KAOGU XUEBAO

(Acta Archaeologica Sinica)

No. 2, 2019

Contents

Xu Zhafeng,

The Chronology and Genealogy of the Archaeological Cultures in the South of Liaodong Peninsula …………………………………………………………… (143)

Yu Mengzhou and Wu Chaoming,

On the Early Remains of theShi'erqiao Culture …………………………………………………………………………(163)

Cao Dingyun and Liu Yiman,

The Fourth Discussion on the Oracle Inscriptions in the Reigns of Kings Wu Yi and Wen Ding –– Focused on the Chronological Relationship between the Oracle Inscriptions of “No-name Group” and “Li Group”……………………………………………………………………………(193)

Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology et al.,

The Excavation of the Sujiaba Site in Wusheng County, Sichuan …………………………………………………………………………(213)

Nanjing Museum et al.,

The Excavation of Jianyaomiao Cemetery in Pizhou City ………………………………………………………………………………(245)

Liu Yang and Hou Yamei,

Experimental Studies on Direct Hard-hammer Percussion Flaking of Quartzite …………………………………………………………………………(283)

THE CHRONOLOGY AND GENEALOGY OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL CULTURES IN THE SOUTH OF LIAODONG PENINSULA

by

Xu Zhaofeng

The trial establishment of the chronological framework of the archaeological cultures of the Neolithic Age in the south of Liaodong Peninsula started at the end of the 1970s, but a relatively complete archaeological culture chronology is just established in recent years. The main data based on which this chronological framework is established are from two representative sites, namely Xiaozhushan and Bei Wutun Sites. At Xiaoshushan Site, the five-phase evolution sequence from Xiaozhushan Phase I to Xiaozhushan Phase V is established; at Bei Wutun Site, the evolution and chronological relationships among Lower Houwa Culture, Xiaozhushan Phase II Culture, Upper Houwa Culture and Xiaozhushan Phase III Culture are established. Finally, a conclusion is drawn that in the south of the Liaodong Peninsula during the Neolithic Age, there have been seven series of archaeological cultures each of which had its own development sequence. These seven series of archaeological cultures could roughly be attributed into the flat-bottomed jars with stamped pattern, incised pattern and attached appliqué pattern to the north of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea and the tripod vessel system in the Haidai area, which represented the typical characteristics of different regional systems of cultures. Based on concrete analyses to these four cultural genealogies, this paper synthesized the communications, impacts and convergences among these four cultural genealogies in the south of the Liaodong Peninsula and their backgrounds.

ON THE EARLY REMAINS OF THE SHI'ERQIAO CULTURE

by

Yu Mengzhou and Wu Chaoming

The Sanxingdui Culture and Shi'erqiao Culture represent two important stages of the development of the pre-Qin cultures in the Sichuan Basin. In the academic circle, there have been sharp controversies on the date and cultural attribution of the remains of the Shang Dynasty represented by the Exquisite House Locality of the Langjia Village in Jinsha Site, which reflects that some details in the studies on the sequence of the pre-Qin cultures in the Sichuan Basin have not been made clear. The studies on the remains of the “Exquisite House Phase” in the past were mostly not specific enough and, moreover, not thoroughly done based on comprehensively collected data, so that some disputed problems could not be solved. Based on the fine typological analysis on the pottery wares from the Sanxingdui Culture to the “Lijia Yuanzi Stage” of the Shi'erqiao Culture, this paper makes an in-depth analysis on the differences of the cultural features and the chronological relationships among the remains of the “Exquisite House Phase”, Sanxingdui Culture and “Lijia Yuanzi Stage”, and points out that the “Exquisite House Phase” belonged to the earliest stage of the Shi'erqiao Culture and was tightly followed by the “Lijia Yuanzi Stage” without gaps. This paper also closely studies the pottery wares unearthed from Layers 12 and 13 of the Shi'erqiao Site and reveals that both layers contained the remains of the “Exquisite House Phase” and “Lijia Yuanzi Stage”, and some pottery wares bore characteristics of the later dates represented by the burials at the Wanbo Locality of the Jinsha Site. Therefore, the Shi'erqiao Site is not a typical one for the periodization study of the Shi'erqiao Culture, and the latter should be restudied based on the comprehensive collection of the available data. This paper divides the early remains of the Shi'erqiao Culture into two stages, namely the “Exquisite House” Stage and “Lijia Yuanzi” Stage, and analyzes the complexity status of the influences of the Sanxingdui Culture to the Shi'erqiao Culture in more detailed angles, and shows the absorption, development and reform of the Shi'erqiao Culture to the elements of the Sanxingdui Culture. The analysis of this paper to the remains of the “Exquisite House” Stage reflects that the eastern Chongqing area and Chengdu Plain can be enclosed into the same cultural sphere, the western Hubei area had more local characteristics, and the Wushan area showed the transitional characteristics between the western Hubei and eastern Chongqing areas. The in-depth analysis to the “Exquisite House” Stage is significantly meaningful for the accurate understanding of the features of the development of the archaeological cultures after the great social changes at the end of the Sanxingdui Culture, and the restorations of the historical changes and population migrations in the Sichuan Basin during the pre-Qin period.

