fluktor -|||- study - office - newsletter June 11, 2005

Oldest Traditional Food Found in Jiangxi Tomb

Chinese archeologists declared they found the oldest Zongzi, a kind of glutinous rice food which has been served at the traditional Chinese Dragon Boat Festival for thousands of years, in De'an, a county in east China's Jiangxi Province.

Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves, is a kind of special food derived from the Dragon Boat Festival, also called Duanwu Festival.

Archeologists found two pieces of pyramid-shaped objects in an ancient tomb, and experts from Jiangxi Provincial Archeology Institute and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage have confirmed the two objects to be the earliest Zongzi ever found in China.

The two pyramid-shaped objects hang in symmetry at the two sides of a peach branch about 40 centimeters long. They were about six centimeters long and three centimeters wide, and covered with bamboo leaves fastened with ramee lines.

Zongzi in the early period was used to mourn the deceased and sometimes used in burial rites, and a pair of Zongzi were used to indicate prosperity for the dead and the offspring, said Liu Shizhong, a researcher with Jiangxi Provincial Archeology Institute.

The tomb was discovered when villagers were building a water tower in Yangqiao Village in Baota Township.

The tomb belonged to a female who died in 1274 , according to the epigraph.

The Dragon Boat Festival has been observed to commemorate Qu Yuan, a famous patriotic ancient poet. He lived in the state of Chu during the Warring States period (475 BC to 221 BC). He drowned himself in the Miluo River in 278 BC, on May 5 of the Chinese lunar calendar, hoping that his death could stimulate the king to revitalize their kingdom.

The date has since been remembered as the Dragon Boat Festival, on which local fishermen would row dragon boats along the Miluo river to search for Qu Yuan and scatter glutinous rice dumplings in the water to prevent the fish and shrimps from eating his body.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2005)

http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Archaeology/131511.htm

***********************

Beheaded skeletons found in tombs
www.chinaview.cn 2005-06-09 11:21:28

HOHHOT, June 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Two skeletons without skulls, buried together in the same tomb, have bewildered archeologists in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, who are trying to uncover the centuries-old mystery.

  Though headless, the skeletons were otherwise well-preserved, said Ma Fenglei, an archeologist with the Chifeng City Museum who headed the excavation. "Even the copper bracelets and rings they wore remain intact," he said.

It was one of the 13 tombs recently discovered in Songshan Mountain on the city's outskirts. The other 12 tombs contained just one human skeleton each, Ma said.

Tara, director of the Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archeology in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, assumed the tombs could date back 2,000 years ago.

The tombs contained very few sacrificial objects except for segments of animal bones and some earthen pots. "We're confident the tomb owners were nomadic Xianbei people, most probably warriors," Ma said.

Ma and his colleagues were also surprised to find a skeleton kneeling in a grave, a posture rarely found in previous archeological findings.

The Xianbei ethnic group, native to China's northeast, moved tothe present-day Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region around the third century and later moved to Shanxi Province to establish the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534).

Experts say excavation of the Xianbei tombs offers valuable clues to the study of the history of the tribe.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-06/09/content_3062942.htm

************************

pdo, June 06, 2005
2,000-year-old tombs discovered in Shanxi

Chinese archeologists have discovered a group of tombs dating back some 2,000 years ago at a housing construction site in Yuxian County of Shanxi Province.

Archeologists have confirmed five tombs of the Warring States (475 BC-221 BC) and two others of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). More than 20 pieces of funeral articles, including pottery memorial tablets, iron ovens, iron mirrors and pottery bowls, were unearthed.

The discovery is of great value for the study of the handicraft industry and the traditions and customs in the Warring States and Han Dynasty, said archeologists from the provincial administration of cultural heritage on Monday.

It is not the first time that ancient tombs have been uncovered in this county, where archeologists discovered 52 ancient tombs and 11 wells and unearthed more than 100 pieces of pottery and bronze ware in 2003.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200506/06/eng20050606_188723.html

************************

from eaa-list:

New weapon wielded in old tomb debate
Information disclosure law reveals uncertainty over emperor's graves

By REIJI YOSHIDA
Staff writer

A law enacted six years ago has given historians a new powerful weapon to challenge a long-held taboo preserved by the Imperial Household Agency: investigating the secrets of ancient emperors' tombs.

