A small, walled settlement spanning the early through mid-Longshan culture was discovered at Ximengzhuang site, Tengzhou City, Shandong Province. The development of the settlement encompasses two periods: a square enclosure in the early period and a circular enclosure in the late period. Houses inside the enclosure might have been laid out in rows from south to north during the early period; late period houses can be divided into three phases. All houses were laid out along the circular enclosure, which could be used as a special space for storage. Cultural remains after the abandonment of the walled settlement date to the mid-Longshan culture. The Ximengzhuang site is the first small Longshan culture settlement to have been revealed in its entirety in China, with a clear trajectory of development and distinguishing characteristics as regards periodization. The Ximengzhuang site may have been a military outpost.
{"title":"The Longshan culture site at Ximengzhuang, Tengzhou, Shandong","authors":"","doi":"10.1515/char-2021-0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/char-2021-0001","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 A small, walled settlement spanning the early through mid-Longshan culture was discovered at Ximengzhuang site, Tengzhou City, Shandong Province. The development of the settlement encompasses two periods: a square enclosure in the early period and a circular enclosure in the late period. Houses inside the enclosure might have been laid out in rows from south to north during the early period; late period houses can be divided into three phases. All houses were laid out along the circular enclosure, which could be used as a special space for storage. Cultural remains after the abandonment of the walled settlement date to the mid-Longshan culture. The Ximengzhuang site is the first small Longshan culture settlement to have been revealed in its entirety in China, with a clear trajectory of development and distinguishing characteristics as regards periodization. The Ximengzhuang site may have been a military outpost.","PeriodicalId":41590,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47509435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract By synthesizing previous studies and the most updated archaeological data by typical stratigraphic contexts and assemblages, Hetao region cultural remains represented by li-tripods with double-handles should be considered part of the Shimao culture. With its core distribution area spanning from northern Shaanxi to central-northern Shanxi to central-southern Inner Mongolia, the development of Shimao culture can be divided into three phases: early, middle, and late. The absolute dating of the Shimao culture ranges from approximately 2300 BCE to 1800 BCE. The Shimao culture was therefore a major late Longshan archaeological culture in northern China that stands apart from its peers in the Central Plains.
{"title":"Shimao culture: naming, distribution, and chronology","authors":"Zhouyong Sun, Jing Shao, Nan Di","doi":"10.1515/char-2021-0010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/char-2021-0010","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract By synthesizing previous studies and the most updated archaeological data by typical stratigraphic contexts and assemblages, Hetao region cultural remains represented by li-tripods with double-handles should be considered part of the Shimao culture. With its core distribution area spanning from northern Shaanxi to central-northern Shanxi to central-southern Inner Mongolia, the development of Shimao culture can be divided into three phases: early, middle, and late. The absolute dating of the Shimao culture ranges from approximately 2300 BCE to 1800 BCE. The Shimao culture was therefore a major late Longshan archaeological culture in northern China that stands apart from its peers in the Central Plains.","PeriodicalId":41590,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Archaeology","volume":"21 1","pages":"144 - 150"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45348814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Regional Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and Pengyang County Commission for Preservation of Ancient Monuments conducted archaeological investigations, probing surveys, and excavations of the Yaoheyuan site from 2017 to 2020. They identified various features, including city walls, moats, a high-ranking burial, a cemetery of small-sized tombs, palatial foundations, a bronze foundry zone, as well as roads and a network of water channels. Retrieved artifacts include objects made of pottery, jade and stone, bone and antler, ivory, mussel, proto-porcelain, and inscribed oracle bone. The Yaoheyuan site, dating from the early through the late Western Zhou, is the capital city of the Huo state of the Western Zhou. This excavation provides invaluable new data for understanding Western Zhou political structure and the relationship between the Zhou royal house and the western frontier. It also sheds new light on the chronological framework and the trajectory of social complexity in the eastern Gansu region.
{"title":"The Western Zhou Yaoheyuan site in Pengyang County, Ningxia","authors":"","doi":"10.1515/char-2022-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/char-2022-0004","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Regional Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and Pengyang County Commission for Preservation of Ancient Monuments conducted archaeological investigations, probing surveys, and excavations of the Yaoheyuan site from 2017 to 2020. They identified various features, including city walls, moats, a high-ranking burial, a cemetery of small-sized tombs, palatial foundations, a bronze foundry zone, as well as roads and a network of water channels. Retrieved artifacts include objects made of pottery, jade and stone, bone and antler, ivory, mussel, proto-porcelain, and inscribed oracle bone. The Yaoheyuan site, dating from the early through the late Western Zhou, is the capital city of the Huo state of the Western Zhou. This excavation provides invaluable new data for understanding Western Zhou political structure and the relationship between the Zhou royal house and the western frontier. It also sheds new light on the chronological framework and the trajectory of social complexity in the eastern Gansu region.","PeriodicalId":41590,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47829385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Zaoshulin cemetery includes five large tombs with an entry ramp leading to a central chamber on one side, 19 medium tombs, and 62 small tombs. According to the inscriptions on the bronze vessels, the layout of the tombs, and the grave assemblages, this cemetery was the burial place for the high-ranking noblemen of the Zeng state. Three hierarchies of tombs from large to small in size correspond to the social ranks of marquises, high-ranking noblemen, and low-ranking noblemen. Amongst these tombs, the occupants of five large burials in three groups are identified as Lord Qiu of Zeng and his wife Yu, Marquis Bao of Zeng and his wife Mi Jia, and Marquis De of Zeng. The Zaoshulin cemetery, along with the sites and cemeteries at Yejiashan, Wenfengta, Guojiamiao, Sujialong, presents a clear and complete archaeological sequence of the culture of Zeng. It also establishes a reference point for Bronze Age archaeological culture in South China.
