HUAXIA ARCHAEOLOGY 2010-2
Main contents:
Excavation of the Xianbei Cemetery at Nanbaoligaotu,Inner Mongolia(3)
Key words: Tongliao city; reconstrucion of 304 national highway; Xianbei cemetery; rebury;
Abstract: When Tongliao city in Inner Mongolia was reconstructing the 304 national highway, a Xianbei cemetery was found at Nanbaoligaotu village in 2006.Inner Mongolia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology excavated the cemetery in 2007.The excavation area is 1000 m2.Thirty-four contemporary Xiaobei tombs were revealed and a few ceramic vessels were recovered. The excavation suggests that the cemetery may have been reburied.
Excavation on the Site of the Xia and Shang Periods at Liuzhuang in Jiangxian County, Shanxi(12)
Key words: Jiangxian; Liuzhuang; Xia and Shang site; Dongxiafeng;
Abstract: In 2003, Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology and Archaeology Department of National Museum conducted a full-coverage survey in the Sushui River and Qinglong River valleys and a test-excavation at Liuzhuang site, centered on the research project of the Change of Settlement Patterns in Southwestern Shanxi and the Origin of Ancient Chinese Civilization in the Yuncheng Basin. The remains from the Liuzhuang site belong to the Dongxiafeng type of Erlitou culture, corresponding to the Period IV of Dongxiafeng remains；the Shahg cultural remains from the Liuzhuang site can fall into the Dongxiafeng type of Erligang culture，dating to the early Shang period．The excavation provides new materials for investigating the Xia and Shang remains from south Shanxi especially the Yuncheng Basin．and enriches the understanding of the Dongxiafeng cultural remains.
Excavation of the Southern Wall of Gugong City in Huixian City,Henan(24)
Key words: Huixian city; ancient Gong city; southern city wall; rammed earth; building city;
Abstract: In 1994,Xinxiang Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology excavated the southern city wall of ancient Gong city in Huixian city. The excavation revealed the rammed city wall and saps dating to the Warring States period,as well as Song and Jin tombs, and unearthed barrel tiles, flat tiles, bronze arrowheads, iron pickaxes, ceramic jars, and ceramic dou vessels dating to the Warring States period. The excavation provides the evidence to solve the questions about the age of construction and abandonment and the building method．
Excavation of Han Period Tombs at Wenhua Road in Xinzheng City, Henan(30)
Key words: Xinzheng city; Wenhua Road; Han tomb; preliminary excavation report;
Abstract: In 2004,Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology excavated two Han tombs in the middle Wenhua Road, in cooperation with the construction of natural gas pipeline in Xinzheng city. The M2 was well preserved and unearthed 19 bronze and ceramic vessels dating to the early Eastern Han. The excavation provides new materials for investigating Han tombs from the Xinzheng city.
Excavation of Tang Period Tombs at Wangmen of Fengquan Dictrict in Xinxiang City, Henan(35)
Key words:Xinxiang city; Wangmen; Tang tomb; preliminary archaeological report;
Abstract:Xinxiang Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology excavated 24 cave-chambered tombs at Wangmen in Fengquan district of Xinxiang city in the spring of 2004.These tombs are different in form and can be divided into double and single burials. Pottery, porcelain, bronze and iron artifacts were recovered from the tombs. The excavation provides new data for investigating the burial custom in northern Henan in the early Tang Dynasty.
Excavation of Brick-chambered Tombs in Imitation of Wooden Structure in Xinxiang City, Henan(44)
Key words:Xinxiang; brick-chambered tomb with structure of wooden style; late Tang; Five Dynasties;
Abstract:Xinxiang Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology excavated 5 brick-chambered tombs in the city in 2006~2007.They are all tombs with structure of wooden style. Tables and chairs, bins, clothes racks, lamps and windows were decorated on the four walls with carving and bricklaying methods. Epitaphs, porcelain bowls and jars,as well as bronze rings and coins were recovered from the tombs. Epitaphs and other lines of evidence indicate that these tombs can be dated to the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties.
On the Layout of the Tombs in the Yutaishan Cemetery in Jiangling(56)
Key words:Cemetery; distributing of graveyard; clusters of graves; spaces;
Abstract:Basing on the grave goods, the distributing of the graveyard, and the arrangement of different cluster of graves, connecting with the analysis of CASA, and my preceders’ research, I try to find out the distribution rule of the medium and small graves of Chu, the people who used the graveyard can be divided into several levels, and the whole graves are probably buried by different relations.
A Supplementary Study of the Item Jixujin 级绪巾(Small-sized Apron)in the List of Funeral Objects from Tomb Mawangdui-1 of the Han Period(69)
Key words: Ma Wang Dui; Funerary objects inventories; Jixujin(级绪巾);
Abstract:The Wenxujin(纹绪巾)in funerary objects inventories excavated in No.1 Ma wang dui of Han Dynasty should be Jixujin(级绪巾).It is a kind of Bixi (蔽膝)which was made of Zhu(紵) and used on the Ju(裾)
A Study of the Wooden and Stone Tablets Inscribed with Lists of Funeral Objects Unearthed from Wu and Jin Period Tombs in South China(72)
Key words:Southern China; the Wu State and Jin Dynasty; tombs; the wooden blocks brushed with the list of the burial equipments; Taoism;
Abstract:The author, drawing on the coexisting relationship, the words brushed on the wooden blocks and the related Taoist documents, concludes that the wooden blocks recording the list of the burial equipments discovered from the Wu State and Jin Dynasty tombs in South China are Taoist remains and some of the tomb owners are Taoist followers themselves. The action of burying the list of burial equipments in the Taoist’ tombs originates from the folk burial customs in the Han Dynasty. The custom was introduced into xinjiang around the middle Jin Dynasty and then taken by the Buddhists．thus leading to the phenomenon of the infusion of the Buddhism and the Taoism．
On the Types of Southern Dynasties Period Buddhist Dress Seen in Qixia Mountain Grottoes(82)
Key words: Qixiashan Caves; South Dynasty; types of buddha dress;
Abstract: The Qixiashan Caves in South Dynasty was firstly cut at end of the 5th century. In the period of Southern Qi the Buddha dress, with a type of which reveals chest but covers both shoulders [type I], was popular. A type of the dress whose the third piece rests upon the left elbow [type III] was also available. Between Qi and Liang Dynasty the type I continued to use while the two types of Buddha dress covering mode [type II] and the second piece rests upon the right elbow [type IV] can be seen. During Liang Dynasty the type IV was a major one．The type I and in Qixiashan Caves may have a relationship with the decoration of Buddha dress pasted on burial utensils of East Wu and West Jin Dynasty, which had been excavated from the areas of the middle and lower reaches of Chang jiang River• The origin of type III was traced back to the area of Chang’an City in the Former and Later Qin Dynasty. Perhaps in the long period when North Wei capital was moved to Luoyang and North Dynasty was destroyed, the types of Buddha dress in Qixiashan Caves was popular in the territory of North Dynasty. Of which type I spread in Qingzhou and Xuzhou area, Type IV, III and II was popular in Shanxi and Hebei, Type I and III was mainly seen in Gansu and Ningxia.
Some Questions of the Southern Dynasties Period Stone Images Unearthed from Chengdu, Sichuan: Also on the Niche Statues in the Prefect Pingyang Towers(92)
Key words: Chengdu; statue of the Southern Dynasty; late period of characteristic; Song Dynasty;
Abstract: Dozens of stone statues dating to the Southern Dynasty have been found at Wanfo Temple, Shangye street and Xi′an Road in Chengdu since 1950s.These unearthed data therefore have become the standard for investigating Buddhism statues. However, based on the analysis of these statues in detail, the author argues that the unearthed statues from Chengdu are not the works of the Southern Dynasty, but actually are the imitated works of the Song Dynasty. A wealth of lines of evidence, such as stratigraphic relationships, statue combinations，statue trappings，statue handle objects，decoration of Buddha stats，hill censers and so on，indicate their late characteristics．
Relationship of Tang Period Nuns with Their Families As Reflected from Epitaphs(108)
Key words: Tang Dynasty; Buddhist nun; family member; epitaph; relation;
Abstract: Some of Buddhist nuns were not all pravrajana as propagandized by Buddhism doxy in the Tang Dynasty, but remained close relation with their family. This can be reflected by many aspects as follows: positively participating in family affairs, joining in funeral things for family members, blessing for the deceased statues of family members, and returning their family’s cemeteries after death. Family members also participated in funeral things for Buddhist nuns, as well as built gray towers and wrote posies. It is obvious that the communication between Buddhist nuns and their family members was bidirectional．They converted Buddhism on the one hand and abided by Confucianism on the other hand．This is one of the representations that Buddhism localized in China in the Tang Dynasty．
