Salt Production and Social Hierarchy in Ancient China: An Archaeological Investigation of Specialization in China's Three Gorges Hardcover by Rowan K. Flad

Author:Rowan K. Flad
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Bronze age – China – Zhongba Site, Salt mines and mining, Zhongba Site (China), Social structure – China – Zhongba Site, Antiquities, Prehistoric – China – Zhongba Site, Neolithic Period – China – Zhongba Site, Salt industry and trade – China – Zhongba Site, Excavations (Archaeology) – China – Zhongba Site
ISBN: 9781107009417
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2011-07-18T00:00:00+00:00

Features and Spatiality

* 151

figure 7.1. Location, top plan, and profile of pit H643. Unit top plan shows DT0202 below level 68.

of bone – particularly near the top of the pit. The base of the pit is lined with

a cluster of medium-sized river cobbles. This is a common characteristic of

these early pits. The soil within the pit is fairly homogeneous and quite clayey,

although there is apparently no intentional clay lining on the base of the pit.

This feature probably served as a storage pit of some kind.

Pits H640 and H641 are basically similar to H643, although there are some

notable differences. First, these pits were not dug into sterile soil and date to a

later period than H643. The fill within these pits was also more heterogeneous

and contained numerous animal bones, including a nearly complete water

buffalo ( Bos sp.) horn in H641. H641, nearly 1.5 m long and approximately 1 m

deep, contained seven fragments of stone tools and a pottery spindle whorl,

whereas H640, over 2 m in diameter and 1 m deep, contained six stone tool

fragments. Pit H641 also included 286 pottery sherds, and H640, the larger of

the two, contained an additional 733 fragments of pottery. Both pits included

clusters of river cobbles near the center of the pits at the bottom, and H640

also contained a thin level of clay that covered its base. The level of clay, in

addition to the intentionally placed cluster of cobbles, suggests that this pit

and others like it were specially prepared for some purpose other than the

disposal of refuse.

Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 14.139.43.12 on Sat Oct 06 07:04:06 BST 2012.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511921094.008

Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2012

152

*

Salt Production and Social Hierarchy in Ancient China

A second variety of pit described by Sun (1999) also appears in DT0202

among the later deposits in Phase I.1. These pits have vertical sides and lack the

obvious remains of clay lining found on the bottoms of some earlier pits, but

they retain the clusters of cobbles in the centers of their bottoms. H638, one

example of such a pit, had a diameter of nearly 2 m and depth of around 1.5 m.

It contained six fragments of stone tools, a bone tool, many bone fragments,

and 857 pottery sherds. Three levels of rather mottled loam were excavated

within the pit. Although it did contain a cluster of stones near its base, these

stones were less orderly than those in earlier pits. The apparent lack of a clay

lining, steep walls, and mixed contents are suggestive that this pit, and others

like it, may have been constructed to be a trash pit.

Some of the latest Neolithic pits, on the other hand, had clay linings on

both their bottoms and sides. Pit H634 is a particularly well-preserved example

(Figure 7.2). This pit was smaller than those previously mentioned, about 1.5

m in diameter and 80 cm deep, and had nearly vertical walls. The pit wall

and base were constructed with a continuous lens of brown clay. Within this

pit, the fill was separated into three levels, the bottom level of which included

a large amount of clay. Within the three

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.