BRM1A: 40, 41 jade fish pair
Left BRM1 A: 40, length 4.8, width 1.9, thickness 0.15 cm
Right BRM1 A: 41, length 4.8, width 1.9, thickness 0.15 cm
This pair of jade fish are all turquoise jade and have attachments. The perforation is made of one-way drilling and grinding of cheng drilling. Because the shape of the two jade fish does not match completely, it is made in the process of "folio forming". Compared with the BRM1A:41, the BRM1A:40 plate has no texture, and there is no further contour line of other parts, and the side of the fish head still has traces of blade saw cutting and splitting. By comparing the two, it is possible to speculate on the process and tools for the formation of the jade fish. Two pieces of jade fish were excavated on the lower abdomen of the tomb owner, and the well-preserved jade faces are overlapping and touching sides, indicating that the stacking has a protective effect on the jade. Similar-looking jade fish have also been unearthed in Zhangjiapo (M58: 34).
New Archaeological Discoveries in Prehistoric Cities and the Origins of Chinese Civilization
Wu Chunming, Journal of Xiamen University, No. 3, 1999, pp. 48-54
This article analyzes and studies China's prehistoric cities and discusses the origin of Chinese civilization. So far, archaeology has found more than 50 prehistoric city sites and equivalent settlement remains, which belong to six ancient cultural communities and more than a dozen prehistoric cultural types, so many scholars have pushed the history of Chinese civilization to one or two thousand years before the Xia. The author argues that the prehistoric cities of five or six thousand years ago are not evidence of mature national societies, but only historical reflections of the long period of origin before the birth of Chinese civilization. The city site of the Yangshao era is a manifestation of the evolution of primitive social development in the form of settlements. In terms of external form, the rammed earth city circle is the improvement of the construction technology and morphology of the large settlement of the ring trench, while retaining the morphological remnants of the ring trench settlement, and the defensive function of the settlement has been strengthened.
In terms of internal structure, a complex social relationship is taking shape, wealth is relatively concentrated, the hierarchy is gradually clarified, and bronzes, writings, and ritual systems as symbols of civilization are also emerging at the same time. But these are only the factors of civilization in the late primitive society, and they are the signs of the beginning of the foundation of Chinese civilization. The Longshan era was the prosperous era of prehistoric cities, the number, distribution, scale, structure and connotation of cities have undergone profound changes, civilization factors have accumulated in a wide range of regions, and a new social system is accelerating. The "hierarchical community" centered on large city sites is a reflection of the formation of the "Fang Kingdom" at the end of primitive society and the disintegration of the organizational structure of clan tribes. The large city site in the center of the community has a large high platform building in the central belt, and a large noble cemetery and altar have been built inside and outside the city site, which is at the apex of the hierarchical structure throughout the community. On the outskirts of the large city site, a group of small and medium-sized settlements controlled by the hierarchical network of large city sites are entities controlled by the territory, and the administrative network of step-by-step control in ancient Chinese civilization has taken shape. The large surplus and accumulation of social wealth has accelerated the maturity of private property, and has promoted the sharp differentiation of the rich and the poor, and the intensification of class contradictions, which is the social situation on the eve of the emergence of the state. The physical rulers of the Yongsan era were equivalent to the kings of later generations. At the same time, the power political entity of the Yongsan era was an immature state organization, the blood ties of clan society had not yet been severed, the exclusive cemetery of the upper nobility had not yet been established, and the social relations of the clan society had not yet been abandoned.
The Yongsan era was the "heroic era", and the "power" rule of the clan chiefs was completely based on the accumulation of individual human power, but also cloaked in the cloak of "democracy", and Zen Rang was a reflection of the social reality at this stage. The establishment of hereditary royal power and the end of the clan tribe began with the xia dynasty heirloom in Ziqi, marking the real beginning of the era of civilization.
The source of the text is "Research Outline of the Origin of Chinese Civilization", published by Cultural Relics Publishing House in December 2003
Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Research Center for Ancient Civilizations, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ed
The pictures and illustrations are from the book "National Jade", edited by the Aurora Civilization Research Center of Peking University, and published in 2010