The Research On Pottery Urns In The Shang Dynasty

Pottery urns was a common kind of pottery which in the Shang Dynasty.This kind of pottery was usually made of sand-included materials and had large mouth,deep abdomen,small bottom,and always was decorated with stacking ornamentation on the abdomen.The geographical distribution of it was extensive,but most of them were concentrated in the southern region and have distinctive geographical characteristics.Taking the Pottery urns of Shang Dynasty as the research object,this paper first carries on the typological research to the Pottery urns,then analyzes the staging and the chronological inference;On this basis,analyzes its regional characteristic and the rise and fall according to the geographical distribution,and finally discusses its usage and function after analyzing its unearthed situations.This thesis consist of five chapters.The first part is the introduction.This paper mainly defines the concept of the Pottery urns and summarizes the previous research,discusses the deficiency of the previous studies and the direction of improvement.And then,this paper introduces the research methods and objectives,points out the significance of the topic.The second part is typological research.According to the different bottoms of the Pottery urns,they were divided into four categories,and they were divided into various types in each category.According to the characteristics of their forms,they were divided into three periods,and according to the relationship between the typical unit coexisting,its age is inferred,and the corresponding years of the three periods are the early Shang Dynasty,the middle Shang Dynasty and the late Shang Dynasty.The third part is the study of regional characteristics.On the basis of staging,combined with the regional distribution of the pottery urns,the distribution characteristics of each period are studied,and the rise and fall process and regional characteristics are summarized.The fourth part is the discussion of its function and usage.This paper mainly classifies and analyzes the different unearthed situations of the pottery urns,and probes into the functions and usage of pottery urns.The fifth Part is the conclusion.Through the research,this paper hold opinions as follows: The big mouth cylinder in the Shang Dynasty experienced a rise and fall process,of which,Erligang period of the Shang Dynasty was its prosperous stage,There are a variety of types and a huge number of excavations.There are mainly three distribution centers is western Henan,southern Shanxi and eastern Shanxi,Jianghan region and Dongting Lake drainage.The three regions have their own characteristics,but the pottery urns unearthed in the Jianghan region occupies the absolute advantage in form and quantity;they tended to decline in the middle and late Shang Dynasty,regional characteristics are no longer obvious.In the late Shang Dynasty,The distribution area was dotted,The “general's helmet” was in general vogue.The unearthed situations of the pottery urns was various,Through the research of this thesis,we can know that The function of the pottery urns is mainly related to handicraft production,for example,Bronze founding and beer making,They were also used in burials and sacrifice.