Chariotry and Prone Burials

Reassessing Late Shang China’s Relationship with Its Northern Neighbours

Datos Bibliográficos

ID7324801
AutoresJessica Rawson (0000-0002-6733-6866, University of Oxford), Konstantin Chugunov (0000-0003-1977-7189, State Hermitage Museum), Yegor Grebnev (0009-0002-8402-2962, University of Oxford), Limin Huan (0000-0003-2398-7613, University of Oxford)
Año2020
Volumen33
Número2
Páginas135-168
Fecha de publicación2020-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of World Prehistory (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0892-7537 • E-ISSN: 1573-7802
EditorialSpringer Nature (PUBLISHER • SG)
DOI10.1007/s10963-020-09142-4
OpenAlexW3040467750
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas19
Referencias citadas28

In place of the traditional view that raids and invasion from the north introduced new weapons and chariots to the Shang (c. 1200 BC), we argue that archaeological evidence illustrates the presence of several regional groups at or near the late Shang centre, Anyang. Here we review burial practices at Anyang dating to the late second millennium BC, and describe a substantial group of prone burials that reflect a ritual practice contrasting with that of the predominant Shang elite. Such burials occur at all social levels, from victims of sacrifice to death attendants, and include members of lower and higher elites. Particularly conspicuous are chariot drivers in some chariot pits. An elite-level link with chariots is confirmed by the burial of a military leader in tomb M54 at Huayuanzhuang at Anyang, with tools that match exactly those of chariot drivers. Given that prone burial is known to the north, in the Mongolian region that provided chariots and horses to the Shang, a route can be traced eastwards and southwards, down the Yellow River, and then through mountain basins to Anyang. Our inference is that a group originally from outside the Central Plains can be identified in these distinctive burials. This marks a first step towards understanding the heterogeneity in the central population of the late Shang

Ancient history · Archaeology · Chariot · China · Elite · Geography · Politics · Population · Sacrifice · Shang dynasty · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Chinese history and philosophy · Demography · History · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies