Bronze age continues to astound

By Wang Ru | China Daily | Updated: 2023-06-13 06:17
Share
Share - WeChat
A bronze ornament in the shape of a bird decorated with turquoises found at the Zhaigou site. [Photo provided to China Daily]

According to Sun, during the late Shang period, many local states appeared surrounding the central regime, with its central area located in Henan province. They had been conquered by Shang and then coexisted with the central regime by presenting tribute to it or rising in rebellions against it. Jiaguwen, or oracle bone inscriptions, the earliest known Chinese writing, record that, in the west and north of the central regime, there were nearly 70 states, but the whereabouts of them remain a mystery.

Lei Xingshan, a professor at the Capital Normal University in Beijing, points out that a grand tomb with a tomb passage often belongs to king of a state, and "when we find a tomb of this type, it almost certainly means a state has been discovered as well".

From the tombs, a large number of exquisite bronzeware, jadeware, bone artifacts, lacquerware and tortoise shells were unearthed, and are similar to those found in the past from aristocratic tombs in the Yinxu Ruins, the site of the capital of the late Shang period.

It suggests this area had been in close communication with the central regime, and showed the strong influence exerted on this area by the regime, says Sun Hua, an archaeology professor at Peking University.

|<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next   >>|
Photo

Related Stories

Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US