The noble tombs ‘discovery and the research of geographical position of Si state

We excavated 6 tombs of West Zhou Dynasty in Xianrentai site. Each of them covers an area of 10-20 square meters. The tombs are orderly arranged, with the direction of tombs and the burial system consistent. These tombs were buried with ritual relics such as bronze vessels, jade and stone artifacts, wooded vessels and potteries. We also discovered the coffins made of wood in these tombs. According to the burials, we can conclude that they are not the common people’s tombs, but the nobles’ cemetery, aged about from Late of Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle or late of Spring and Autumn Period. According to the inscription of “寺阝”  carved on some bronze vessels, we think these bronze vessels are not exterior dowry utensil. It proves that this is the nobles’ cemetery of Si state of Zhou dynasty. There is little record about “Si” state in literature. Some people considered that “Si” state may be in Tengzhou county or Jining city of Shandong province. The discovery of Xianrentai site shows that “Si” state was at Changqing county of Shandong province during that time which capital is not far from the cemetery.

Its clear date, abundant burial articles and orderly arrangement are all of important value to study burial system of Zhou Dynasty.

First, among the burials, there are bronze containers (such as ding-tripod, gui, fu, hu, dou), weapons (such as bronze dagger, bronze spear, bronze sward) and potteries such as li-tripod, dou-plate, jar and ding-tripod. During the study of vessel shapes, these kinds of vessels are all typical artifacts in the period division. Their imprint of time is evident. The compared data is very abundant. Secondly, according to the tombs’ order, the five tombs that focus on the southeast of central section are M3, M1and M2, M4 and M6 from east to west. The order of age is consistent with their arrangement. The tombs in the north are earlier than those in the south when they are coordinate in the direction of south north. The age of the M5, which is in the west of the middle, is the latest one. All of these have been arranged orderly. Thirdly, in terms of burial customs, these tombs remain not only the reliques of Shang Dynasty, for example, sacrificed dogs in some waist pits, but also grade of regulation in Zhou Dynasty, for example, burning some funeral objects such as ding-tripod, parts of chariot and harness and musical instruments etc. These tombs also have their aboriginal factors; for example, they used double number vessels that were the same as the contemporary tombs of Lu State. All of these offer important evidence to systematically study the tombs of Zhou Dynasty in Shandong province.

It is important for studying bronze forged technology and ancient musical instruments.

Among the bronze wares unearthed from tombs in this site, the biggest one is about 100 kg, and the least one doesn’t reach 0.5kg. Vessel shapes and the decorations on vessel’s surface are various. Through observing these bronzes, we can recognize that the method of mould and the craftwork are different. They use not only mould method, but also one-off cast. It embodies the complicated course of technology. Besides, according to the experts’ judge and test, we find that most of Bian Zhong and Bian Qing have clear tone, accurate timbre, which sounds wonderful.

Besides, we found some food in the bronze containers, including chicken, fish and millet etc. They are very important to study the diet and sup life at that time.

2、 The Academic Significance of Excavation and Study of Yinjiacheng Site in Sishui County

The site of Yinjiacheng discovered by the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of sciences (now it has been called as Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) in 1963 lies in the south of Yinjiacheng village, Jinzhuang town, Sishui county of Shandong province. Archaeology Specialty of the Department of History, Shandong University has continually excavated this site for five times from 1973 to 1986, which covers an area of about 2020 square meters. Except the marginal parts, all the areas had been uncovered. After we have systematically organized the excavated materials, Cultural Relics Publishing House of China published the report of Yinjiacheng of Sishui in 1990. As the important academic significance of this site, we concludes the following four important aspects:

   1. The cultural deposit of Yinjiacheng site is thick; its continuing time is long. Remains and relics are abundant. They are of very important significance to uncover the cultural appearance.

   The cultural deposit of Yinjiacheng site is about 3 meters thick in average, including Dawenkou Culture, Longshan Culture of Shandong, Yueshi Culture and cultures of Shang, Zhou, Han dynasties, among which Longshan Culture and Yueshi Culture are best preserved, composed of many layers. There are 20 houses, 245 ash pits, 65 tombs, 240 jade or stone artifacts, nearly 300 bone, horn and shell artifacts and 1351 potteries in the relics of Longshan Culture. There are 11 houses, 195 ash pits, 601 stone artifacts, 431 bone, horn and shell artifacts, 14 copper wares and 347 potteries in the remains of Yueshi Culture. Besides, there are numerous pottery pieces, animal and plant remains. These abundant remains and relics provide systematical science materials to comprehensively study the appearances and characters of Shandong Longshan Culture and Yueshi Culture.

2. The site is of very important significance to study the Longshan Culture’s and Yueshi Culture’s stages and regional types

At first, we introduce the Longshan Culture’s stages and regional types. According to the study of stratigraphical relationships and typological seriation, Longshan Culture of Shandong was divided into six periods and four stages, which dates to 4600-4000 B.P. It origins from Dawenkou Culture and develops into Yueshi Culture, The deposits of every period and stage which represent the whole course of development of Longshan Culture are all very abundant except the third period of the second stage. So the division becomes a standard for further studying.

According to the discovery and recognition at that time, we took on Longshan Culture of Yinjiacheng as one of five regional types of Longshan Culture of Shandong ——Chengziya 、Yaowangcheng 、Yaoguanzhuang、Yangjiajuan and Yinjiacheng。These results of study about stages and types have been of important referent significance up to now. During the study of Yueshi Culture, because only a few materials were discovered, Yueshi Culture was divided into two stages at that time——early and late, aged about 3900-3600 B.P. We have put forward that Yueshi Culture also can be divided into Zhaogezhuang type in Mouping and Yinjiacheng type .The study of Yueshi Culture is of important function on advancing systematically study of Yueshi Culture.

3. The research of the site resolves the developmental relationship among Longshan Culture, Yueshi Culture and Shang Dynasty at the first time.

Discovered earlier, people knew little about Yueshi Culture, so it was regarded as a composition of Longshan Culture of Shandong all along. Through the first excavation of Yinjiacheng site ,we proposed the concept “YinjiachengⅡCulture  ”for the first time in the brief report of excavation which was independent from Longshan Culture . Later we named it Yueshi Culture in order to abide by the rule of archaeological culture’s denomination. Yueshi Culture, which acts as a new archaeological culture, is of very important academic significance according to the Yinjiacheng site’s stratigraphical relationship. Meanwhile, in Yinjiacheng site, we first discovered the evidence that the ash pits of the upper stratum of Erligang destroyed the layers of Yueshi Culture. The relationship among Longshan, Yueshi and early Shang Dynasty in southern Shandong was based on the evidence of the site’s stratigraphy.

4.The site is very important to study the origin of civilization in the east of China.

In the extensive domain of China, the appearances and features of different cultural regions are different in some degree. The east of China where the Yinjiacheng site situated is regarded as an important place where ancient civilization should come into being and developed. In Longshan Culture of Yinjiacheng site we discovered houses with various sizes, tombs whose masters’ status are great disparity and numerous potteries. In Yueshi Culture, we have excavated a batch of ritual pottery, what’s more, we have excavated 14 copper wares, though the 14 copper wares of Yueshi Culture are all small artifacts, they contain pure copper and bronze through metallurgical determination. These indicate that the society had entered the Early Bronze Age. Longshan Culture of Shandong and Yueshi Culture are the major objects in studying Eastern Civilization. Yinjiacheng site is just the place where the remains of the two periods are very abundant, namely that Yinjiacheng site is indispensable site in studying eastern region of China.