The Dayangzhou Chengjia site () is an archaeological site located on the

Gan River The Gan River (, Gan: Kōm-kong) runs north through the western part of Jiangxi before flowing into Lake Poyang and thus the Yangtze River. The Xiang-Gan uplands separate it from the Xiang River of neighboring eastern Hunan. Two similarly sized ...

in Dayangzhou Town,

Xingan County Xingan County (, formerly ) is a county in the central part of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. It is the northernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Ji'an Ji'an () is a prefecture-level city situated in t ...

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

, China. The site was excavated in 1989, and it dates to around 1200 BCE. The rich offerings of bronze and jade objects made it the second richest burial site known after the Fu Hao's tomb. Dayangzhou was home to a rectangular tomb covered by a

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

. Largely damaged by the sand shifts, it did not preserve the skeletal remains of coffin, making some archaeologists doubt that the find was a tomb at all. Over 1,000

jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...

artefacts were discovered at Dayangzhou. Dayangzhou is known for its unique style of

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

vessels, with 54 being discovered; over 480 bronze objects were uncovered at the site. The bronze casters at Dayangzhou copied and mastered the techniques of the

Erligang culture The Erligang culture () is a Bronze Age urban civilization and archaeological culture in China that existed from approximately 1600 to 1400 BC. The primary site, Zhengzhou Shang City, was discovered at Erligang, within the modern city of Zhengz ...

, then localized the bronze vessels in a distinct style. Dayangzhou is associated with the

Wucheng culture The Wucheng culture (吳城文化) was a Bronze Age archaeological culture in Jiangxi, China. The initial site, spread out over , was discovered at Wucheng Township, Jiangxi. Located on the Gan River, the site was first excavated in 1973. The Wuche ...

. The artefacts from Dayangzhou are housed primarily in the

Jiangxi Provincial Museum Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into hi ...

Gallery

References

* Allan, Sarah (ed), ''The Formation of Chinese Civilization: An Archaeological Perspective'', * ''The Cambridge History of Ancient China : From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC'', Edited by Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy. *Zhang Liangren
''Wucheng and Shang: A New History of a Bronze Age Civilization in Southern China.''
Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 78 (2010), 53–78 {{Prehistoric cultures of China Archaeological sites in China Bronze Age in China History of Jiangxi Buildings and structures in Jiangxi 1989 archaeological discoveries 12th-century BC establishments in China

Gallery

See also

References