A booklet that assistant professor Noboru Koike found at a bookstore
(below) and a copy of it obtained from the Imperial Household Agency
suggest the agency had questions about the way some ancient tombs were
linked to past emperors.

The weapon is the public information disclosure law, which has allowed
Noboru Toike, assistant professor at Den-en Chofu University and an
expert on Imperial tombs, to access and obtain copies of internal agency
documents.

The documents suggest that the agency, despite official denials, once
conducted academic studies to review the attributions for at least 10
ancient tombs that it claims belong to emperors from the early fifth
century to the early 13th century.

Toike's discovery made headlines because it supported a widespread
belief by historians and archaeologists that the government's
designations of ancient burial mounds as the tombs of emperors were made
on shaky grounds.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050604f1.htm

************************

from eaa-list:

17 Ancient Tombs Found in North China

Seventeen ancient tombs believed to be built in the Warring States Period
(403 - 221 BC) were found in a recent rescue excavation at an express
highway construction site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Nearly at the same place, an ancient village dating back 4,000 years was
also discovered by the experts, who are from a research institute on
archaeology of the autonomous region.

They were surprised by the unique burial style. Bodies were put in jars,
pots or basins and then buried in tombs in nearby Chenjiaying Village in
Chifeng's Songshan District.

Axes, stone adzes and stone spades, along with some pottery and potsherd
were unearthed from the village located in a Xiajiadian village site.

The tombs and the village were exposed when the express highway connecting
Chifeng and Tongliao, another city in the autonomous region, were being
built.

The excavation is expected to be finished in approximately three months,
according to experts.

(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2005)

http://china.org.cn/english/2005/May/130316.htm

__________________

with kind regards,

Matthias Arnold
(Art-Eastasia list)

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

__________________________________________

An archive of this list as well as an subscribe/unsubscribe facility is
available at:
http://listserv.uni-heidelberg.de/archives/art-eastasia.html
For postings earlier than 2005-02-23 please go to:
http://www.fluktor.de/study/office/newsletter.htm


	June 11, 2005: [achtung! kunst] Archaeology : Oldest Traditional Food Found in Jiangxi Tomb - Beheaded skeletons found in tombs - 2,000-year-old tombs discovered in Shanxi - Investigating the secrets of ancient emperors' tombs - 17 Ancient Tombs Found in North China

