries from these six pits and the two previously excavated pits, we propose that pits K5 and K6 were used as sacrificial pits for sacrificial activities, while the other pits served as burial pits for ritual objects. The excavations detailed in this article hold great significance for understanding the sacrificial activities, the sacrificial systems of the ancient Shu state, and the shifting settlement patterns at the Sanxingdui site.

The discovery of the Warring States tomb M1 at Guozishan is a groundbreaking achievement in Eastern Zhou archaeology in Jiangxi. This earthen pit tomb is ditch-bounded with two sloping ramps leading to the bottom. The wooden burial chamber comprises 25 sub-chambers, and more than 2600 pieces/sets of grave goods were unearthed, including sets of ritual vessels, musical instruments, weaponry, chariot and horse accouterments. The tomb dates back to the middle Warring States period, and inscriptions found on the “Zhiyi” and “Bu?shou” ge -dagger-axes (or ji -halberds) suggest the tomb occupant had a close relationship with the Yue royal house. This tomb reflects diverse cultural attributes, which integrated and coexisted with each other. The excavation holds significance as it offers insights into local history, political landscape, and cultural changes during the Eastern Zhou period.

Situated southeast of the Chuwangcheng (City of the Chu kings) site, Zhengjiahu cemetery is a significant burial ground occupied throughout the Warring States and Qin-Han periods. Excavation in Area C was conducted in 2021. During the excavation, two noteworthy Qin culture tombs were uncovered—tombs M274 and M234. These tombs yielded a wooden gu -rod with extensive text and painted burial containers. The wooden gu -rod, remarkable in its form and abundant in content, is important for the study of the social history and ideology of the late Warring States period. Additionally, the discovery of painted burial containers bridges a gap in our current understanding of Qin and Han painting media and genres. These artifacts offer indispensable data for researching burial customs and rituals, along with the religious thought of the Qin migrants from Guanzhong.

In 2019, the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and other institutions excavated the tomb of Murong Zhi, the King Xi of Tuyuhun, located at Chashan Village, Qilian Town, Tianzhu County. A comprehensive archaeological survey of the Binggou and Dashui river valleys in Qilian Town in 2020 revealed the existence of 23 Tuyuhun royal tombs across four areas. Three tombs at the Changling-Machangtan area in Qilian Town, excavated in 2021, are identified as a probable section of the Tuyuhun Pengzi clan’s family cemetery during the Tang dynasty. Through ongoing archaeological work, three large mausoleum areas have been confirmed in Wuwei’s Nanshan district: Yanghui Valley, Great Khan Mausoleum, and Baiyang Mountain. The tomb distribution is characterized by being widely dispersed but mutually connected. Excavations also confirm that Tuyuhun tombs were constructed without aboveground mounds. Additionally, rare Tang artifacts were discovered.

In August 1994, the Anyang Team, Institute of Archaeology of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences excavated tomb M793 at Liujiazhuang North in Yinxu, Anyang City, Henan Province. It is a vertical earthen pit tomb equipped with one coffin, one burial chamber, and a waist pit. Pottery, bronze, jade, stone, bone, and shell artifacts were unearthed. Tomb M793 yielded bronze assemblages with inscriptions of “Yajiang” 亚弜, suggesting that the neighboring area was likely where the Yajiang clan dwelled. The characteristics of grave goods suggest that the tomb dates approximately to the late stage of Yinxu Phase II. Bronze inscriptions and the size of the tomb chamber indicate that the tomb occupant was a minor leader of the Yajiang or Jiang clan, a member of the Jiang people recorded in oracle bone inscriptions, rather than the main leader of the Yajiang or Jiang clan. This excavation provides crucial clues for confirming Liujiazhuang North as one of the significant settlements for the Yajiang or Jiang clan.

The Anyang Team of Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences conducted five excavations of a bronze foundry site at the Huanbei Shang City from 2015 to 2019. A variety of archaeological features were discovered, ranging from the foundation built from calcareous nodules and rammed earth, bronze melting and casting area, refuse area, sacrificial pit, ash pit, well, and cache pit. Many artifacts related to metallurgy were also unearthed, including clay molds, models, cores, bellow nozzles, slag, furnace fragments, charcoal, bone gravers, and whetstones. The discovery of this bronze foundry site is of great value for the study of the Huanbei Shang City layout, the operation, and management of bronze casting, technological transmission, and other questions. Bronze casting technology at Huanbei Shang City was still in its early stages of development, but it laid a solid foundation for the later flourishing of the bronze civilization at Yinxu.

