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Home , Chanyu, Dai (Sixteen Kingdoms), Inner Mongolia, Ordos Plateau, Shenmu, Xianbei

A Preliminary Study of Tombs of the Southern

Du Linyuan*

Key words: Eastern ; Southern Xiongnu; tombs

Xiongnu is ancient living in the North- Shang Sunjiazhai Cemetery in County, ern Frontier Zone of and Eurasian area. ; Tomb No. 1 in Zhanglonggedan, Machi In the end of the third century BCE, it established a vast Township, City, Inner and Han Cem- steppe covering the area from Yalu River in the etery in Dabaodang, County, Province. east to the Pamirs in the west and from in The scholars of relevant disciplines have done plenty the north and in the south. Since the of identification and researches on the Southern Xiongnu middle period of the first century CE, because of the burials in the Eastern and given very good internal conflicting and the external pressure from Han explications and conclusions including the differentia- Central Government and other nomadic groups such as tion between Xiongnu (both Southern and Northern) , Xiongnu declined and was forced to move burials and Xianbei burials, which laid firm foundations westward, and retreated from historic stage gradually. for further researches. However, the past identifications The “Southern Xiongnu” mentioned in this paper re- and researches did not establish a set of criteria of eth- fers to the eight tribes living to the south of nic attribution identification by analyzing the cultural which submitted to the Eastern Han Government in 47 connotations of Southern Xiongnu and Han-styled buri- CE under the command of Bi, the King of Rizhu of als themselves. Therefore, it is necessary to study the Xiongnu, who rebelled against the Punu who Southern Xiongnu burials in a comprehensive way with lived to the north of Gobi Desert, the other Xiongnu references to historic literature and draw universal rules people surrendered to Eastern Han in later times, who to identify and confirm Han-styled Southern Xiongnu were settled down by the Government in eight frontier burials from burials of Han people. commands and prefectures, and descendants of these The Characteristics of Southern Xiongnu Xiongnu tribes and people. “Burials of Southern Xiongnu” refers to the burials of Xiongnu ethnic group Burials dated as in the middle and later periods of the Eastern The five localities of Southern Xiongnu burials found Han Dynasty within present-day China. so far in China are distributed in the northern and north- western frontier zones of the Eastern Han Dynasty, which Discoveries and Researches well matched the records in historic literature about the Although many Xiongnu burials of the Western and settlement of the new-submitted Xiongnu tribes and Eastern Han have been found in present-day people by Eastern Han Government, as well as the dates China, very few of them could be confirmed to be that of these burials, which were mostly the middle and later of the Southern Xiongnu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. periods of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Moreover, the - The important ones are: five tombs at Lijiataozi, Tongxin neral custom, burial article assemblages and the exist- County, Hui Autonomous ; nine tombs ence of objects exclusively made and used by Xiongnu in Budonggou, Dongsheng City, ; the people all helped us to confirm that the burials in these

* School of Humanities, ’an University, Yan’an, 716000, China (Email: [email protected])

190 Chinese Archaeology five localities belonged to Southern Xiongnu people. lower statuses; the stone slab tombs found in Lijiataozi The comparative analyses to these tombs lead us to these had shapes and structures similar to that of the Xiongnu points: tombs found in Transbaikal (Figure 1). 1. The tomb structures were almost completely in Han 2. The tombs had burial article assemblages and typi- style: most of them were brick-chambered tombs with cal burial articles different from those of the Han-styled mounds and slope passages, which were usually double- tombs of the same time. Generally, the assemblages chambered, with few single-chambered cases and some were gradually changing into the Han-style, which means decorated with stone relief. Joint burials were very popu- that the Han-styled burial articles and the Han cultural lar with supine extended position and very random head- elements associated with burial articles took increasing ing directions. These tombs would have been of the portions while the Xiongnu-styled artifacts and cultural noble people of Southern Xiongnu. Besides of the brick- elements were reducing accordingly. However, the con- chambered tombs, some straight pit tombs, wooden- crete assemblages were still not completely the same chambered tombs and stone slab tombs were also found. with the pure Han-styled burials of the same time: The straight pit tombs without mounds on the ground First, jars of various styles took the bulk in pottery which were found in Dabaodang and Budonggou would assemblages, both in types and amounts. The fine clay have been the tombs of Southern Xiongnu people with grey pottery jar of the type with small mouth, thin neck,

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Figure 1. The types of typical Southern Xiongnu burials 1. Plan of 98M2 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province 2. Plan of M25 at Sanduandi Cemetery, Dongsheng City, Inner Mongolia 3. Plan of M67 at Zhaowan Cemetery, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia 4. Plan of M3 at Budonggou, Dongsheng City, Inner Mongolia 5. Plan of 96SDM9 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province 6. Plan of M1 at Budonggou, Dongsheng City, Inner Mongolia.

