The fourth pit of the Sanxingdui Shang Dynasty site was excavated and the bronze figure of kneeling was unearthed.
M274, Area C of the Warring States Qin han Cemetery in Yunmeng County, Hubei Province, unearthed wooden yao.
A few days ago, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences unveiled the "New Archaeological Discoveries in China in 2021", and 6 items were selected. On March 28, this edition published two of them, namely the Paleolithic Site of Piluo in Daocheng County, Sichuan Province, and the Neolithic Site of Huangshan in Nanyang City, Henan Province, with the remaining four items published in this issue.
Guanghan City, Sichuan
Sanxingdui Shang Dynasty Ruins:
Rich Sanxingdui
Cultural connotations of the site
Since its first discovery in 1929, the Sanxingdui site has carried out many archaeological works. Among them, 1986 is an important time node, when the rescue excavation of Sanxingdui No. 1 and No. 2 "sacrifice pits", excavation excavation of bronze sacred trees, bronze Da Liren, bronze masks, golden scepters and other precious cultural relics, can be described as "a wake to shock the world".
"However, there are still some remaining problems in this excavation, such as the accumulation status of the area where the 'sacrifice pit' is located, such as the distribution of the accumulation, the relationship between the layer, and the source of the accumulation; the relationship between the First pit and the No. 2 pit, such as the relationship between chronology, nature, and buried cultural relics; the chronological, spatial, and functional relationships between the 'sacrifice pit' and other remaining relics in the area are not yet known; and whether there is a new 'sacrifice pit' has not been answered." Ran Honglin, director of the Sanxingdui Archaeological Research Institute of the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said, "This is also the origin of a new round of work. ”
Since the start of the archaeological excavation of the sacrifice area of the Sanxingdui Shang Dynasty site since its launch in March 2020, the distribution range and internal pattern of the sacrifice area have been preliminarily clarified, and 6 new "sacrifice pits" have been discovered, and the field excavation work of K3, K4, K5 and K6 has been completed, and the excavation work of K7 and K8 has also passed the halfway point. Up to now, the stratigraphic relationship, accumulation formation process, shape structure and burial status of relics in the 6 "sacrifice pits" have been basically clear, and more than 2,000 pieces of gold, bronze, jade and pottery have been excavated, and more than 500 ivory have been extracted. Among them, important cultural relics include gold masks, bird-shaped foil ornaments, bronze statues kneeling on the top, kneeling portraits with heads turned, etc., and some relics have never been seen before from the perspective of shape and ornamentation.
The newly discovered relics and relics of this archaeological excavation will promote the study of the rituals and sacrifice systems of the Sanxingdui site and the ancient Shu civilization, and further explain the basic understanding that the ancient Shu civilization is an important part of the Chinese civilization. A large number of relics excavated from Pits No. 1 and No. 2 excavated in 1986 combine the cultural factors of ancient Shu civilization, Central Plains civilization and other regions in China, indicating that ancient Shu civilization is an important part of Chinese civilization. Several new artifacts unearthed this time, such as the bronze statue of the kneeling figure and the bronze round mouth square statue unearthed from K3, further confirm this understanding.
Zhengjia Lake, Yunmeng County, Hubei Province
Warring States Qin and Han Cemetery
Unearthed so far
The earliest wooden trees of the earliest age
The Qin han cemetery of Zhengjiahu Warring States in Yunmeng County, Hubei Province, is located in Chengguan Town, Yunmeng County, Hubei Province, distributed in the southeast suburbs of the chu wangcheng city site. Since May 2020, the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Yunmeng County Museum have jointly formed a team to carry out excavations.
According to Luo Yunbing, vice president of the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the excavation of the Qin and Han cemeteries in the Warring States of Zhengjiahu lake is divided into three areas: A, B and C. In 2020, a total of 196 tombs in Areas A and B were excavated, all of which are small tombs of Chu culture since the late Warring States period. In 2021, 116 tombs in Area C were excavated, of which 14 were water-filled tombs. From the perspective of tomb shape system, combination of burial items, martyrdom customs, etc., they are all small and medium-sized tombs of Qin culture, and the tomb owners should be related to the Qin people and their descendants after the Qin army occupied Anlu in 278 BC, and the chronological span is from the late Warring States period to the early Western Han Dynasty.
In this excavation, a number of precious written materials were unearthed. Among them, the tomb M274 at the end of the Warring States period unearthed a long text wooden yao (a kind of polygonal wooden mu, the full text of about 700 words, the font is typical of Qin Li, The Text records that the counselor Di lobbied the King of Qin to sleep in the army, and the style and style are similar to the "Warring States Policy". It is the earliest and longest wooden gourd seen so far, with a rare shape, rich connotations, and great academic value. "The Yao wen is not found in the records of the generations, providing us with a new literature of policy and inquiry, enriching the political history materials of the late Warring States period, and is a precious text for studying the social thought of that time." Luo Yunbing said.
According to the records, Yunmeng was originally a Chu land, and after 278 BC, it belonged to Qin. Luo Yunbing said that Yunmeng is the strategic key to the unification of the south by the Qin people, and the Zhengjiahu cemetery and the Chu Wangcheng city site and the surrounding sleeping tiger land, Longgang and other cemeteries form an organic whole, the chronology is concentrated in Baiqi to the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, most of these tomb owners are Chu, Qin, Han Huandi - the Qin and Han Empire's great unification process of witnesses, multidisciplinary research also clearly revealed the frequent migration and interaction of the northern and southern populations at that time. These materials provide typical cases for the study of the formation of a multi-ethnic unified state in China from the late Warring States period to the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, the process of the great unification of Chinese civilization and the national identity reflected behind it, which can be described as a historical scene that activates an important node in the process of the great unification of the Qin and Han Empires."
