The excavation of M793 at Liujiazhuang North in Yinxu, Anyang, Henan

Abstract

In August 1994, the Anyang Team, Institute of Archaeology of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences excavated tomb M793 at Liujiazhuang North in Yinxu, Anyang City, Henan Province. It is a vertical earthen pit tomb equipped with one coffin, one burial chamber, and a waist pit. Pottery, bronze, jade, stone, bone, and shell artifacts were unearthed. Tomb M793 yielded bronze assemblages with inscriptions of “Yajiang” 亚弜, suggesting that the neighboring area was likely where the Yajiang clan dwelled. The characteristics of grave goods suggest that the tomb dates approximately to the late stage of Yinxu Phase II. Bronze inscriptions and the size of the tomb chamber indicate that the tomb occupant was a minor leader of the Yajiang or Jiang clan, a member of the Jiang people recorded in oracle bone inscriptions, rather than the main leader of the Yajiang or Jiang clan. This excavation provides crucial clues for confirming Liujiazhuang North as one of the significant settlements for the Yajiang or Jiang clan.