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Relics
at Wanfabozi of Tonghua,
Jilin Province
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????The
excavation covers an area of more than 6,000 square meters. The
site has rich cultural accumulations, covering the period from the
Neolithic Age to the Shang and Zhou, the periods of Spring and Autumn
and the Warring States, the Western Han, the Wei and Jin and the
Ming dynasties. The burial forms are unique, including earth pit
graves, stone coffins in earth pit graves, stone outer and inner
coffins in earth pit tombs, tombs covered with a large stone, group
of stone tombs with large stone cover, group of stone tombs, and
group of stone tombs with steps and platform. Also found was a tomb
containing 40 corpses, mostly women. The group of stone tombs and
the group of stone tombs with steps and platform reflect a special
style of funeral during the Koguryo period.
????
????The six archaeological cultural remains classified during this
excavation represent six new types of cultures. The remains of the
Neolithic Age with distinct relationships between levels and positions
are the first find in the southern part of Jilin Province. The find
of a pottery li (cooking tripod with hollow legs) of the second
stage of the Bronze Age disproved the conventional hypothesis of
no li being used on the middle and upper reaches of the Yalu River.
The unearthed third stage bronze short sword and the cast models
show that the casting industry had appeared in the region during
the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The fourth-stage
trenches around mountains show that the site was a large village
during the Western Han period. It is presumed that it dates from
the early stage of the Koguryo period. The pottery wares of the
fifth stage date from the middle and late stages of the Koguryo
period, showing a blend of the Central Plains and local cultures.
The division of stages of the remains linking the Koguryo culture
with the local culture of the Bronze Age will have an important
impact on the study of the Bronze Age in the Northeast Asia and
the remains of the Koguryo period.
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