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Figure 2. The typical burial articles in Southern Xiongnu burials (pottery jars) 1. 96SDM5:10 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province 2. 96SDM4:7 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Prov- ince 3. 96SDM21:8 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province 4. M6:2 at Budonggou, Dongsheng City, Inner Mongolia 5. M1:3 at Lijiataozi Cemetery, Tongxin County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region 6. M72:2 at Zhaowan Cemetery, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia 7. M72:3 at Zhaowan Cemetery, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia 8. 96SDM18:10 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province 9. M91:15 at Zhaowan Cemetery, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia 10. M1:3 at Zhanglonggedan, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia

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Figure 3. The typical burial articles in Southern Xiongnu burials (bronze and iron artifacts) 1. iron knife (M8:1 at Budonggou, Dongsheng City, Inner Mongolia) 2. iron knife (98M2:34 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province) 3. iron nail (98M2:36 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province) 4. bronze canopy spoke finial (98M2:17 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province) 5. bronze ring (98M2:16 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province) 6. bronze button (98M2:23 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province) 7. iron shovel (98M2:21 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province) 8. bronze horse curb (Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province) 9. bronze fitting (M1:4 at Lijiataozi Cemetery, Tongxin County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region) 10. bronze clasp (98M2:32 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province) 11. iron cauldron (M5:2 at Budonggou, Dongsheng City, Inner Mongolia)

192 Chinese Archaeology polished surface decorated with wave patterns on shoul- der and/or belly and a hole on the bottom could be seen in almost every tomb, and pottery jar of this type has been believed as one of the representative vessels of Xiongnu culture. Moreover, the sizes of the pottery jars were larger than that in tombs of other cultures, and this is also a special feature telling the Southern Xiongnu 1 3 burials from burials of other people (Figure 2). 5 Second, large amounts of bronze and iron implements were found in these tombs. The bronze artifacts are knives, arrowheads, bells, rings, belt buckles, guard bor- ders and corner brackets and tube-shaped ornaments. The iron artifacts are horse curb bits, belt buckles, knives, arrowheads, swords, axes, shovels and nails. Burying weapons as burial articles was the traditional burial cus- 4 6 tom of Xiongnu and other nomadic people, but burying 2 agricultural tools as burial articles showed the changing of the subsistence of Southern Xiongnu people from Figure 4. The typical burial articles in Southern Xiongnu burials (ornaments) animal husbandry to agriculture, although the types and 1. bronze bracelet (M72:19 at Zhaowan Cemetery, numbers of weapons and tools varied in different areas Baotou City, Inner Mongolia) 2. bronze earring (M9:5 along the frontier zones (Figure 3). at Budonggou, Dongsheng City, Inner Mongolia) 3. Third, large amounts of personal ornaments in clear bronze ornamental Plaque (M9:3 at Budonggou, ethnic features were found. In the tombs confirmed to Dongsheng City, Inner Mongolia) 4. ear pendant be that of Southern Xiongnu people, ornaments made of (M74:7 at Zhaowan Cemetery, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia) 5. glass ear pendant (M93:3 at Zhaowan metal, glass, agate, jade, stone and bone, including Cemetery, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia) 6. crystal bead headgears, earrings, belt plaques and beads. The most (M16:13 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi significant ornaments are the beads made of various ma- Province) 7. cowry (from M1 and M2 at Lijiataozi terials and in different shapes, which are much rarer in Cemetery, Tongxin County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Han-styled tombs of the same periods. The situation of Region) burying large amounts of ornaments is also very popu- lar in Xianbei burials but the differences between and Semirechye areas in , the customs of burying Xiongnu and Xianbei remains have been pointed out by arrowheads and horse curb bits or other weapons and scholars (Figure 4). tools made of bone were also found. Some researchers The fourth, implements made of bone were very popu- have pointed out that the highly developed bone pro- lar in Southern Xiongnu burials. The main categories cessing and bone tool manufacturing was also one of are knives, shovels, spoons, brushes, chopsticks, seals, the special features of Xiongnu Culture (Figure 5). tubes, hairpins, flake-shaped tools and tools with den- The fifth, stone burial articles and tomb structural ticles and grooves. Burying bone implements was the materials are very popular. The stone burial articles are burial custom of the minorities such as Rong and mainly lamps, pestles, boards, ink-stones, steles, tiger- who lived along the northern and northwestern frontier shaped post base or tiger-head and stone huts. Stone zones of ancient China, and one of the main characteris- burial articles, tombs built with stone blocks or slabs tics to distinguish the burials of these nomadic or fron- and/or marked with stone pebbles, slabs or pillars are tier tribes from that of the people from the Central Plains. also features of Xiongnu burial culture, which were also Therefore, the remnants of this custom found in these frequently found in the Xiongnu burials in Russia and Southern Xiongnu tombs are symbols of the succession Mongolia but absent in Han-styled burials of the same of this nomadic tradition and the distinction to the Han- time. styled tombs of the same time. In fact, from the Xiongnu The above analyses confirmed that the structures of burials of the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties exca- Southern Xiongnu burials, especially those of the rulers vated at Chandman Uul in Mongolia and Transbaikal or noble people, are very similar to the Han-styled tombs

