Luoyang Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology...................04
The excavation of the Western-Zhou burial C3M521 at Chanhe District, Luoyang

Abstract：In July 2002, the Luoyang Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology excavated a number of tombs dating to the Zhou Dynasty, in the construction project of the Tangcheng Garden to the south of Luoyang's East Railway Station. The tomb of the Western Zhou Dynasty, No. C3M521, was unearthed with a bronze ware, pottery, jade and so on. Among them, the bronze ware has exquisite decorations and inscriptions, the inscription of family emblem on which is rare. It is significant for the study of the social life and burial customs of Yin adherents.

Zhengzhou Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.................09
The excavation of the Han-period burial at Huailin, Zhengzhou

Abstract：In 2014, the Zhengzhou Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology conducted a salvage excavation at the northern Longhai road in Huailin village, Xingyang. The unearthed tombs feature those dating to the Han Dynasty. The burial M98 was intact, which yielded abundant relics. The location suggests that the occupants of the cemetery should be residents of the Jing city of the Han period. The discoveries from M98 contributes greatly to the knowledge of the Western-Han mortuary system and customs.

PENG Aijie......................................................................................................16
The excavation of the ZHU Youxuan tomb of the Ming Dynasty at Shangcai, Henan

Abstract：The tomb of the Shunyang King, a.k.a. ZHU Youxuan, is located in the Dawu village, Shangcai County, Henna Province. ZHU Youxuan, the grandson of ZHU yuanzhang, was buried in the thirteen year of the Yongle period (1415 AD) with his wife. In April 1970, the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology carried out a salvage excavation there. The royal tomb was of a passage, a path, a masonry arch structure, a front chamber, a middle chamber, left and right chambers, and a back chamber. It was 28.31 meters in length. 259 funerary objects were unearthed, including gold, silver, jade and bronze wares. It provides valuable materials for the study of Ming Dynasty burial culture of the royal lineage.

WEI Zheng et al. .........................................................................................24
Burials of the Sixteen Kingdoms in a perspective of ethnic integration

Abstract：The tombs of the Sixteen Kingdoms were intensively located in Turpan-Hexi, Liaoxi and Guanzhong. The patterns of ethnic fusion in the three regional tombs correspond to three types: Turpan-Hexi area generally accepted the Han culture; the phenomenon of the Han people becoming the Xianbei was prominent in the Liaoxi area; the Guanzhong area saw the merge of the Hu and the Han. The tombs in Guanzhong show that the northern region had undergone a huge transformation since the Sixteen Kingdoms, prior to the Northern Dynasties. The basic characteristics of the tombs in the Northern Sui and Tang Dynasties include: patios, caves, small niches, and earth-carved buildings. The murals extend from the chambers to the corridors, where armored figurines, samurai figurines, and troupe figurines were buried in set. The characteristics of these tombs in the Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties made a continuation and development on basis of the Sixteen Kingdoms in the Guanzhong area. They, altogether, made the creativity of the tombs of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Guanzhong, while being a special and full demonstration of ethnic integration then.

ZHANG Lifang.................................................................................................38
Interactions between the Beijing region and the steppe in the Western Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

Abstract：A series of burials, the tomb occupants should have been of the Han ethnicity, came to light in Beijing. They should have dated to the Western Jin to the Northern Wei period. The burials differed from those of the Han-Wei period in the same region, includingmortuary systems, burial customs and accompanying goods. Trapezoid chambers and trapezoid coffins came to light. The heads of the tomb occupants shifted from northwards to southwards. Artifacts and figurines of the northern people came tolight among the burial accompanying goods. The changes reflected the influence of the northern minorities, and the interactions between Beijing and then orthern steppe. The exchange and fusion broke down the traditional burial system in Beijing, and contributed to the rich and diverse mortuary culture in the Sui-and-Tang burials.

LIU Lianxiang..................................................................................................45
On the corpse-platform burial of the mediaeval period

Abstract：Corpse-platform burials may have come into existence due to special religious beliefs. Instead of wooden coffins, the corpse was laid on a platform made of earth or/and bricks. Thereafter, stone platforms and stone screens were incorporated. Such burial custom was mainly in the Hexi area, dating from the Western Jin period to the Tang Dynasty. In the Northern Dynasties, with the population transfers, the custom expanded to Pingcheng, Guanzhong and Luoyang. The tomb occupants may have been nomads, whose hometowns were mainly in the Western Region. In medieval China, some of them relocated to Hexi. The corpse-platform burials came into existence in the integration of diverse ethnic populations. A small number of them employed wooden coffins in late Northern Dynasties. The development of this burial custom reflection the ethnic interaction and fusion.

YANG Jin.........................................................................................................56
On the nomadic origin of figurines from the Murong Zhi burial at Wuwei, Gansu

Abstract：The painted pottery/wooden figurines from the Murong Zhi burial at Wuwei, Gansu, wore long robes and hats, the style of which also existed in the Northern Wei Dynasty burials in Shanxi, Hebei and Henan.Thereafter, the figurines became a standard component in burials till the early Tang Dynasty, with changes in the robe designs and texture. Their distribution was mainly in the north. The figurines in the Murong Zhi burial wore robes of the Xianbei feature, which reflects the integration of the Tuyuhun people into the Central Plains tradition, as well as their interaction with other ethnic groups.In an Eurasian perspective, the robes were not confined to China. It should have been correlated with ancient nomads, which was transmitted across a large area and lasted for a long time.

JU Rongkun.......................................................................................................67
Imitation and transformation: prehistoric jade and animal worship

Abstract：Figurines and animal worship made a major theme in the Neolithic jade artifacts in China. From the late Hongshan period to the Longshan period（about c. 3500-1700 BC）, human beings were increasingly linked to animals in the cosmology then, which led to the increase in visual expressions of the fusion and transformation between humans and animals. In this process, the eyes, fangs, wings and crowns made the most symbolic features, which reflected the worship of and the aspirations to obtain the natural power of animals.

ZHU Junxiao et al. .......................................................................................78
On the bone tools unearthed from the Mijiaya site, Xi’an

Abstract：446 pieces of bone artifacts, dating to the late Yangshao, Miaodigou Ⅱ and Keshengzhuang cultures, were excavated from the Neolithic Site of Mijiaya in Xi’an. Bone tools made the majority among all bone artifacts. A comparative analysis of bone artifacts through the three different periods from either this site or other sites of the same archaeological cultures around Xi’an suggests a great similarity, which indicates a common lifestyle through a long time span and a cultural continuation. The types and total numbers of bone artifacts increased gradually, while techniques also evolved. The developments reveal a progress of regional economy, technology and society. The production process of bone tools includes raw material selection, shape cutting, rough processing, and elaborate processing. Cutting, scraping, drilling, and polishing made the main techniques. The production technologies varied according to the purposes of the products.