Zhangshu City, Jiangxi
Guozishan Warring States Tomb
Archaeology of Vietnamese and Vietnamese cultures
There are new breakthroughs
"The problems that need to be solved urgently in archaeology during the two-week period in Jiangxi include unclear archaeological and cultural appearance, genealogy has not yet been constructed, the historical process of 'Wu tou Chuwei' is unknown, and the relationship between the growth of various cultures is unclear." When reporting on the Warring States Tomb in Zhangshu City, Jiangxi Province, Tang Jinqiong, an associate researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, started from the problems he faced.
The excavation of the Warring States Tombs of Guozishan provides an opportunity to systematically solve these academic problems. The tomb, discovered in 2013, is a subsidiary remain of the Acropolis, a central site of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in the Qingjiang Basin, where Jiangxi archaeology work was carried out.
Located west of the Acropolis, the Guozishan Tomb Group consists of four large tombs of similar shape and scale, of which the Guozishan Tomb is M1.
Since 2017, the Guozishan Archaeological Team composed of the Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Zhangshu City Museum has carried out systematic exploration, excavation and research on the Guozishan tomb and the surrounding areas. The overall work adheres to the concept of settlement archaeology, and the tomb of Guozishan is placed in the large space-time framework of the Ruins of the Acropolis and the Qingjiang Basin of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. After nearly 5 years of excavation, the archaeological excavation of guozishan tomb has achieved important stage results.
According to Tang Jinqiong, although the tomb was disturbed in the early days, more than 2,600 pieces (sets) of artifacts were still unearthed. The types of artifacts unearthed are mainly lacquered wood ware, as well as metalware, ceramics and jade ware. Instruments include ceremonial instruments, musical instruments, weapons, carriage and horse tools, and daily utensils.
It is worth noting that two pieces of bronze ge (halberd) with inscriptions were unearthed in the tomb, and after expert research, the owners of the instruments were Xuansun Fei and a son of Yi, the grandson of King Yue. In addition, it is inferred from the inscriptions and relics excavated in the tomb that the tomb era is the middle of the Warring States period.
Archaeologists believe that the excavation of the Guozishan tomb is a major breakthrough in the archaeology of the Eastern Zhou Period in Jiangxi in recent years, filling the archaeological gap in the Eastern Zhou Period of Jiangxi, and providing key data for the construction and improvement of the genealogy of archaeological cultural sequences in the two-week period in the region. At the same time, the excavation of the Guozishan tomb is a new breakthrough in the archaeology of Yue and Yue cultures, which has opened up a new situation for the study of Baiyue culture, and is of great value for the study of the relationship between Wu and Yue and Chu in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the evolution of the political pattern in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty of the Jiangxi region, and it also provides direct evidence for the exploration of the process of "pluralism and integration of Chinese civilization" in the region.
Tang Dynasty in Wuwei City, Gansu Province
Tuguhun royal family tomb group
Reveal the Tuguhun people
Integrate into the historical facts of the Chinese civilization system
The Tombs of the Tuguhun Royal Family of the Tang Dynasty in Wuwei District are located in the southwest of Wuwei City, Gansu Province, at the northern foot of the Qilian Mountains. In recent years, led by the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the Tuguhun Archaeological Project Group has been established to carry out continuous archaeological investigation, excavation and research work.
In 2019, the project team excavated the tomb of Murong Zhi, the king of Tuguhun Xi, which is the only well-preserved tomb of the Tuguhun royal family found so far. The tomb unearthed epitaphs are a combination, the era is clear, the content is rich, the first mention of the "Great Khan Mausoleum" in the Nanshan District of Wuwei, the left side of the epitaph is also engraved with two lines of unreadable text, which may be the Tuguhun ethnic script.
According to Liu Bingbing, deputy research librarian of the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, a number of burial items were unearthed from Murong Zhi's tomb, among which such as wooden beds, large beds, and six-curved screens were the first or rare discoveries of related cultural relics in China in the same period.
In 2020, while completing the protection and restoration of 301 pieces (sets) of cultural relics excavated from Murong Zhi's tomb, large-scale investigation and exploration work was carried out in the Wuwei area, and a total of 23 Tuguhun royal tombs were found and confirmed.
In 2021, with the main goal of exploring the specific location and layout characteristics of the "Great Khan's Mausoleum" and enriching the cultural connotation of the Tuguhun royal family tomb group, the archaeological team excavated three newly discovered tombs in the Changling-Machangtan area of Wuwei area, and unearthed more than 290 burial items. Judging from the relevant materials, it can be seen that the tomb group is the tomb of the Tugu Hun Pengzi family in the early and middle Tang Dynasty.
"Through continuous archaeological work, the tombs of the Wuwei Tuguhun royal family can now be preliminarily divided into three major mausoleum areas, namely the Chashan Village District represented by Murong Zhi's tomb ('Great Khan Mausoleum's' area), the Qingzui-Lama Bay Area ('Yanghui Valley' Mausoleum Area) represented by the tombs of Princess Honghua and Murong Zhong, and the Changling-Machangtan District ('Poplar Mountain' Mausoleum Area) represented by the Dang Tomb." The tombs all have the basic characteristics of high-grade tombs in the Central Plains in the early and middle Tang Dynasty, mainly based on the Tang Dynasty burial system, and have cultural factors such as Tuguhun, Tubo and Northern Grassland. Liu Bingbing analyzed it this way.
The discovery of this tomb group vividly reveals the historical facts that the Tuguhun people have gradually integrated into the Chinese civilization system in the nearly one hundred years since their return to the Tang Dynasty. It provides an important foundation for promoting the sustainable development and protection and utilization of the tuguhun royal family site group in Wuwei region.
The pictures in this article are provided by the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences