China News Service, Xi'an, January 12 (Reporter Alina) The reporter learned from a press conference held by the Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics on the 12th that archaeologists discovered the current Shimao city site and the highest-level cemetery of Shimao culture in Huangchengtai.
According to reports, the Huangchengtai high-level cemetery further demonstrates the degree of civilization of Shimao society. It is an important evidence that Shimao has entered the early state form, and it is an important harvest of the exploration of the origin of Chinese civilization in recent years.
The picture shows the unearthed jade adze.
Photo courtesy of Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics
The excavation of the Shimao site in 2022 focused on Huangchengtai, revealing the tip of the iceberg of the Huangchengtai high-grade cemetery discovered in 2018.
At the same time, in order to promote the overall protection plan of the southern parapet of Dataiji as soon as possible, the southwest corner of Dataiji was exposed.
The southwest corner of the Datai foundation is in the same shape as the first discovered southeast corner of the Datai foundation, which is an arc-shaped corner.
More than a dozen exquisite stone carvings were also found in this excavation, among which the stone carving at the southwest corner is the most characteristic.
The stone carving is made of turquoise sandstone, and it is built at the southwest corner of the large platform, and the corner part is designed in a circular arc shape.
Because the stone carvings discovered in the past have phenomena such as uneven weathering, inversion, and scattered arrangement, which have blurred the understanding of the use of stone carvings, the discovery of the stone carvings at the southwest corner of the Datai Foundation proves that a large number of stone carvings built on the parapet wall of the Datai Foundation are particularly large. Produced by Taiji.
The site of the cemetery is located on a slope that is high in the east and low in the west on the west side of Dataiji. At present, the east and west boundaries of the cemetery have been confirmed, and further excavations are needed for the south and north boundaries of the cemetery.
A doorway into the cemetery was found on the eastern boundary wall.
Combined with the previously discovered doorways of similar shape and close location on the west wall of Dataiji, which is parallel to the eastern boundary wall, experts believe that these two doorways connect the palace area and the tomb area in series.
The picture shows the tombs in Huangchengtai Cemetery.
Photo courtesy of Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics
In 2022, a total of 20 tombs were discovered, including 5 sarcophagus tombs, 3 small shaft tombs, and 12 large shaft tombs.
According to the trend of the stone walls in the cemetery and the arrangement of the large vertical pit tombs, the currently exposed cemetery is divided into two areas: south and north.
There are many tombs in the southern area, which are divided into several rows by stone walls, and the arrangement is regular.
The picture shows the tombs in Huangchengtai Cemetery.
Photo courtesy of Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics
The shape, structure and unearthed artifacts of the large vertical pit tombs in the Huangchengtai cemetery are basically the same as the tombs at the Hanjiagedan site, the Shengediliang site, and the Zhaishan site.
It is inferred that the high-level cemetery in Huangcheng Taigao was not earlier than the middle Shimao culture, and the absolute age was between 2100 BC and 1800 BC.
According to reports, the Huangchengtai cemetery is currently the highest-level cemetery found in the Shimao city site and Shimao culture. Together with the "Datai Foundation", the basic pattern of "front palace-back cemetery" on Huangchengtai was constructed.
Combined with previous discoveries, the tombs of the Shimao culture have a high degree of similarity, clear grading standards, and obvious differences in grades, which are important materials for discussing the complex phenomenon of Shimao society.
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