THE FOURTH DISCUSSION ON THE ORACLE INSCRIPTIONS IN THE REIGNS OF KINGS WU YI AND WEN DING –– FOCUSED ON THE CHRONOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ORACLE INSCRIPTIONS OF “NO-NAME GROUP” AND “LI GROUP”

by

Cao Dingyun and Liu Yiman

In the oracle bones unearthed at the Yinxu Site, the oracle inscriptions of “No-name Group” and “Li Group” are identified by the names of the diviners. According to the traditional periodization, the oracle inscriptions of “No-name Group” were created in the reigns of Kings Kang Ding and Wu Yi, which were earlier; the oracle inscriptions of “Li Group” were created in the reigns of Kings Wu Yi and Wen Ding, which were later. Since 1977, Li Xueqin puts forward and gradually perfects his “two-system hypothesis”, which suggests that the “Fu Ding (Father Ding)” mentioned in the oracle inscriptions of “Li Group” referred to King Wu Ding, and the “Fu Yi (Father Yi)” referred to King Xiao Yi; this hypothesis advances the creation date of the oracle inscriptions of “Li Group” to the later period of the reign of King Wu Ding and the reign of King Zu Geng, which triggered an intense dispute in the oracle bone studies field lasting for over 40 years. Soon after the presentation of the “two-system hypothesis”, Lin Yun joined this dispute and also put forward another “two-system hypothesis” which was almost the same as that of Li Xueqin: both suggest that the oracle inscriptions of “Li Group” should be dated to the later period of the reign of King Wu Ding and the reign of King Zu Geng, and the oracle inscriptions of “Li Group” were created earlier than that of “No-name Group”; the inscriptions in “Li Group” mentioning “Father Yi” were created in the later period of the reign of King Wu Ding, and that in the same group mentioning “Father Ding” were created in the reign of King Zu Geng. Their views were exactly against the traditional periodization conclusion. Which one is earlier and which one is later, the “Li Group” or the “No-name Group”? This became the focus of the dispute. By script styles, this paper classifies the oracle inscriptions of “No-name Group” into five types; according to the appellations in these inscriptions, this paper proves that the inscriptions of “No-name Group” were created in the reigns of Kings Zu Jia, Kang Ding and Wu Yi, plus some in the reign of King Wen Ding. By script styles, the oracle inscriptions of “Li Group” could be classified into the “Father Ding Subgroup” and “Father Yi Subgroup”, the former of which were created in the reign of King Wu Yi and the latter were created in the reign of King Wen Ding. During the reigns of Kings Wu Yi and Wen Ding, the oracle inscriptions of “No-name Group” and “Li Group” did coexist; however, seen as a whole, the oracle inscriptions of “No-name Group” were created earlier than that of “Li Group”, which has been proven by the textual evidence of the oracle inscriptions and stratigraphical evidence, and cannot be disputable. Even more important, the appearance of the sequence of “Xiao Yi – ‘Three Ancestors’ – Father Ding” as the recipients on the sacrificial ceremonies in the oracle inscriptions of “Li Group” provides unquestionable evidence: the “Father Ding” in this sequence must have been King Kang Ding, and therefore the “two-system hypothesis” is groundless.