{"title":"Zeng state cemetery at Zaoshulin during the Spring and Autumn period, Suizhou, Hubei","authors":"","doi":"10.1515/char-2021-0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/char-2021-0005","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The Zaoshulin cemetery includes five large tombs with an entry ramp leading to a central chamber on one side, 19 medium tombs, and 62 small tombs. According to the inscriptions on the bronze vessels, the layout of the tombs, and the grave assemblages, this cemetery was the burial place for the high-ranking noblemen of the Zeng state. Three hierarchies of tombs from large to small in size correspond to the social ranks of marquises, high-ranking noblemen, and low-ranking noblemen. Amongst these tombs, the occupants of five large burials in three groups are identified as Lord Qiu of Zeng and his wife Yu, Marquis Bao of Zeng and his wife Mi Jia, and Marquis De of Zeng. The Zaoshulin cemetery, along with the sites and cemeteries at Yejiashan, Wenfengta, Guojiamiao, Sujialong, presents a clear and complete archaeological sequence of the culture of Zeng. It also establishes a reference point for Bronze Age archaeological culture in South China.","PeriodicalId":41590,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45413238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jia-ning He, Chaohong Zhao, Jincheng Yu, Tianxing Cui, Tao Wang, Jingning Guo, Yongming Yuan, Xuemei Yun, Qihuang Yang
Abstract Human remains recovered from the Donghulin site are key materials for the study of the physical evolution and biocultural adaptation of the North Chinese population during the early Holocene. Physical anthropological study of the skeletal remains of two Donghulin individuals shows that their craniofacial heterogeneity and diversity are comparable to that of the Upper Paleolithic population. Early Holocene is the critical period for the formation of the diagnostic craniofacial features of modern East Asian population. The dental macrowear, dental caries, and femoral midshaft diaphyseal cross section geometry suggest that the Donghulin people were undergoing a physical transformation attributable to reduced mobility and broad-spectrum diet, which is consistent with the Upper Paleolithic-Neolithic transition of lifestyle and subsistence strategy.
{"title":"The physical evolution and biocultural adaptation indicated by the human skeletons of Donghulin site, Beijing","authors":"Jia-ning He, Chaohong Zhao, Jincheng Yu, Tianxing Cui, Tao Wang, Jingning Guo, Yongming Yuan, Xuemei Yun, Qihuang Yang","doi":"10.1515/char-2021-0014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/char-2021-0014","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Human remains recovered from the Donghulin site are key materials for the study of the physical evolution and biocultural adaptation of the North Chinese population during the early Holocene. Physical anthropological study of the skeletal remains of two Donghulin individuals shows that their craniofacial heterogeneity and diversity are comparable to that of the Upper Paleolithic population. Early Holocene is the critical period for the formation of the diagnostic craniofacial features of modern East Asian population. The dental macrowear, dental caries, and femoral midshaft diaphyseal cross section geometry suggest that the Donghulin people were undergoing a physical transformation attributable to reduced mobility and broad-spectrum diet, which is consistent with the Upper Paleolithic-Neolithic transition of lifestyle and subsistence strategy.","PeriodicalId":41590,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Archaeology","volume":"21 1","pages":"184 - 192"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46620897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Five series of archaeological excavations were conducted at the Honghe site from 2013–2019. Fieldwork during the 2013–2017 season confirmed that cultural attributes of late Neolithic remains found at Honghe were identical to the Ang’angxi culture as first established by Liang Siyong. Thus, this fieldwork adds further evidence to understanding the cultural implications, attributes, and chronology of Ang’angxi culture. Excavation during the 2018–2019 season subsequently revealed settlement pattern belonging the Ang’angxi culture in the Nenjiang River Basin, demonstrating a mixed sedentary subsistence strategy, including fishing, hunting, and farming, practiced regionally during the late Neolithic. This provides significant materials for understanding the civilizational trajectory of that time.
{"title":"The Honghe site in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang","authors":"","doi":"10.1515/char-2021-0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/char-2021-0002","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Five series of archaeological excavations were conducted at the Honghe site from 2013–2019. Fieldwork during the 2013–2017 season confirmed that cultural attributes of late Neolithic remains found at Honghe were identical to the Ang’angxi culture as first established by Liang Siyong. Thus, this fieldwork adds further evidence to understanding the cultural implications, attributes, and chronology of Ang’angxi culture. Excavation during the 2018–2019 season subsequently revealed settlement pattern belonging the Ang’angxi culture in the Nenjiang River Basin, demonstrating a mixed sedentary subsistence strategy, including fishing, hunting, and farming, practiced regionally during the late Neolithic. This provides significant materials for understanding the civilizational trajectory of that time.","PeriodicalId":41590,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42962115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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.
