Cosmology in the Orientation of Neolithic Burials in Central China

The Xipo and Qingliangsi Cemeteries

Bibliographic Data

ID6439440
AuthorsYuqing Chen (0000-0003-3832-3836, Durham University, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume38
Issue2
Publication date2025-07-15
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of World Prehistory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0892-7537 • E-ISSN: 1573-7802
PublisherSpringer Nature (PUBLISHER • SG)
DOI10.1007/s10963-025-09190-8
OpenAlexW4412428999
LanguageEN
References cited19

A large number of Neolithic cemeteries in the central plain of China have been excavated and the results published, and many display some internal consistency in the orientation of burials within the same cemetery. This consistency sometimes extends beyond the individual cemetery, to an entire geographical region or culture, as is the case for the Yangshao culture (仰韶) (4700–2800 BC). This raises the question of what influenced the choice of grave orientation. Early Chinese written records document cosmological and astronomical beliefs dating back to the second millennium BC. Archaeological analysis enables us to explore whether similar ideas existed in the Neolithic period. A detailed study of graves, landscape, and celestial phenomena was used to explore the beliefs behind the orientation of burials at the cemeteries of Xipo and Qingliangsi. We conclude that it was not the precise direction of sunset at the time of death that determined the orientation of the grave, nor the importance of particular astronomical phenomena known to have been important in later times (e.g. the Milky Way or the star Antares), but rather the direction in which sunsets are most commonly seen throughout the year. The concept of ‘the west’ and the direction of the sunset were perhaps considered inseparable at that time. It is suggested that in the cosmology of the Late Neolithic period, the sun was perceived to play a key role throughout the year in the worlds of the living and the dead, by maintaining the harmony of sky, Earth and human

Ancient history · Archaeology · China · Geography · Geometry · Orientation (vector space · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Historical and Architectural Studies · History · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Geology

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