A Comprehensive Study Of Shang Dynasty Remains Unearthed From Zhaocun Site

Zhaocun site is located in Zhaocun,Baixiang County,Xingtai City,Hebei Province.The remains of Shang Dynasty make up the main part of the site,and there is also a few relics of Eastern Zhou dynasty and Han Dynasty.In this paper,I will analyze the remains of Shang Dynasty unearthed from Zhaocun site,using traditional archaeological methods combined with results of radiocarbon dating,archeobotany,archaeozoology to conduct a comprehensive study.The main contents of this dissertation are chronology,human sustenance and the society.This dissertation includes five chapters:The first chapter is Introduction.This chapter includes the statement of purpose,the design of the research and a review of the history of the archaeological discoveries and researches of the Shang Dynasty sites in the central and southern region of Hebei Province.The second chapter is Chronological Study.In this chapter,stratigraphic and typological methods are applied to analyze chronological sequence of this site,and the result of carbon dating is also used to help identify the synchronic relationship among typical units.According to the result of chorological analysis,the era of typical potteries can be divided into four periods,extending from the middle period to late period of Shang Dynasty,while the ages of most relic units are the late period of Shang Dynasty.This result will also provide a reference for the research of the human sustenance and the society.The third chapter is Human Sustenance and Economic Activities.The main content of this chapter is discussing what kinds of economic activities did the residents who lived in Zhaocun site in Shang Dynasty engaged in and how these activities were carried out.The result shows that agricultural activities and livestock are the most essentional economic activities,which provide the main source of food for the residents.In addition,the residents also hunted a small amount of shellfish and wild animals for supplementary food source and sometimes engaged in pottery production and bone artifact making.The fourth chapter is Zhaocun Site and the Grassroots Society of Shang Dynasty in The Central and Southern Regions of Heibei Province.In this chapter Zhaocun site is discussed from the perspective of society.From the microscopic point of view,the Zhaocun site is an agricultural-led settlement.From a macroscopic point of view,in the settlement system of the Shang Dynasty in the area of south and central Hebei Province,Zhaocun site is at the lowest class.Through the comparison between Zhaocun site and similar village sites in this region,it can be found that agriculture,livelihood,fishing and hunting,pottery production,divination and animal sacrifice make up the main part of the life of village residents.The fifth chapter is The Conclusion.Main conclusions and some problems are presented in this chapter.