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Figure 5. The typical burial articles in Southern Xiongnu burials (bone artifacts) 1. knife (98M2:10 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province) 2. knife (M23:20 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province) 3. hairpin (M81:1 at Zhaowan Cemetery, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia) 4. chopsticks (M74:2, 3, 4 and M72:26 at Zhaowan Cemetery, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia) 5. shovel-shaped artifact (98M2:11 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province) 6. bow tips (from M1 at Lijiataozi Cemetery, Tongxin County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region) 7. whistling arrowhead (M72:20 at Zhaowan Cemetery, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia) 8. hairpins (M93:10, 11 and M95:2 at Zhaowan Cemetery, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia) 9. hairpins (M1:9, 10 and 11 at Budonggou, Dongsheng City, Inner Mongolia) 10. brush (98M2:14 at Dabaodang, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province) 11. spoon (M5:3 at Budonggou, Dongsheng City, Inner Mongolia) of the same statuses and periods: most of them had the ruling classes, the Xiongnu tribes and people were mounds on the ground, long slope passages, random ori- continuing to immigrate into the Han-controlled entations and complicated burial furniture, and tombs and submitting to the Han Government, and the latter were usually arranged as clan cemeteries. The animal defined the eight prefectures near the northern and north- sacrifices in forms of burying skulls of horses, bulls and western frontier zones (roughly present-day southern are widely seen in tombs of all statuses. Apart middle Inner Mongolia, , northwest from the Han-styled pottery burial articles, the imple- and eastern ) as the settlements ments and ornaments made of metals, jade, stone and and pastures of the submitted Xiongnu tribes. As re- bone in Xiongnu style were also very popular, especially corded in the historic literature, in the middle period of the pottery jars in large sizes, which are different from the Eastern Han Dynasty (around 90 CE), the popula- those of the Han-styled burials. These features repre- tion of submitted was as many as 237,300. This hinted sented by these tombs are essential for us to re-under- that the burials of this period in these areas should in- stand and re-identify the ethnic attributions of the large clude many of Southern Xiongnu people. Based upon amounts of “Han tombs”found in the northern and the characteristics of Southern Xiongnu burials men- northwestern frontier zones of the Eastern Han Dynasty. tioned above, historic literature records and research results of related disciplines, we can make a trial identi- The Identification of the Ethnic Attributions fication to the ethnic attributions of some burials in these to Some Han Burials areas. The historic literature and archaeological researches have 1. The Northern Shaanxi Area. Most of the Han tombs proven that in the Eastern Han Dynasty, because of the found so far are distributed in Yulin Municipal Area; cold climate and frequent natural disasters in the steppe among the published data, the tombs in Dabaodang area to the north of Gobi Desert and the conflicting of Cemetery, Shenmu County are the most significant.

