Page 18 - Deydier Early Chinese Bronzes
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Tombs
Several types of tombs or graves have been exhumed by archaeologists
at the site, some of which are rectangular, while others are round.
Moreover, the depth of these tombs varies and the skeletons or partial
remains therein show that the bodies of the tombs’ occupants were
buried in a number of different ways and placed in various positions.
The conditions in some tombs strongly suggest that the occupants died
violently such as by decapitation and the positioning of some skeletons
even suggests that the deceased were buried alive. The finest tombs,
which most likely belonged to important members of the Xia community
夏社會,contain numerous burial objects consisting principally of lacquer
coffins, fragments of cinnabar, jade and bone objects and, more rarely,
of one or several bronze vessels.
Tomb IV M19 Tomb V M208
Tomb V M57
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