Women's Social Status In The Middle And Lower Reaches Of The Yellow River In The Late Shang And Western Zhou Dynasties

With gender studies as the focus and tombs as the materials,this paper systematically compares and analyses the tombs with clear gender of the owners.This is the direct feedback of the tomb information on the gender issues of men and women in the society at that time.Through sorting out the tombs of late Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River,taking typical cemeteries as examples,this paper studies the gender archaeology,analyses the different characteristics of male and female tombs in the late Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties,and further explores the diachronic changes and differences of burial customs of men and women in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in the late Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties.From this,we infers the social status of women in the late Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.Finally,we can deduce the causes of this situation based on historical background.The paper is divided into six chapters:The first chapter is introduction.This paper defines the relevant concepts,summarizes the previous studies and points out the shortcomings,puts forward the objectives,ideas and methods of this study,and finally explains the relevant issues.The second chapter gives an overview of the typical cemeteries selected in this paper.Chapter three deduces the social status of women in the late Shang Dynasty in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River by studying the tombs in the west of Yinxu,Anyang,in the east of Qijiazhuang,Yinxu,Anyang,in the east of Huayuan Zhuang,Yinxu,Anyang and the tombs in Qianzhangda Cemetery,Tengzhou:In the aristocratic class,the social status of women is lower than that of men,and that of non-aristocratic classes is equal.Women have the highest mortality rate in adulthood.Chapter Four deduces the social status of women in the Western Zhou Dynasty in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River by studying the tombs of Zhangjiapo,tombs in Qianzhangda Cemetery,Tengzhou and Jinhou Cemetery in Beizhao Quwo:For aristocratic class,the social status of women is lower than that of men.For non-aristocratic class,the social status of men and women has national and regional differences,but on the whole,the social status of men and women is equal.Women have a higher mortality rate in youth and adulthood.The fifth chapter compares the status of women in the late Shang Dynasty and the Western Zhou Dynasty,and investigates the social background of women of different classes in the light of historical data.The sixth chapter is the conclusion.This chapter summarizes the main conclusions of this paper and points out that further research needs to be improved.