Page 189 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

Excavation photograph of
the tomb at Dayangzhou,
Xin'gan, Jiangxi province.

Although preservation conditions were poor, the excavators believe the find at Dayangzhou
4
comprised the durable contents of a large burial chamber (about 10 by 3.6 meters). Human
remains were sparse — only two dozen human teeth were recovered, and these were attributed
to three individuals: a young female and two infants. Most Chinese scholars identify these indi-
viduals as sacrificial victims who accompanied the tomb's occupant in death. The grave goods
consisted primarily of bronze objects (475 items), especially weapons (232 items) and tools
(51 items), but also copious ceramics (139 items), including characteristic Wucheng "proto-
porcelains." The ceramics are sufficient to date the burial to Period II at Wucheng, which in
turn is generally correlated to an early phase of the Late Shang (the period of Fu Hao). The

array of bronzes, including ritual types, spans a somewhat broader period, starting with the
Erligang Phase (c. 1600 BCE) and continuing through Yinxu Periods I-II (c. 1200 BCE). RT

1 Bagley 1977. 3 Li 19983, 218 - 230.
2 Kane 1974 -1975. For a synthesis of the data and critique 4 Jiangxi 1997. See also Bagley 1993 for a discussion that
of previous views, see Thorp 1985. emphasizes the affinities of the bronzes.

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