Chinese character-shaped tombs uncover Shang Dynasty burial insights

Large tombs shaped like the Chinese character '中' (Zhong) have been discovered for the first time in the peripheral areas of the archaeological site of Yin Xu in Anyang, Henan Province. This significant find provides valuable insights into the burial system of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC), along with information related to the layout, structure, and chronological changes of the Yin Xu site, archaeologists revealed at a press conference held on Thursday.

According to Cui Zongliang, deputy director of the Anyang Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, these tombs located at the Dapo site in the southwest of Yin Xu were uncovered during infrastructure construction in 2022.

Despite severe looting, the tombs yield valuable data for studying the burial system, layout, structure, and chronological changes of the Yin Xu site.

Archaeologists made several noteworthy discoveries despite the extensive looting of these three large character-shaped tombs. For instance, the tomb labeled M16 features a two-tiered platform with painted patterns. In the soil inside a coffin, a small number of pottery fragments, quartz debris, stone tools, bone tools, fragments of bronze artifacts, and a small amount of human and animal bones were unearthed. Burial items such as pottery goblets and plates were also found in the central part of the tomb.

In recent years, the peripheral areas of Yin Xu have seen the successive discovery of large, late Shang Dynasty settlement sites, including the Xindian, Taojiaying, Zongcun, Zhengjiacun, and Dapo sites. These findings provide new material for reexamining and interpreting the layout of Yin Xu, said Cui.

Cui also suggested that the Anyang Dapo site is a scientifically planned burial ground containing different-sized tombs. It provides new data for studying the burial system of the late Shang Dynasty and contributes to the exploration of the social structure of that time.