Abstract

Questions of identity are of paramount importance in research of the Western Zhou period, both in the central plain and among its vassal states. Yet most research done to date has focused on the Zhou bureaucratic order and government. These analyses have been very successful in delineating political culture, administration, and kinship ties, and have provided important information on elite taste and customs. However, they have paid less attention to uncovering other social groupings and relations, and do not systematically address the ways in which local identities were exercised or displayed. This article presents a multivariate statistical analysis of the Liulihe cemetery of the Western Zhou state of Yan. This analysis uncovers new elements comprising the complex social makeup and identity of the Liulihe occupants. These findings provide a richer understanding of the Yan society compared with the traditional approach that centered on the delineation of Zhou political elements and ethnic characteristics. A more intricate society emerges, one not solely defined by the amount of Zhou style it exhibited.

Highlights

  • Through the stylistic examination of burial goods, researchers generally ascribe one of three identities to cemetery occupants: Zhou, Shang, or a local ethnicity ( Beijing 1995; Luoyang 2002; Shandong 1982).2. These analyses have successfully described the political culture, delineated ad­ ministrative and kinship ties, and provided important information on elite taste and Yitzchak Jaffe is a PhD student in the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University

  • Controversy still exists regarding the identification of a number of bronze hoards and burials from the late Shang and early Western Zhou cultures found in this area ( Wu 2004 : 203)

  • By evaluating the correlations between the different categories comprising the factors, we can heuristically propose burial styles manifested through the material remains found in any given tomb

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Summary

Introduction

Controversy still exists regarding the identification of a number of bronze hoards and burials from the late Shang and early Western Zhou cultures found in this area ( Wu 2004 : 203). As part of the most extensive analysis of the Liulihe cemetery to date, Sun (2001) examined the artistic styles of bronze and jade artifacts, traditionally seen as linked to social and political power.

Results
Conclusion
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