Large courtyard complexes in the pre-Qin times can be divided into two systems: the Xitu (northwest China) type and the Central Plains type. The former is characterized by the rammed earth construction and prevailed in the Loess Plateau; by contrast, the latter was well-known for the wattle-and-daub technology and widespread in the Central Plains and surrounding regions. The archaeological discoveries at Lushanmao suggest that the Xitu-type courtyard complexes were in use no later than the late Longshan period and lasted for nearly two thousand years. Both the two systems may have their origin in the late Yangshao period. The Xitu type indicates the influence of South China while the Central Plains type was formed due to a combination of the changes in climate, environment, and resources. Courtyard complexes underwent two major shifts during the early and late Western Zhou, suggesting the major changes in political strategies employed by the Zhou people to maintain their cultural traditions.

This paper archaeologically investigates three representative Eastern Zhou cemeteries in south-central Inner Mongolia. Through analysis, two types of tombs can be distinguished, according to the forms of tombs and assemblages of grave goods. Type A tombs belong to Zhao state agricultural immigrants from the south; Type B, pastoralists from the north. The coexistence of two groups of people with distinct subsistence economies in one cemetery reflects the integration process of agriculturalists and pastoralists. The emergence of agro-pastoralist integration in central-southern Inner Mongolia cross-confirms historical trajectory of the southward advance of pastoralists and the strategic management of northwestern areas by the Zhao state.

Crescent-shaped objects are a special type of artifact commonly found among early Bronze Age archaeological cultures in southern Siberia and the surrounding areas. Based on typology, burial context, and accompanying assemblages, in addition to related iconographic evidence, this study shows that these crescent-shaped objects, in the form of single or double birds, were religious representations once suspended from sacred attire. Crescent-shaped objects in southern Siberia and the surrounding areas might have originated in the Baikal region during the first half of the third millennium BCE, and likely began to influence regions of northern China toward the end of the third or the beginning of the second millennium BCE.

This study re-examines the origins of stirrups and related issues by reassessing two prevailing theories: the “leather toe loop theory” and the “toe stirrup theory.” Through analysis of original archaeological material from the Scythian, Indian, and the Yunnan Dian cultures, along with new insights from fieldwork and examination of a variety of horse tack, this study points out that both outdated theories misinterpret the original material and present unreliable arguments. Consequently, it is unconvincing to claim that stirrups originated from either leather toe loops or toe stirrups. The improvement of saddle structure should not be ignored in an exploration of the origin of stirrups. The solid-tread saddle, which first appeared during the Wei and Jin periods, not only stimulated the invention of the stirrup but also provided necessary structural support for its use.

The Houtaomuga Phase I culture represents the earliest Neolithic remains found in Northeast China heretofore, thus filling an over 10,000-year gap in early pottery distribution. Pottery decorations and manufacturing techniques from this culture are unique. The pattern application methods seen are stamping, rolling, and incising. The emergence of flat-bottomed pottery and coiling techniques serves as a prelude to the later ceramic tradition of cylindrical jars with flat bottoms. Comb-teeth decorations along with plant fiber temper indicate similarity with pottery remains in Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East.

The Mogou site in Lintan, Gansu, has yielded the largest collection of Qijia culture bronze artifacts discovered to date. More than 300 bronze artifacts were unearthed, including new forms such as bracelets, neck ornaments, and earrings with trumpet-shaped ends, reflecting the advanced bronze production technology during the late Qijia culture period. This paper presents an analysis of 146 bronze artifacts from the Mogou site, conducted through metallographic microscopy and SEM-EDS analysis. Our results indicate that a relatively high percentage of small ornaments, primarily made of tin bronze, underwent hot forging and cold working, while tools, primarily made of copper and tin-bronze, were typically cast. Furthermore, this study reveals the concurrent existence of leaded tin bronze and arsenical bronze during the late Qijia culture period, suggesting influences from multiple metallurgical systems.