The Asahi Shimbun, 05/04/2005
Tantalizing clues in ancient mounds

SAGA-Ancient mounds here may be among the nation's oldest and prove that
the original owners were pretty inventive for their day.

Recent excavations at the Higashimyo archeological site indicate the
shell mounds date back 7,000 years-to the early Jomon Period (8000
B.C.-300 B.C.).

Higashimyo has western Japan's largest such mounds. They are believed to
have been created by the dumping of shells and other refuse.

Remains of more than 40 baskets, hand-woven from thin strips of wood,
have been found there. Experts say they may be the oldest so far discovered.

Many large mounds have been found in eastern Japan, mainly in the Kanto
region, that date from the Jomon Period. But sites as large and as old
as those in Higashimyo are rare, experts said.

"The mounds illustrate how people shifted from hunting to cultivating
marine resources," said Masayuki Komoto, a Kumamoto University professor
who heads the excavation. "The findings will allow us to make a thorough
study of ancient people's daily lives."

The city's board of education, which is overseeing the excavation,
concluded the shell mounds are from the early Jomon Period because
pottery particular to that time was found.

The mounds were excavated in May 2004. Earlier, remains of settlements
and graves were discovered. Six mounds, covering a total area of about
1,250 square meters, are being examined.

Stratum in the soil shows evidence of a shell layer at least 1 meter
deep and up to 15 meters wide that runs north to south for about 500
meters across the entire area.

About 10 percent of the site has been excavated. Archaeologists have
discovered not only shells and remnants of hand-woven wooden baskets,
but also fish bones and tools fashioned from deer antlers.

The hand-woven containers are in four styles.

The tools are patterned with regular notches of about 1 millimeter in
diameter.

Tatsuo Kobayashi, a professor of archaeology at Kokugakuin University,
said the containers and tools are evidence that, despite popular belief,
Jomon Period people had a relatively high level of technology.

The Higashimyo site was discovered during the construction of a
reservoir designed to offset flood waters.

Experts believe the area used to be an estuary which was connected to a
shoreline during the Jomon Period.

[crosspost from EastAsianArch list]
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200505040070.html

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Over 3,000-year-old bronze sword discovered in Henan
www.chinaview.cn 2005-05-04 15:30:59

ZHENGZHOU, May 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese archaeologists have
recently unearthed a short bronze sword in one of the seven
newly-discovered pits of chariots and horses in the famous ruins of Yin,
in Anyang city of central China's Henan Province, said a local cultural
relic official.

The official with the Henan Provincial Cultural Heritage
Administration said the double-edged sword is about 30 to 35 centimeters
long, and its handle, body and ridge are all clear andeasy to be identified.

The official said the seven pits of chariots and horses as wellas
three medium-sized tombs were discovered in a recent excavation at the
western edge of the Yin Ruins in Anyang, which was the capital of the
late Shang Dynasty (c. 1300-1050 BC), some 500 km south of the national
capital Beijing.

Five of the seven newly-discovered pits remained basically intact
and they are arranged in a line, with chariots and horses facing
eastward, according to the official.

Archaeologists also unearthed 30 bronze arrowheads in the same pit
where the sword was found.

Of the three tombs, the one coded M13 was the biggest, which
archaeologists said to have been robbed of, losing many cultural relics.
But they still unearthed a dozen bronze daggers, a musical stone and
over 20 bronze arrowheads from the tomb.

Covering 30 square kilometers, the Yin Ruins was first discovered
by a Chinese archaeologist in 1899. Yin was an ancient name for the
Shang Dynasty.

Excavations on either side of the Huan River have revealed tombs,
foundations of palaces and temples (but no city wall), bronzes, jade
carvings, lacquer, many inlaid items, white carved ceramics and
high-fired green-glazed wares as well as oracle bones. One of important
discoveries of Yinxu (Yin Ruins) is the inscribed animal bones and
tortoise shells, known as oracle bones. The bonesand shells, used for
divination by Shang kings, carry the earliestknown examples of Chinese
characters.

Yin Ruins topped the 100 greatest archaeological discoveries
ofChina in the 20th century.

The recent excavation at Yinxu was jointly conducted by the
archaeological research institute under the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences and Anyang City Cultural Relics Work Team from January to April
this year.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-05/04/content_2914654.htm

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pd, May 05, 2005
Genghis Khan's mausoleum under renovation

China is renovating Genghis Khan's mausoleum, located in Ejin Horo
Banner on the Ordos Highlands in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region, at a cost of 150 million yuan (18.13 million US dollars).

The largest renovation project since the mausoleum was built nearly half
a century ago, the current renovation will cover repair and construction
inside the mausoleum buildings, decoration of outer walls and the
expansion of the mausoleum's courtyard.

The renovation will also cover building auxiliary facilities such as
pavement, a bronze horse square and power and water supply facilities.

Eighty percent of the project will be completed this year, and the
remaining 20 percent is expected to be finished next year, according to
the Genghis Khan Mausoleum Administration.