THE EXCAVATION OF THE SUJIABA SITE IN WUSHENG COUNTY, SICHUAN

by

Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

Department of Archaeology, Sichuan University

Guang'an Municipal Commission for Preservation of Ancient Monuments

Wusheng County Commission for Preservation of Ancient Monuments

In the fall of 2012, Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and other institutions jointly excavated the Sujiaba Site at Liemian Town in Wusheng County, which uncovered 1000 sq m in total. This report introduces the early remains before the Han Dynasty recovered in this excavation, including Strata 3 and 4 in Quadrant A, and 32 ash pits, three ash ditches and five burials. Among these features, the ash ditch G2 was not a common refuse ditch for discarding living garbage, but related to sacrificial activities. The burials M1 and M2 had special construction forms, and the types and assemblages of their grave goods resembled that of the burials in Guanzhong region from the Qin to the early Western Han Dynasties, hinting that their occupants might be officials or immigrants from the Guanzhong area in present-day Shaanxi. By stratigraphical relationships of the features, and analyses to the typological sequences, pottery system changes and assemblages of the diagnostic pottery wares, the early remains of the Sujiaba Site could be divided into five phases and six stages, the earliest date of which could be in the Sanxingdui Culture period and the early stage of the Shi'erqiao Culture, and the latest date could be the early Western Han Dynasty. There are still many gaps in the developing sequence, but the data fetched in this excavation are helpful for understanding the appearances of early archaeological cultures in the middle and lower reaches of Jialing River and the preliminary establishment of regional chronological sequence. The range of Sujiaba Site is rather large, but restricted by local conditions, the excavation was conducted at the place beside the river, which would be the peripheral area of the site. However, this excavation laid foundation for further clarification of the connotation and layout of Sujiaba Site. The middle and lower reaches of the mainstream of the Jialing River is an important route linking up the Three Gorges region and the Chengdu Plain; the excavation of Sujiaba Site is the first formal archaeological fieldwork conducted in this area, which made up this blank and provided spaces and conditions for further exploration on the approaches for the mutual influences between the Three Gorges region and the Chengdu Plain in the earlier times and relevant details, the evolutions of the cultural pattern in the Sichuan Basin and other important academic issues.

THE EXCAVATION OF JIANYAOMIAO CEMETERY IN PIZHOU CITY

by

Nanjing Museum Xuzhou Museum Pizhou City Museum

At Jianyaomiao Cemetery of the Western Jin Dynasty, nine tombs were excavated. Because they had not been looted or disturbed before excavation, their structures and grave goods were well preserved, which made them an important discovery of the Western Jin Archaeology in northern Jiangsu. The tombs in this cemetery were arranged into two rows from north to south, and all of them were tandem double-chamber tombs in large scales, some of which had black screen wall in the antechamber, as well as stone reliefs. From these tombs, nautilus cup, glass bowl, eared cups made of shell, golden earrings, and other artifacts showing the high-ranking aristocrat statuses of the tomb occupants were unearthed. The celadon pot with dish-shaped rim, pot with cock-shaped spout, granary jar, water pitcher in the shape of bixie-guardian beast unearthed from these tombs were all typical artifacts of the Western Jin Dynasty. The stone reliefs found in these tombs were reused ones of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The inscription “Xiapi Guo Xian Jianzhong Li Mou Xianbo Zhongbo Xiaobo (Xianbo, Zhongbo and Xiaobo of the Jianzhong Ward of Xiapi District, Xiapi State)” seen on the bricks of the retaining wall of tomb M8 showed that this cemetery was that of a high-ranking aristocrat family of the Xiapi State during the Western Jin Dynasty. The excavation of this cemetery completely unveiled the assemblages of the grave goods of this type of burials of the Western Jin Dynasty and the relationships between their locations in the graves and the burials, all of which are significantly meaningful for the studies on the funeral and interment institutions of the Western Jin Dynasty. The nautilus cup and glass bowl unearthed from these tombs reflected the maritime trade and cultural communication between the East and West at that time; the coexistence of the celadon wares made in the south and brown-glazed stonewares made in the north in the graves showed the northward diffusion of the celadon wares from the south, and the cultural communication and fusion represented by the circulations of commodities between the north and south. Meanwhile, the excavation of this cemetery is important for the study on the history of the Xiapi State during the Western Jin Dynasty.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON DIRECT HARD-HAMMER PERCUSSION FLAKING OF QUARTZITE

by

Liu Yang and Hou Yamei

In the Paleolithic archaeology, knapping experiment is an essential research method. As an important part of the knapping experiment, flaking experiment provides important information and reference for the analysis and restoration of the prehistoric lithic techniques. This paper focuses on the experiment of the direct hard-hammer percussion flaking of quartzite, which is very popular but not perfect material in the Paleolithic sites in China. The mathematical statistics is used to analyze the fragmentation rate, break and fragment types, complete and proximal flakes, debitage types, curvature, cortex and termination and cores. The experimental assemblage produced 1688 pieces of products from 18 knapping events of 13065g of quartzite. The products included 454 flakes (27%) and 1234 pieces of debris (73%). According to analysis, although the rate of debris is higher in quantity, the weight of products is mainly that of flakes (80%), which indicates that the most change of volume of cores meets the expectation of the knappers. The per strike fragmentation rate for ≥10mm debitage is 1.9, that means every effective knapping could produce the expected product on average, but produces an equal number of scrap debris. Most of the ≥10mm debitage are characterized by flakes, and 75% of them are complete flakes. The characteristics of flakes are obvious in these experimental specimens, which show that the direct hard-hammer percussion is suitable for quartzite. In the experiment, the fragmentation rate of initial cores is 38%, and the size of the core and the number of the flaking products are not linearly dependent. Compared with the experimental results of flint and quartz by other researchers, it is revealed that by using the same knapping method, raw material is the important factor affecting the technique results of the products and the final cores. Moreover, the experimental results also provide the detailed and important comparative materials for the study of the site nature and human behaviors.