Transformation of the Burial System in the Middle Yellow River Region during the 2nd Millennium BCE as a Reflection of Changing Political Strategies
2023
Abstract
The development of the early states in the Middle Yellow River region shows signs of considerable continuity, but also discontinuity. In the burial system, the discontinuity is represented by the sudden change in the size, construction, and furnishing of elite graves during the 2nd half of the 2nd millennium BCE.
The paper explains this transformation in terms of the so-called dual-processual theory as a reflection of the changing social and political strategies and the different role that burials played in them. This is the first time that this theory was applied to the issue under discussion.