194 Chinese Archaeology Dabaodang Cemetery was a resident cemetery in all of these tombs had animal sacrifices. In burial ar- Dabaodang walled city flourishing since the middle pe- ticle assemblages, the pottery jars bearing “Xiongnu riod of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the excavation to which cultural elements”took the bulk of pottery wares, ac- discovered some artifacts similar to the burial articles in companied by some Han-styled vessels; the Xiongnu- the tombs, such as the pottery jars of Types A, B, C and styled artifacts made of bronze, iron, jade, stone and bone D, pottery basin, tile-ends, iron cauldrons, iron arrow and ornaments made of various materials were found in (sword?) and iron axes; some cemeteries of the same these tombs in noticeable amount. Referring to the lo- period were also found nearby the city. Therefore, it is cations of the settlements of Southern Xiongnu tribes reasonable for the excavators to suppose that this walled and people in the Eastern Han Dynasty and the charac- city was the seat of the “dependant state”established teristics of Southern Xiongnu tombs mentioned above, by the Eastern Han Government to supervise the immi- we can identify the occupants of these tombs as South- grated Southern Xiongnu people. However, they did ern Xiongnu people. not mention the ethnic attributions of the tombs clearly. Conclusions Having studied the data of the tombs 96SDM4, M5, M9, M10, M17, M23 and 98M2, and referred to the historic The Southern Xiongnu burials found in China so far are records and the features of Southern Xiongnu burials mostly distributed in the northern and northwestern fron- explained above, we can confirm them as tombs of tier zones of the Han Dynasty, and chronologically be- Southern Xiongnu people submitted to the Eastern Han longing to the middle and later periods of the Eastern Dynasty. They had not only structures in common with Han Dynasty. The main burial groups are: the the Han tombs of the same period, but also popular cus- Dabaodang Cemetery in Shenmu County, Shaanxi tom of animal sacrifices, typical Xiongnu-styled pottery Province, the tombs in Locality B of Shang Sunjiazhai wares (Type B jar in the report), artifacts made of bronze, Cemetery in Datong County, Qinghai Province, Zhang- iron, jade, stone or bone, and ornaments made of vari- longgedan Cemetery and some tombs of Zhaowan Cem- ous materials with obvious Xiongnu features. etery in Baotou City, Budonggou Cemetery and some 2. The Southern Middle Inner Mongolia. Because of tombs of Sanduandi Cemetery in Dongsheng City, In- the special geographical position and climatic conditions, ner Mongolia (some tombs of Sanduandi Cemetery this area was the main zone for the agricultural and no- might be of the descendants of the Xiongnu people sub- madic peoples to communicate and impact each other mitted in the middle and later periods of the Western and a key area for the political powers in the Central Han Dynasty). During these periods, because of the Plains and the steppe area to fight for seizing and deeper Sinization, the tomb structures and burial article controlling. The tombs of the Eastern Han Dynasty are types and assemblages of Southern Xiongnu resembled mainly found around the vicinity of Baotou municipal that of the Han-styled tombs, but some Xiongnu burial area and Sanduandi Cemetery in the southwest of Ordos customs were still reserved. Slight distinctions are seen Plateau. Historic literature showed that this area was on burial customs and burial article categories and types the main place for Southern Xiongnu to live and pasture, of Southern Xiongnu tombs distributed in different areas, and many Eastern Han tombs with animal sacrifices were but the general appearances are still similar. The dis- also found nearby Baotou area. In the past researches, tinctions were caused by many factors, including not some scholars have pointed out that these tombs might only the differences of ethnic group compositions in contain Xiongnu cultural elements. However, their lack Xiongnu people of these areas, but also the differences of discussions on the burial article assemblages made in geographical environments, the depths of Sinization insufficient results on the issue of ethnic attribution iden- and the dates of these tombs. tification of these tombs. The analyses to Tombs M64, References M67, M70, M91 and M93 in Zhaowan Cemetery, M8, M12 and M25 in Sanduandi Cemetery and M3 in Fan, 范晔 (1965). Hou Han 后汉书 (The Book of the Zhaotan Locality told us that all of them belonged to the Later Han). : Zhonghua Shuju 中华书局. pp. 165– middle and later periods of the Eastern Han Dynasty; 95 Hedi 和帝纪 (the Annuals of Emperor He); pp. 2939– 78 Nan Xiongnu Liezhuan 南匈奴列传 (the Account of they did not have distinctions to the Han-styled tombs Southern Xiongnu). of the same periods; these tombs did not have unified Guo, Suxin 郭素新 (1981). Shi Lun Han Xiongnu Muzang orientations and most of them were joint burials; almost

