Archaeology and Cultural Relics 2009-3

Main Contents

Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology & Tongchuan Municipal Institute of Archaeology,
Preliminary Report on the Excavation of Dou Ji Tomb of the Tang Dynasty in Tongchuan, Shaanxi Province   (3)

Guo Yanli,
Preliminary Study on the Distribution Pattern of Bronze Weapons of the Shang Dynasty   (18)
 In light of different styles of the bronze weapons, ten regions and three levels of bronze culture zones have been geographically differentiated: the Central Area of the Shang Culture, the Influential Area of the Shang Culture and the Peripheral Zone of the Shang Culture. The bronze weapons are proved to be stylistically and typologically communicated in between and among different zones. Two modes of communication have been identified: one is the output – input mode between the Central Zone and the Affected Zone, and the other is the interactive mode between the Central Zone and the Peripheral Zone. Three – zone levels indicate a “Multiple Varieties and One Center” pattern in the bronze weapons of the Shang Dynasty, and the tendency of “diversification” and “integration” was reinforced in the Late Shang Dynasty. In addition, the author argues that the influence of above mentioned pattern prevailed a long time through the Western Zhou Dynasty to Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

Jing Zhongwei,
On the Origination of Bronze Dagger   (28)

Liu Zhao & Jiang Xiaojiao,
Investigations on the Qin Dynasty Dagger Inscribed with the Characters of “Shi Jiu Nian Shangjun Shou”, Unearthed from Tongcheng, Anhui Province    (33)

Chong Jianrong & Lei Xingshan,
Investigations of the Late Shang to the Early Western Zhou Archaeological Remains at Kongtougou Site, Qishan County, Shaanxi Province   (42)

Sun Zhouyong,
Patterns of Jue – earring Production in the Western Zhou Dynasty: Materials, Technology and Organization   (49)
 This article is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on raw material procurement, tracing the source area on the basis of visual assessment of archaeological and geological samples, and the reconstruction of production procedures, using archaeological evidence supplemented experimental replication. The second part provides an estimation of the breakage ratios on each manufacturing stage. The third part turns to the issue of technological organization which is examined in terms of the socio – political context, adapting the holistic versus prescriptive model proposed by Franklin, and making use of the spatial distribution of lithic deibitage, manufacturing wasters and stone tools. The analysis shows that the Qijia workshop was typical example of utilization of the natural resources in the local environment. All the materials used in the Qijia workshop for jue manufacturing were acquired from the immediate vicinity of the Zhouyuan site. Basically, the jue production was broken into four operational stages: preparation of raw materials, performing, perforation, and sawing and refining. Except that the first stage of raw material preparation is missing in the archaeological record, the manufacturing procedures can be largely determined and represented by various unfinished jue wasters and their associated manufacturing tools. The production subgroups identified in the Qijia workshop were characterized by a cluster of lithic pits and work floors. The findings from these individual production subgroups, including a full range of jue manufacturing errors and sets of stone tools, indicate that each subgroup went through the same range of production procedures, and that a holistic model of production can be used to describe technological management on the level of craft community.

Luo Feng,
Boomerangs Identified at the Yanghai Cemetery in the Xinjiang    (83)
 This article investigates six “curved – shaped wood ware” unearthed from the Yanghai cemetery at Turpan Basin in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region dated before 1000 BC. The author combined with ethnological materials of the Boomerang (飞去来器) around the world, as well as its aerodynamic motion principle. Observations of the shapes and functions of these objects, strongly indicate that these “curved sticks” are boomerangs. The evidence from the natural environment of the Turpan Basin and livelihood patterns displayed in Yanghai cemetery proved that boomerangs are important tools in the ancient Yanghai region, which can be used for hunting waterfowls that habitat in marshes, nearby lakes and meadow steppe, as to supplement the protein shortage in food. These boomerangs recovered in Yanghai cemetery provide important information on understanding the livelihoods pattern and food structure in ancient Yanghai region.

Ying Weifeng,
Initial Discussion of the “Central Axis” in the Attendant Burials of Tang Zhaoling Mausoleum   (90)