天眼查

Highest-ranking Xia Dynasty noble tombs discovered in China, dating to the age of Minoan Crete_我的网站

郑州大学女神教官

一 |

Coffin chamber M13 Photo: Courtesy of the Shanxi Provincial Institute of ArchaeologyThe highest-ranking noble cemetery complex from the late Xia Dynasty (c.2070BC-c.1600BC) ever discovered has been unearthed at the Zhongcun site in North China's Shanxi Province, expanding research on Xia and Shang (c.1600BC-1046BC) civilizations and early state formation in ancient China, according to a press release that the local institute of archaeology sent to the Global Times on Monday.
Located on a hilly terrace west of the Taihang Mountains and flanked by the Songxi River, the site was excavated in 2024 and 2025 by the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology and partner institutions, leading to the discovery of 18 tombs, including six Xia Dynasty burial sites and 12 Warring States Period (475BC-221BC) graves.
"These are the highest-ranking Xia aristocratic tombs discovered so far, indicating that this location was a regional center," the institute said.
The Xia Dynasty is traditionally regarded as China's first hereditary dynasty, though contemporaneous written records are lacking.
The well-organized Xia tombs, concentrated in the western part of the cemetery, feature uniform east-west oriented vertical earthen pits. Researchers recovered nearly 40 sets of artifacts with distinctive local cultural characteristics, including pottery, lacquerware and turquoise ornaments.
Extended regional surveys across the Songxi River valley yielded more than 10 Xia and Shang period sites. Test excavations at nearby relic sites unearthed pottery fragments, stone tools, bronze knives, as well as tin-bronze ingots and smelting residue, providing solid evidence of early metal mining and craftsmanship.
Local copper-iron symbiotic ore deposits confirm exploitation of these resources during the Xia and Shang eras, while typical cultural artifacts found in adjacent counties reveal widespread regional cultural exchange.
Multidisciplinary analyses further decoded the civilization's features. Ancient human remains belong primarily to the ancient population of the Central Plains with minor Mongolian Plateau genetic traits, forming a stable patrilineal clan. The community relied on millet farming and maintained long-distance resource trade networks.
Artifact provenance tests trace scallop shell ornaments to the Bohai Sea, cinnabar to Hunan-Guizhou ore belts, turquoise to the eastern Qinling Mountains area, and coffin timber to local Taihang pine trees. Such diverse materials reflect close interaction among the Taihang foothills, the press release noted.
Lab restoration unveiled refined ritual relics, including a dragon-patterned lacquer cylinder with red and black stripes and an intact lacquer gu vessel (a type of wine vessel). Turquoise plaques from the site match specimens from the Erlitou site, a core Xia cultural relic, proving cross-regional cultural interaction. Radiocarbon dating places the site's active period between 1880BC and 1450BC, aligning with the late Xia Dynasty.
Scholars confirmed the findings have helped reshape academic understanding of Xia-Shang civilizations and reconstruct multi-level settlement patterns on the western Taihang foothills, while offering new insights into social complexity and civilization development in early China.
。据“自然资源部”公众号消息，受台风及其残余环流影响，福建部分地区有大到暴雨，局地有大暴雨。经自然资源部地质灾害技术指导中心研判，福建东部发生地质灾害的风险高。自然资源部于8月24日20时对福建启动地质灾害防御IV级响应。自然资源部要求福建省自然资源厅增强风险意识和忧患意识，强化底线思维和极限思维，高度重视强降雨引发地质灾害防范应对，及时组织开展巡查排查，切实做好监测预警、会商研判、灾情险情处置和值班值守、信息报送等工作；中国地质调查局、自然资源部地质灾害技术指导中心加强会商研判和专家调度，全力协助地方做好地质灾害防御工作。