The Xiaoheshigou Tomb Cluster

The Xiaoheshigou Tomb Cluster

The Xiaoheshigou Tomb Cluster is located in Xiaoheshigou Village, Dianzi Township, Ningcheng County, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia. It is a large site dating from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, belonging to the Upper Xiajiadian Culture. Since 1985, three archaeological excavations have been carried out at the site (in 1985, 1992–1993, and 1998). Through these excavations, various remains have been discovered at the site, including houses, tombs, ash pits, as well as artifacts made of gold, bronze, stone, pottery, bone, horn, and shell. Among them, the bronze artifacts are of the highest value. The unearthed relics include ritual vessels, chariot and horse fittings, weapons, tools, and ornaments used by nobility, representing the highest level of the grassland bronze civilization in the northern frontier region of the ancient Chinese Great Wall.

A total of 72 ancient tombs have been excavated at the site, which can be divided into three levels. The first-level tombs are large stone-chambered graves for tribal chieftains; the second-level tombs belong to tribal warriors; and the third-level tombs are those of commoners. Based on the tomb structures, it can be inferred that the society at the time had already entered the early stages of a class-based system.

According to archaeological research on the unearthed ritual vessels, weapons, and pottery, the Xiaoheshigou site can be divided into three historical periods: the first period spans the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn period; the second period covers the mid-Spring and Autumn to the mid-Warring States period; and the third period is the late Warring States period. Over these roughly five to six hundred years across the three phases, a powerful tribe resided in the area. Historical literature suggests that this tribe was part of the Donghu tribal confederation. The Donghu are mentioned in historical texts from the Zhou Dynasty, including the “Lost Book of Zhou,” “Classic of Mountains and Seas,” and “Records of the Grand Historian.”

The rise and fall of the Upper Xiajiadian Culture, represented by the Xiaoheshigou site, reflects the history of multicultural collisions and development in the evolution of grassland bronze culture.

Further reading:

· Seventh batch of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites