(Archaeology)

No. 9, 2008

 

Wu Qingyun, Excavation of Stone Barrows at Tulongzi in Dalian City, Liaoning Province --( 3 )

Xuzhou Museum, Excavation of the Liu Zhi Tomb of the Western Han Period on Cuiping Hill in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu

                           -------------------------------------------------------------------------------( 11 )

Han Chang’an City Archaeological Team, IA, CASS, Drilling Survey and Trial Excavation on Palace-city

Sites of Chang City of the Sixteen Kingdoms to Northern Dynasties Period in Xi’an City---(25)

Wu Chunming, Relationship of the Prehistoric Philippine Culture with South China ------(36)

Wang Zhongshu, On the Ritual Sites in Okinoshima Island within the Munakata Area from the

Viewpoint of Ancient Sino-Japanese Exchanges ------------------------------------------------ (51)

Liu Miao, A Preliminary Study of the Archaeologically Discovered Ding Yao Porcelain of the Jin Period

         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(59)

Lin Meicun, Reconnaissance of Historical Sites Related to Genghis Khan-------------------(74)

 

 

 

Wu Qingyun, Excavation of Stone Barrows at Tulongzi in Dalian City, Liaoning Province 

 

KEY WORDS: Dalian City in Liaoning    stone barrows    Bronze Age

ABSTRACT: In 2005, archaeologists excavated Stone Barrows 4—7 at Tulongzi in Dalian City, Liaoning. These graves have several rectangular stone chambers each and are built in the following ways: first the hill ground was slightly leveled and paved with stones; then stone slabs and blocks were laid up to form tomb walls, and the rooms were covered with stone slabs; finally stones were piled up atop the chambers to form a relatively complete barrow. The dead are entombed in the way of collective burial at two or several times. It is noteworthy that some collective burials were fired. The unearthed objects are largely pottery, and cowries occur in a great number. Chronologically these barrows should be assigned to the Upper Miaoshan culture of the Bronze Age.

 

 

Xuzhou Museum, Excavation of the Liu Zhi Tomb of the Western Han Period on Cuiping Hill in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu

 

KEY WORDS: Xuzhou City in Jiangsu    cave tomb    Western Han period

ABSTRACT: In 2003, a rock-cut cave tomb with a shaft passage was excavated on Cuiping Hill in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu. In the periphery of the tomb are double circles of rectangular stone-built walls. On the bottom of the tomb-passage, a chamber is built up with long narrow stones on the southern and northern stone platforms that flank the tomb-passage. It contains a coffin with a human skeleton inside. The cave is rectangular in plan and has a flat top and a two-leaf stone gate. The interior is decorated with lacquered wooden planks and furnished with a double coffin, which is placed on a lacquered wooden coffin platform and contains a human skeleton too. The unearthed objects are mainly pottery. The tomb dates from the early Western Han period. Its owner Liu Zhi may be a member of the Chu State royal family, and the skeleton in the tomb-passage must be his wife’s remains buried secondarily.   

 

 

Han Chang’an City Archaeological Team, IA, CASS, Drilling Survey and Trial Excavation on Palace-city Sites of Chang City of the Sixteen Kingdoms to Northern Dynasties Period in Xi’an City

 

KEY WORDS: Xi’an City    Sixteen Kingdoms to Northern Dynasties period    palace-city sites in Chang’an City

ABSTRACT: In 2003, archaeological drilling was carried out in Xi’an City to explore tower-platform sites. It discovered two sub-cities lying side by side from west to east and clarified preliminarily main roads and part of the building remains within the sub-cities. Besides, trial excavation was made on the northern side of the southern wall of the western sub-city. The unearthed objects are largely building materials. The southern wall of the western sub-city may have been built first in the Sixteen Kingdoms period and functioned till the Northern Dynasties period. The two sub-cities share a north-to-south wall with each other; their southern walls are joined to each other; and west-to-east roads in both sub-cities leads to each other. Dated from the same period, they must be the remains of the western and eastern palace-cities of Chang’an City from the Former Zhao through the Former and Latter Qin and Northern Dynasties to the early Sui period.

 

 

Wu Chunming, Relationship of the Prehistoric Philippine Culture with South China

 

KEY WORDS: Philippines    prehistoric culture    South China    cultural diffusion

ABSTRACT: Concerning the prehistoric Philippine culture, although its researchers are divergent on its developmental course and periodization, they believe to various extents that this aboriginal cultural system contains widespread cultural elements from the continent of South China. The available archaeological data accumulated for almost one hundred years suggest that the Philippine Islands were the main link between the aboriginal cultures of the South China Baiyue system and the “Austronesian” cultures in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. This is reflected from the existence of cultural elements from South China continent in the prehistoric Philippine cultural sequence, whose archaeological cultures of the Paleolithic, Neolithic and early Metal ages, especially their principal contents, show without exception close relationship with South China continent.      

 

 

Wang Zhongshu, On the Ritual Sites in Okinoshima Island within the Munakata Area from the Viewpoint of Ancient Sino-Japanese Exchanges

 

KEY WORDS: Munakata    Okinoshima Island    ritual sites

ABSTRACT: Okinoshima is an island with rolling hills and lofty rocks, isolated in the sea north of the Munakata area in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. From 1954 to 1971, 23 ritual sites were discovered through ten times of survey and excavation in three periods. According to their difference in location and terrain, they can be divided into four types, i.e. the ritual sites on huge rocks, those under the ledge of huge rocks, those partly under the ledge of huge rocks and partly in the open air, and those in the open air, which form a successive sequence in the above order and date about the mid fourth century to the late ninth century. The ritual activities were directed by the then central government of Japan with the local wealthy and influential Munakata clan taking part in, and aimed at praying to the goddesses dominating this sea area for peaceful navigation. The numerous excellent precious offerings unearthed from the sites distinctly reflect frequent exchanges of ancient Japan with China through maritime communications.

 

 

Liu Miao, A Preliminary Study of the Archaeologically Discovered Ding Yao Porcelain of the Jin Period

 

KEY WORDS: Ding Yao kiln    porcelain    Jin period

ABSTRACT: The Ding Yao was one of the five famous kilns in Song period China. Its white-glazed porcelain with carved or impressed design won high praise both at home and abroad. The constant publication of archaeological data of Jin period Ding ware has made it possible to further the comparative study of this type of porcelain. The Jin period Ding Yao can be divided into two phases roughly with the 10^th year of Dading reign (AD1170) as the demarcation. The early phase saw the inceptive growth of the Ding Yao, while the late phase was the time of its rapid development. The Jin period Ding Yao was developed on the basis of Ding ware production in the late Northern Song period; it inherited directly the latter and brought about some new traits; but in the whole style it showed few features characteristic of the northern minority nationalities.    

 

 

Lin Meicun, Reconnaissance of Historical Sites Related to Genghis Khan 

 

KEY WORDS: Genghis Khan’s temporary dwelling places    Qinian valley    Mongolian and Yuan period

ABSTRACT: In the early 13^th century, the Mongolians rose rapidly in the region north of the Great Desert, and the forceful cavalry of Genghis Khan and his descendants conquered almost the whole Eurasia, which opened a Mongolian epoch in the history of the world. Recently Mongolian and Yuan archaeology has obtained a series of important advances, including the discovery of three of Genghis Khan’s four temporary dwelling places, i.e. the temporary imperial dwelling places at Qudiao Alan, Heilin and Halaotu, of which the first place is the largest and the third one, the last parking place of Genghis Khan’s remains). In 2006, explorations were carried out on the Mongolian Plateau with priority given to the reconnaissance of the Okelokeqi stonewalled city (one of the campsites of Genghis Khan’s ancestors), Qudiao Alan and the Qinian Valley (location of Mongolian and Yuan imperial mausoleums). The results of the explorations and other recent discoveries in Mongolian and Yuan archaeology provided important clues for seeking Mongolian and Yuan imperial mausoleums.