A Final Analysis: the Siberian Intrusion in Shang and Zhou China
This is an after-thought but an important one, and does not discuss the increased use of the chariot in Chinese culture. It simply addresses the continuity of the Siberian prostrate position as a cultural marker within the larger context of the Shang and Zhou polities. This oldest archaeological and genetic Siberian intrusion appears to be linked to the later, and documented, arrival of the Yuezhi, a confederation with the same Siberian cultural marker (upturned moustache, no beard), and therefore relates to the later split of the Aorsi/Alans (upturned moustache, no beard) from the Kushan Empire (upturned moustache, no beard).
We find a similar continuity within the burials of a certain intrusive sector in this early period. The Tevsh Uull graves, Pond's Inner Mongolian burial, the Baifu graves, and the Duke of Peng cemetery, all carry cultural markers in a unique burial style. The prostrate position is not seen in a Chinese context, nor is it found westward in the Tarim Basin or greater Xinjiang Province.
Starting in 1,300 BC at Tevsh Uul, the burial style continues into Shang China and is seen within the chariot burials at the capital city of Yinxu (Anyang). A study of this intermediate site connects the Gobi Altai graves to the Peng Clan tombs. It's the missing "link." Turning to 1,250-1,200 BC Anyang, there are at least a dozen published PDFs available, all written by good academics. All of these studies detail the positions of the chariots within each grave. Yet-- amazingly enough-- not one study, not one professor, has detailed the physical position of the driver (or drivers) within the burials. Unfortunate that the vehicle becomes more important than the human.
In the photo above, we see a typical chariot burial [Yinxu grave M52]. (Please click on the photo, then click on it again for enlargement to see important details) The two horses are attached to the chariot. The sacrificed driver at the upper right has his hands tied behind his back. He lies in a prostrate position. (This is noticeable by his head facing downward, the visible presence of his scapulae, and his heels being upward.) A second driver lies to the rear of the chariot box, and he is also lying prostrate. What a remarkable coincidence! Two charioteers sacrificed by the Shag are lying in a specific burial position Not Used in the Chinese culture.
How can we explain this? Is this some kind of deja vu all over again?-- a strange coincidental echo of Tevsh Uul, and a odd precursor of the Peng burials? The only logical explanation is this: at Yinxu, the residence of King Wu Ding, a group of Siberians were incorporated into the Shang army and oversaw the chariot burials. They specifically positioned a prisoner in that prisoner's cultural burial position. Any other explanation will not fit the fact that a totally unique burial practice, never used by the Shang, could be found in chariot burials.
I can only find three detailed photos of this burial practice at Anyang. Here is a second black and white example of the prostrate position. This photo also shows 2 "bow-shaped objects" (rein holders) in the grave. A third photo, in color and taken by archaeologist Marsha Levine, shows another prisoner of war in a similar chariot burial. A drawing of a chariot burial in Gideon Shalach-Lavi's The Archaeology of Early China shows a normal supine position (Cambridge, 2015, p. 210). Such a small sample isn't ideal, but it reveals a cultural trait totally overlooked by previous scholars writing about chariot burials. The chariot tells us something. The charioteer tells us Everything.
This is an after-thought but an important one, and does not discuss the increased use of the chariot in Chinese culture. It simply addresses the continuity of the Siberian prostrate position as a cultural marker within the larger context of the Shang and Zhou polities. This oldest archaeological and genetic Siberian intrusion appears to be linked to the later, and documented, arrival of the Yuezhi, a confederation with the same Siberian cultural marker (upturned moustache, no beard), and therefore relates to the later split of the Aorsi/Alans (upturned moustache, no beard) from the Kushan Empire (upturned moustache, no beard).
We find a similar continuity within the burials of a certain intrusive sector in this early period. The Tevsh Uull graves, Pond's Inner Mongolian burial, the Baifu graves, and the Duke of Peng cemetery, all carry cultural markers in a unique burial style. The prostrate position is not seen in a Chinese context, nor is it found westward in the Tarim Basin or greater Xinjiang Province.
Starting in 1,300 BC at Tevsh Uul, the burial style continues into Shang China and is seen within the chariot burials at the capital city of Yinxu (Anyang). A study of this intermediate site connects the Gobi Altai graves to the Peng Clan tombs. It's the missing "link." Turning to 1,250-1,200 BC Anyang, there are at least a dozen published PDFs available, all written by good academics. All of these studies detail the positions of the chariots within each grave. Yet-- amazingly enough-- not one study, not one professor, has detailed the physical position of the driver (or drivers) within the burials. Unfortunate that the vehicle becomes more important than the human.
In the photo above, we see a typical chariot burial [Yinxu grave M52]. (Please click on the photo, then click on it again for enlargement to see important details) The two horses are attached to the chariot. The sacrificed driver at the upper right has his hands tied behind his back. He lies in a prostrate position. (This is noticeable by his head facing downward, the visible presence of his scapulae, and his heels being upward.) A second driver lies to the rear of the chariot box, and he is also lying prostrate. What a remarkable coincidence! Two charioteers sacrificed by the Shag are lying in a specific burial position Not Used in the Chinese culture.
How can we explain this? Is this some kind of deja vu all over again?-- a strange coincidental echo of Tevsh Uul, and a odd precursor of the Peng burials? The only logical explanation is this: at Yinxu, the residence of King Wu Ding, a group of Siberians were incorporated into the Shang army and oversaw the chariot burials. They specifically positioned a prisoner in that prisoner's cultural burial position. Any other explanation will not fit the fact that a totally unique burial practice, never used by the Shang, could be found in chariot burials.
I can only find three detailed photos of this burial practice at Anyang. Here is a second black and white example of the prostrate position. This photo also shows 2 "bow-shaped objects" (rein holders) in the grave. A third photo, in color and taken by archaeologist Marsha Levine, shows another prisoner of war in a similar chariot burial. A drawing of a chariot burial in Gideon Shalach-Lavi's The Archaeology of Early China shows a normal supine position (Cambridge, 2015, p. 210). Such a small sample isn't ideal, but it reveals a cultural trait totally overlooked by previous scholars writing about chariot burials. The chariot tells us something. The charioteer tells us Everything.
Alan J. Campbell
member of Legio III Cyrenaica and the Uncouth Barbarians
Author of:
The Demon's Door Bolt (2011)
Forging the Blade (2012)
"It's good to be king. Even when you're dead!"
Old Yuezhi/Pazyrk proverb
member of Legio III Cyrenaica and the Uncouth Barbarians
Author of:
The Demon's Door Bolt (2011)
Forging the Blade (2012)
"It's good to be king. Even when you're dead!"
Old Yuezhi/Pazyrk proverb
