Study on the burial practice of tomb M13 of the Yangshao culture at Baligang site in Dengzhou City

Abstract The multidisciplinary research on the Yangshao period (4200–2900 BCE) tomb M13, a joint secondary burial at the Baligang site of the Yangshao culture in Dengzhou City, Henan Province showed that there were in total 126 individuals buried in this grave. Their death crossed at least 200 years; among them, at least five individuals were from three maternal lineages, and the descent system of this group was patrilineal. There were also 138 pig mandibles buried in M13, which had been dated and shows that they were collected across over 400 years. Based on the statistics the death population at Baligang site, it is estimated that the human bones found from M13 went through a secondary burial process during which they were probably regarded as “ceremonial objects.” The joint secondary burials as M13 is seen as a result of some reburying ceremonies held at the Baligang site.