Volume 8 195 de Tezheng 汉代匈奴墓葬的特征 (On the Characteristics 文集 (Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Meeting of Chinese of Xiongnu Burials in the Han Dynasty). Nei Menggu Society of Archaeology). : Kexue Chubanshe 科学 Wenwu Kaogu 内蒙古文物考古 (Inner Mongolia Cultural 出版社 (Science Press). pp. 136–150. Relics and Archaeology) Opening Issue: 34–7. (1990). Lun Xiongnu Kaogu Yanjiu zhong de ji ge Wenti Song, Yuanru 宋远茹 (2001). E’erduosi Zhoubian ji 论匈奴考古研究中的几个问题 (On Some Problems in the Zhongyuan Diqu de Han Dai Xiongnu Wenhua Fenxi 鄂尔 Archaeological Study of the ). Kaogu Xuebao 考古学 多斯周边及中原地区的汉代匈奴文化分析 (Analyses to 报 (Acta Archaeologica Sinica) 4: 409–37. the Xiongnu Culture of the Han Dynasty in Regions nearby (1998). Xiongnu Zuyuan Chutan 匈奴族源初探 (A Prelimi- Ordos Plateau and the Central Plains). Kaogu yu Wenwu 考 nary Explore to the Origins of Xiongnu Nationality). In , 古与文物 (Archaeology and Cultural Relics) 6: 75–80. Zizhi 李自智 [ed.] Wenhua Yanjiu 周秦文化研 , Guangjin 田广金 (1982). Xiongnu Muzang de Leixing 究 (A Study of Zhou and Qin Cultures). Xi’an: Shaanxi he Niandai 匈奴墓葬的类型和年代 (The Types and Dates Renmin Chubanshe 陕西人民出版社 (Shaanxi People’s of Xiongnu Tombs). Nei Menggu Wenwu Kaogu 内蒙古文 Press). pp. 832–41. 物考古 (Inner Mongolia Cultural Relics and Archaeology) (2002). Ouya Dalu Caoyuan Zaoqi Youmu Wenhua de ji 2: 8–17. dian Sikao 欧亚大陆草原早期游牧文化的几点思考 (1983). Jinnian Lai Nei Menggu Diqu de Xiongnu Kaogu (Some Ideas on the Early Nomadic Cultures in the Eurasian 近年来内蒙古地区的匈奴考古 (Archaeological Studies on Steppe). Kaogu Xuebao 考古学报 (Acta Archaeologica the Xiongnu People in Inner Mongolia in Recent Years). Sinica) 4: 437–70. Kaogu Xuebao 考古学报 (Acta Archaeologica Sinica) 1: Zhang, Haibin 张海斌 (2000). Shi Lun Zhongguo Jingnei Dong 7–24. Han Shiqi Xiongnu Muzang Ji Xiangguan Wenti 试论中 En 乌恩 (1987). Shi Lun Han Dai Xiongnu yu Xianbei 国境内东汉时期匈奴墓葬及相关问题 (On the Xiongnu Yiji de Qubie 试论汉代匈奴与鲜卑遗迹的区别 (On the Tombs of the Eastern Han Dynasty in Present-day China Differentiation between the Remains of Xiongnu and and Relevant Issues). Nei Menggu Wenwu Kaogu 内蒙古 Xianbei in the Han Dynasty). In Zhongguo Kaogu Xuehui 文物考古 (Inner Mongolia Cultural Relics and di ci Nianhui Lunwenji 中国考古学会第六次年会论 Archaeology) 1: 14–22.

Note: The original paper, published in Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) 2007.4: 74–86 with 13 illustrations, is written by Linyuan 杜林渊. This abridged version is prepared by the author and translated into English by Ding Xiaolei 丁晓雷.

196 Chinese Archaeology