Genghis Khan (1162-1227) died at age 66 in what is today's northwestern
Gansu Province, fighting the Xixia Kingdom (Western Xia Dynasty --
1038-1227) in an attempt to unify the country. His remains were taken to
the Ejin Horo Banner on the Ordos Highlands and buried there.

Five hundred nomadic families of his clan were chosen to stand guard at
the mausoleum. They became a special group dedicated to defending the
tomb of the great warrior generation after generation and were called
Dalhut, which means "guards of the sacred mausoleum" in Mongolian.

When the Japanese troops entered China in 1937, the Dalhuts moved
Genghis Khan's remains to northwestern Qinghai Province and the
mausoleum was left behind. The remains were not returned until1954 when
the central government of China rebuilt the mausoleum.

Since then, the Dalhuts have had a formal site for their grand
ceremonies. The existing mausoleum covers an area of 0.5 sq km. Despite
a number of repairs and renovations through the years, it remains in a
decrepit state.

In 2001, some noted architecture departments and archeologists worked
out a blueprint for the mausoleum's renovation and expansion.

The mausoleum of Genghis Khan is a culture relics preservation unit
listed under the top state protection. It has also become a tourist
destination, which attracts millions of tourists from homeand abroad.

Source: Xinhua
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200505/05/eng20050505_183755.html

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Group of ancient tombs unearthed in Hebei
www.chinaview.cn 2005-05-09 20:46:05

SHIJIAZHUANG, May 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Archeologists recently
discovered an ancient group of tombs of considerable size, containing
three tombs from the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) and four from the
Tang Dynasty (618-907), in Xuanhua County of north China's Hebei Province.

Archeologists said the group of tombs were found at a construction
site. Several tombs lost their top parts, which were apparently taken by
grave looters.

One tomb from the Han Dynasty is of 98.7 square meters, and owns as
many as eight coffin chambers. Another Han tomb is 18.6 meters in length
and 10.3 meters in width. Tombs of this size are not frequently seen in
Hebei.

Archeologists have found delicate pots, stoves, pigs and dogs of
pottery as well as wine cups, bowls, plates, and long tables inthe three
Han tombs.

An official from the relics and antiques protection bureau of
Xuanhua County said the tomb cluster was first found in the countyseat
by a construction team.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-05/09/content_2936054.htm

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Shanghai to open 100th museum this year
www.chinaview.cn 2005-05-05 09:42:20

BEIJING, May 5 -- Shanghai's ambitions do not stop at being an
international economic hub. Shanghai is also aiming to become a cultural
centre of global importance.

One obvious sign of that goal is the growing number of museums in
the city.

In 2000 the municipal government set a target of 100 museums in
Shanghai by 2005, an aspiration which has since been updated to 150 by 2010.

Chen Xiejun, deputy director of the Municipal Bureau of Cultural
Heritage, the office in charge of administration of the city's museums,
insists the goals are not the unrealistic ambitions of senior officials
and that the city is on course for 100 such sites by the end of the year.

Statistics from the municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, show that on
average each year Shanghai will see more than 20 new museums opening
their doors .

By the end of 2004, the city already boasted 91 museums.

But concerns have been raised over the financial viability of so
many facilities in just one city.

According to insiders , the annual cost of operating all 150
museums could exceed 800 million yuan (US$96.39 million).

Zhou Lizhong, chief of the museum and memorial administration
division of the Bureau of Cultural Heritage, believes such concerns are
unnecessary saying government funding and the museums' own ability to
raise money will cover costs.

The current 90-plus museums can be categorized into three types:
public museums supported by the local government, industrial museums
sponsored by the industries they represent, and privately-owned museums.

Insiders disclosed that national-level museums such as the Shanghai
Museum receive financial support amounting to tens of millions of yuan
per year.

For city or district-level museums funding can exceed 100,000 yuan
(US$12,000).

An official surnamed Huang from Shanghai Civil Affair Bureau said
the basic requirement for opening a museum is that it should have
registered capital of 100,000 yuan (US$12,000).

According to experts 100,000 yuan is not enough to open a museum
and the successful operation of a site relies on attracting large
numbers of visitors.

Insiders say that of the 100 museums due to be open by the end of
the year, more than 50 per cent are publicly owned and funded by the
local government.

The rest of the museums are mainly industrial museums. Thanks to
sponsorship from trade unions and leading companies, their operation is
usually very smooth.

For example, Shanghai Banking Museum, the first of its kind and
currently the only one in the country, occupies 1,500 square metres of
the city's most expensive area, the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone.
Insiders say the museum's major investor is the financially strong
Shanghai branch of the China Industrial and Commercial Bank.

A manager from the museum surnamed Wang disclosed it was opened in
2000 with investment in exhibits alone totalling almost 10 million yuan
(US$1.2 million).

Not including individuals, visitors in delegations touring the
museum in a professional capacity have numbered over 10,000 each year,
Wang added.

Chen Xiejun noted that industrial museums should take the lead in
future development plans.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-05/05/content_2917894.htm

__________________

with kind regards,

Matthias Arnold
(Art-Eastasia list)

http://www.chinaresource.org
http://www.fluktor.de

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