Social Change At North Shandong Region During Shang And Zhou Period

As the most important concept in the archaeological research, social change intertwines with the process of complex society. It provides the basic theoretical framework for archaeologists to interpret the process, the mechanism, the constitution, and the characteristics of human society. Above all, the culture evolution perspectives focus on the structural and dimensional transition process within the social change. To date, it calls into the questions of change in archaeological research, which may include the analysis of the stratified society, property, and economic-political systems. The majority research done in archaeology has emphasized on materials and data to reveal, describe, and interpret the changes. In1970s, the culture evolution perspectives have been employed by Chinese archaeologists to fit into the core framework of questioning the process of social complex, as well as the origins of Chinese civilizations. However, the concept of social change has never been reexamined and reconsidered in the discussion of historic archaeological issues. Through the development of human societies, the origins of states lead to the stability of social systems, in which the framework of stratified societies, property, or economic-political systems will be inappropriate for further discussion. Nevertheless, the theory of practice reexamines the definition of social structure. Instead of comprising the structure as the rules and laws of human activities, the people in social systems should be seen as the agent. The agent’s practice not only follows the rules and laws of social systems to put their strategies to work, but also redefines the social structures in every respect of their behaviors. According to the theory of practice, the question for relationship between social change and cultural change, should not postulate that changes of material culture are the results of obedience to a set of rules without taking account of behavior of social units, as well as the implementation of social organization. It means the development of societies should not interpret as a linear process, but treat as a reproduction of organization with a process of "structuring structures". Therefore, the process of social change, on one hand, can be seen as the unusual outcome of the reproduction of organization. On the other hand, it could treat as a process of "continual correction and adjustment" in the reproduction of organization.Studies of the Shang and the Western Zhou archaeological materials have implied the difference of sociopolitical and socioeconomic systems between Shang and the Western Zhou. Not only from the culture evolution perspective, but also from the theory of practice, the transition from Shang to Western Zhou calls into questions of social change. Through the perspectives of culture evolution, the fact that the Shang and the Western Zhou mean two independent political systems is gained into the process of changes inherently between different cultures. Followed the principle of the theory of practices, the reproduction of social groups from the Shang to the Western Zhou period follows separately their own rules and laws, as well as the traditional guidelines. The process of "structuring structure" within the reproduction of social organizations has been toward its own possibilities, which it called the Habitus. The roles and meanings of habitus within the process of structuring structure could be understood by reexamining the material cultures and social structures. Nevertheless, the transition from the Shang to the Western Zhou not only involves the process of social changes, but also remains into the archaeological materials. Only if the reproduction of organization produce and reproduce the social structure, it will refer to another structuring process of structures in those transitions during the Shang and the Western Zhou period.As the most important and visible utilities in daily life, reexamining the ceramic production will provide clues of the reproduction of organization, especially on the mechanisms and characteristics of changes. To date, the studies of chronology and typology are the fore and most parts of the Shang and Zhou archaeology. It provides better understandings on the political systems, expansion of cultures, and impact of the Shang and Zhou population. Tons of settlements and cultural remains of Shang and Zhou period disperse across the whole area of the North Shandong region. By evaluating the available archaeological data of the North Shandong region, new understandings and evidences will gain into the process of culture transition, as well as the social change.Through the analysis of ceramic standardized production during the Shang and Zhou period, various models of the organization of production could separate between the Shang and Zhou population in the North Shandong region. In the Late Shang period, the ceramic production follows the high level of standardization, and different settlements also connect within a high level of cooperation. The organization of production must operate under a large scale, concentrated, and high intensity conditions. In between late Shang and early Western Zhou period, the standardization of ceramic production stays at a low level. Moreover, local characteristics of pottery indicate the manufacturing of ceramic fulfilling separately within different settlements. From the Middle Western Zhou period, the standardization of ceramic goes back to a high level, in which the manufacturing process of ceramic should involve the organization of production.In order to satisfy the demand of the organization of production, especially to maintain the operation of settlements, the Shang people employ the multiple settlements as the main pattern of organizations. It also divides and connects various functional ones into the multiple settlements with a mechanism of cooperation. In between late Shang and early Western Zhou period, the Zhou newcomers had the impact through the perception of a mighty military expansion into local population in the North Shandong region. The new military settlement and walled-settlement set up in that region just destroy the reproduction of local organization, and force a process of social change at that time. It also breaks the multiple settlements of Shang people into some small settlements without strong connections in between. The evidence, including the discontinuity of typology of ceramics, as well as the insulating settlement patterns, suggests that a social network had been replaced and rebuilt by the recognition of spatiality of Zhou newcomers in the North Shandong region, that is, a lager single settlement combined various functional departments.By reevaluating the archaeological data from the concept of ritual, the pottery from the burials, a special context, could obtain various social meanings. The ritualization of potteries from the ceremony context, however, providing the burial objects with social meaning, has deserved further discussion. There are two particular methods providing the burial object with specific social meaning. The burial object could manufacture under a special process of ritualization, in which the social meaning intertwine with objects. Secondly, instead of manufacturing ritually, the burial object only obtains its social meaning unless it meets the complex social and identity of the occupants in the burial. By analysis and comparing the li tripod pottery in the burial between the Shang and the Western Zhou period, the process of manufacturing, producing, and using ceramic in the burial context is distinctive from each other. The li tripod pottery found at the late Shang period can hardly tell the difference of standardization, or the process of manufacture, production, and usage. It might obtain its social meaning through the ritualization of burials, and meets the complex social and identity of the Shang occupants. During the Western Zhou period, the li tripod pottery from the burial context manufactures with a high level of standardization. More importantly, the standardization, the type, and the size of the li tripod potteries from the burial context are so different from the one found at the settlements. The social meaning of burial objects might gain into the process of manufacturing itself. In a word, the burial objects in the Late Shang period emphasize the identity of the occupants, while it pay more attention to the connection with the Zhou center areas in the Western Zhou period with the context of burials.