Site and graveyard of the Bronze Age in north China

Location: Aohan Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Period: 1735-1463 BC

Excavated from 1974 to 1983

Significance: The finds have disclosed the early bronze civilization in north China, as well as the burial systems of the lower layer of the Xiajiadian Culture. 

Painted pottery jar: food container or ritual vessel (left, height 17 cm; mid, height 40 cm; right, height 23 cm)

 Introduction

Dadianzi is a group of sites surrounded by earth ramparts and moats, with an unearthed area of about 10,000 square meters. The site abounds in cultural relics like stone articles, pottery, jade and bronze wares, among which the earliest metal coins in China's history are the most valuable. The eastern part of the site is a group of neatly arranged tombs, of which 804 tombs have been unearthed together with large quantities of funerary articles. The findings are a great help to the study of the burial systems of the lower layer of the Xiajiadian Culture.