{"title":"The 2018–2019 excavation of the Xiwubi site in Jiangxian County, Shanxi","authors":"","doi":"10.1515/char-2021-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/char-2021-0004","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 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.","PeriodicalId":41590,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46636138","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract A cast brass ewer was unearthed from the Shangfang Śarīra Stupa crypt at Qingshan Monastery. Most likely, it was made in the northwestern part of the South Asian subcontinent in the late seventh century. Integrating ancient Roman, Sassanian, and early Islamic styles, the shape of this ewer not only is a mixture of the elements of different eras and traditions but also reflects unique attributes. The multi-headed and multi-armed deities from Hinduism, especially Skanda, may have inspired the six-faced design on the body. Eventually, the ewer was taken to Chang’an by Indian or Kashmirian monks and buried in the pagoda’s crypt.
{"title":"On the brass ewer unearthed from the crypt of the Shang-fang Śarīra Stupa of Qingshan Monastery in Lintong District, Shaanxi","authors":"Yusheng Li, Jianxi Li, Jiangtao Niu","doi":"10.1515/char-2021-0013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/char-2021-0013","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract A cast brass ewer was unearthed from the Shangfang Śarīra Stupa crypt at Qingshan Monastery. Most likely, it was made in the northwestern part of the South Asian subcontinent in the late seventh century. Integrating ancient Roman, Sassanian, and early Islamic styles, the shape of this ewer not only is a mixture of the elements of different eras and traditions but also reflects unique attributes. The multi-headed and multi-armed deities from Hinduism, especially Skanda, may have inspired the six-faced design on the body. Eventually, the ewer was taken to Chang’an by Indian or Kashmirian monks and buried in the pagoda’s crypt.","PeriodicalId":41590,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Archaeology","volume":"21 1","pages":"173 - 183"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48833323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Shimao and Taosi are the two most important North China mega-sites dating from the late Longshan through early Xia. Both were possibly early political centers. Based on a comprehensive analysis of updated archaeological discoveries and the results of interdisciplinary research, the current study is a preliminary discussion of interactions between Shimao and Taosi. We argue that the inter-site dynamic varied over time. More importantly, Shimao influenced middle and late Taosi to the extent of altering its cultural identity, as evidenced by the archaeological record.
{"title":"A comparative study of Shimao and Taosi","authors":"Jing Shao","doi":"10.1515/char-2021-0011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/char-2021-0011","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Shimao and Taosi are the two most important North China mega-sites dating from the late Longshan through early Xia. Both were possibly early political centers. Based on a comprehensive analysis of updated archaeological discoveries and the results of interdisciplinary research, the current study is a preliminary discussion of interactions between Shimao and Taosi. We argue that the inter-site dynamic varied over time. More importantly, Shimao influenced middle and late Taosi to the extent of altering its cultural identity, as evidenced by the archaeological record.","PeriodicalId":41590,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Archaeology","volume":"21 1","pages":"151 - 161"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46749399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tomb M1 at Quangou cemetery in Wulan, Qinghai, is the only Tubo-period tomb with mural paintings discovered thus far on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. The tomb includes a tomb entry ramp leading to a rectangular multi-chambered structure built from bricks and timber. The walls of the antechamber and burial chamber are all painted with various images heavily influenced by typical Tang painting techniques, displaying Tang-period stylistic influence, although painted subjects present characteristic scenes of nomadic life on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. The color-painted lacquered coffins in the tomb are the first of their kind found in the region, indicating that the tomb occupant must have been of high social status. There is a secret compartment behind the tomb’s burial chamber, where a wooden chest was found containing a luxuriously decorated gilt silver crown and a turquoise-inlaid gold cup. The findings suggest that the tomb occupant was probably closely related to the local royal family under Tubo’s sovereignty.
{"title":"The excavation of tomb M1 in Quangou cemetery, Wulan County, Qinghai","authors":"","doi":"10.1515/char-2021-0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/char-2021-0006","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Tomb M1 at Quangou cemetery in Wulan, Qinghai, is the only Tubo-period tomb with mural paintings discovered thus far on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. The tomb includes a tomb entry ramp leading to a rectangular multi-chambered structure built from bricks and timber. The walls of the antechamber and burial chamber are all painted with various images heavily influenced by typical Tang painting techniques, displaying Tang-period stylistic influence, although painted subjects present characteristic scenes of nomadic life on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. The color-painted lacquered coffins in the tomb are the first of their kind found in the region, indicating that the tomb occupant must have been of high social status. There is a secret compartment behind the tomb’s burial chamber, where a wooden chest was found containing a luxuriously decorated gilt silver crown and a turquoise-inlaid gold cup. The findings suggest that the tomb occupant was probably closely related to the local royal family under Tubo’s sovereignty.","PeriodicalId":41590,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43518276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}