In China, as elsewhere, the earlier the period the more important archaeological evidence is to our understanding of what life was like.  For periods before writing, surviving artifacts offer a crucial corrective to legend and myth.  Moreover, even after writing was invented, for many centuries the types of texts that survive are very limited, so that there is still a great deal to learn from artifacts.  Scientifically excavated objects can be placed more accurately in time and place than early texts, which often went through a process of accretion over time, with many passages added later.

Thousands of early archaeological sites have been excavated in China, most of them graves.  Learning from this archaeological evidence is at least as difficult as learning from texts.  The objects are silent--we must ask questions of them before they can tell us anything.

This unit contains summaries of five archaeological sites, ranging in date from about 2300 BC to 100 BC.  The tombs selected for examination were all advanced for their time.  Their occupants were members of the ruling class of the period, able to afford the highest standard of material comfort, technical excellence, and artistic embellishment then available.

Think about the following issues as you examine each tomb:

2300 BC

1200 BC

1000 BC

Western Zhou tomb of the Count of Yu

433 BC

113 BC