A Study of Tomb-figurines of Birds in Tang and Song Graves(112)
Key words: guanfengniao; grave burial; burial; goods; tomb figures;
Abstract: In the Tang and Song Dynasty, because of the influence of Buddism and Taoism on the custom of burying the deceased, the skill of judging whether the geomantic omen is good or not was popularized; moreover, the burial goods which frighten off evil spirits were buried in the tombs in this period. Guanfengniao is one of the many burial goods which frightens off evil spirits. In this paper, I have collected Guanfengniao excavated from the graves which are those from the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the Southern and Northern Song Dynasty. The paper makes a systematic study on the classification and periodization，explores the periods when they are fashionable and the characteristics in different areas，illuminates the position of grave burial master, and vividly reappears the burial and burial goods systems．
Identities and Differences between the Underglaze-painted Decorations of Changsha Ware and Those of Cizhou Ware(120)
Key words: Changsha kiln; Cizhou kiln; underglaze enamel; brownish green color; floral design over a white ground;
Abstract: The technology of underglaze enamel from Changsha kiln in the Tang Dynasty and Cizhou Kiln in the Song Dynasty initiated new eras for their development in Chinese ceramic history .However, the two famous porcelain kilns had different temporal characteristics in decoration themes and techniques since they experienced different historical periods. This paper attempts to reveal the impact of social fashion on porcelain decoration in terms of the comparative research on such temporal characteristics.
A Study of the Shi Gui Food Container of the Zhou King Fifth Years(127)
Key words: The bronze vessel Five Years Shi Shi Gui; the King Yi of the Western Zhou Dynasty; the Kingdom Qi;
Abstract: The bronze vessel Five Years Shi Shi Gui, unearthed in Chang’an County, Shaanxi province, is not relevant to the record the King Yi (of the Western Zhou Dynasty) killed the Duke Qi, stated in modern document bamboo annals. In light of the situations of the late Western Zhou Dynasty, the inscriptions of the bronze vessel are about the battle between Zhou and Huaiyi in the Kingdom Qi
Some Problems Related to the Captures Mentioned in Bronze Inscriptions of the Western Zhou Period(130)
Key words: Western Zhou Dynasty; bronze inscription; war; captured articles and warriors;
Abstract: The recordation of the captured articles and people in bronze inscriptions were arranged in the order of people first and then articles. And the kinds and number of the captures had something to do with the ranks of the vessel’s owners, the higher rank the owner held, and the larger the number of captures he would get. The bronze inscriptions without recordation of captures were related to the status of the vessel’s owner, the emphasis of the bronze inscriptions, and the way in which the merits were recorded．M0st of the captured people were transformed into slaves，while the gold and shells were awarded to their subjects．From the sorts 0f captured articles，it can be seen that the purpose of the War at that time was to scramble for population and materials especially copper．
On the issues of worked bone research in China(138)
Key words: Worked bone research; bone workshop; Neolithic Age; Bronze Age;
Abstract: Worked bones were an integral part of human material culture. Ornaments, tools, and utensils manufactured by animal bones played an important role in human society even following the advent of metal technology. This paper briefly discusses the issues of worked bone in Chinese Neolithic Age and Bronze Age including research situation, animal bone identity, characteristics of bone tool production, as well as the definition and classification of bone workshop, and analytical methods and questions associated with bone production as well as the finition and classification of bone workshop and analytical methods and questions associated with bone workshops.
The Theory of Limitation and the Emergence of Ancient Chinese Civilization (143)
Key words: Chinese ancient civilization; Xia Dynasty; circumscription theory; dynamics of formation;
Abstract:T he emergence of civilization, one of great marks in the history of human evolution, has been remained one of the hottest topics in the world. In this paper, R.L.Carneiro’s circumscription theory is invoked to explain the causes of the emergence of Chinese ancient civilization marked by the establishment of Xia Dynasty, and the possibility of a contribution of this Chinese case to the circumscription theory is discussed.