	Oldest Traditional Food Found in Jiangxi Tomb Chinese archeologists declared they found the oldest Zongzi, a kind of glutinous rice food which has been served at the traditional Chinese Dragon Boat Festival for thousands of years, in De'an, a county in east China's Jiangxi Province. Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves, is a kind of special food derived from the Dragon Boat Festival, also called Duanwu Festival. Archeologists found two pieces of pyramid-shaped objects in an ancient tomb, and experts from Jiangxi Provincial Archeology Institute and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage have confirmed the two objects to be the earliest Zongzi ever found in China. The two pyramid-shaped objects hang in symmetry at the two sides of a peach branch about 40 centimeters long. They were about six centimeters long and three centimeters wide, and covered with bamboo leaves fastened with ramee lines. Zongzi in the early period was used to mourn the deceased and sometimes used in burial rites, and a pair of Zongzi were used to indicate prosperity for the dead and the offspring, said Liu Shizhong, a researcher with Jiangxi Provincial Archeology Institute. The tomb was discovered when villagers were building a water tower in Yangqiao Village in Baota Township. The tomb belonged to a female who died in 1274 , according to the epigraph. The Dragon Boat Festival has been observed to commemorate Qu Yuan, a famous patriotic ancient poet. He lived in the state of Chu during the Warring States period (475 BC to 221 BC). He drowned himself in the Miluo River in 278 BC, on May 5 of the Chinese lunar calendar, hoping that his death could stimulate the king to revitalize their kingdom. The date has since been remembered as the Dragon Boat Festival, on which local fishermen would row dragon boats along the Miluo river to search for Qu Yuan and scatter glutinous rice dumplings in the water to prevent the fish and shrimps from eating his body. (Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2005) http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Archaeology/131511.htm ********************* Beheaded skeletons found in tombs www.chinaview.cn 2005-06-09 11:21:28 HOHHOT, June 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Two skeletons without skulls, buried together in the same tomb, have bewildered archeologists in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, who are trying to uncover the centuries-old mystery.   Though headless, the skeletons were otherwise well-preserved, said Ma Fenglei, an archeologist with the Chifeng City Museum who headed the excavation. "Even the copper bracelets and rings they wore remain intact," he said. It was one of the 13 tombs recently discovered in Songshan Mountain on the city's outskirts. The other 12 tombs contained just one human skeleton each, Ma said. Tara, director of the Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archeology in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, assumed the tombs could date back 2,000 years ago. The tombs contained very few sacrificial objects except for segments of animal bones and some earthen pots. "We're confident the tomb owners were nomadic Xianbei people, most probably warriors," Ma said. Ma and his colleagues were also surprised to find a skeleton kneeling in a grave, a posture rarely found in previous archeological findings. The Xianbei ethnic group, native to China's northeast, moved tothe present-day Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region around the third century and later moved to Shanxi Province to establish the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). Experts say excavation of the Xianbei tombs offers valuable clues to the study of the history of the tribe. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-06/09/content_3062942.htm ******************** pdo, June 06, 2005 2,000-year-old tombs discovered in Shanxi Chinese archeologists have discovered a group of tombs dating back some 2,000 years ago at a housing construction site in Yuxian County of Shanxi Province. Archeologists have confirmed five tombs of the Warring States (475 BC-221 BC) and two others of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). More than 20 pieces of funeral articles, including pottery memorial tablets, iron ovens, iron mirrors and pottery bowls, were unearthed. The discovery is of great value for the study of the handicraft industry and the traditions and customs in the Warring States and Han Dynasty, said archeologists from the provincial administration of cultural heritage on Monday. It is not the first time that ancient tombs have been uncovered in this county, where archeologists discovered 52 ancient tombs and 11 wells and unearthed more than 100 pieces of pottery and bronze ware in 2003. Source: Xinhua http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200506/06/eng20050606_188723.html ******************** from eaa-list: New weapon wielded in old tomb debate Information disclosure law reveals uncertainty over emperor's graves By REIJI YOSHIDA Staff writer A law enacted six years ago has given historians a new powerful weapon to challenge a long-held taboo preserved by the Imperial Household Agency: investigating the secrets of ancient emperors' tombs. A booklet that assistant professor Noboru Koike found at a bookstore (below) and a copy of it obtained from the Imperial Household Agency suggest the agency had questions about the way some ancient tombs were linked to past emperors. The weapon is the public information disclosure law, which has allowed Noboru Toike, assistant professor at Den-en Chofu University and an expert on Imperial tombs, to access and obtain copies of internal agency documents. The documents suggest that the agency, despite official denials, once conducted academic studies to review the attributions for at least 10 ancient tombs that it claims belong to emperors from the early fifth century to the early 13th century. Toike's discovery made headlines because it supported a widespread belief by historians and archaeologists that the government's designations of ancient burial mounds as the tombs of emperors were made on shaky grounds. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050604f1.htm ********************** from eaa-list: 17 Ancient Tombs Found in North China Seventeen ancient tombs believed to be built in the Warring States Period (403 - 221 BC) were found in a recent rescue excavation at an express highway construction site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Nearly at the same place, an ancient village dating back 4,000 years was also discovered by the experts, who are from a research institute on archaeology of the autonomous region. They were surprised by the unique burial style. Bodies were put in jars, pots or basins and then buried in tombs in nearby Chenjiaying Village in Chifeng's Songshan District. Axes, stone adzes and stone spades, along with some pottery and potsherd were unearthed from the village located in a Xiajiadian village site. The tombs and the village were exposed when the express highway connecting Chifeng and Tongliao, another city in the autonomous region, were being built. The excavation is expected to be finished in approximately three months, according to experts. (Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2005) http://china.org.cn/english/2005/May/130316.htm __________________ with kind regards, Matthias Arnold (Art-Eastasia list) http://www.chinaresource.org http://www.fluktor.de __________________________________________ An archive of this list as well as an subscribe/unsubscribe facility is available at: http://listserv.uni-heidelberg.de/archives/art-eastasia.html For postings earlier than 2005-02-23 please go to: http://www.fluktor.de/study/office/newsletter.htm