Chronology of the Tianshanbeilu Cemetery in Xinjiang, Northwestern China

Abstract

Eurasian steppes experienced frequent cultural transfers, human migration, and diffusion of techniques during the Bronze Age. The Hami Oasis is one of the most dynamic areas and has attracted multiple cultural flows. It is an important area that connects various routes of the Tianshan Corridor with the Hexi Corridor in western China. The Tianshanbeilu cemetery is the largest Bronze Age cemetery in Hami. Thirty-seven new radiocarbon dates allowed us to establish a new and more accurate chronology for Tianshanbeilu. Our results showed that the Tianshanbeilu cemetery was used from approximately 2022–1802 cal BC and remained in use from 1093–707 cal BC. This indicates that Tianshanbeilu is the earliest and longest-used known cemetery in eastern Xinjiang. By incorporating the typology of artifacts and stratigraphic relationships, the development of the Tianshanbeilu cemetery was divided into four phases. The first phase was from 2011–1672 cal BC, the second phase was from 1660–1408 cal BC, the third phase was from 1385–1256 cal BC, and the fourth phase was from 1214–1029 cal BC.

New scientific analyses reveal mixing of copper sources in the early Iron Age metal production at Ili, western China

“…As mentioned above, this is ultimately due to the fact that many of them are chance findings therefore lack proper archaeological context to be radiocarbon dated. Meanwhile, only a limited number of key sites in Xinjiang have been published with radiocarbon dates with full stratigraphic information (e.g., Jia et al, 2017; Tong et al, 2020). Objects outside these sites can be only loosely dated by their typology or associated objects in the same context/archaeological culture.…”

New radiocarbon dating and archaeological evidence reveal the westward migration of prehistoric humans in the drylands of the Asian interior

“…2000 BC, which is constrained by radiocarbon dates from charcoal (17L42), woven grass rope (17L45), and sheep feces (17L46) surrounding the pottery on the yardangs, indicating that oriental cultural elements had spread to the Lop Nur region by that time. Based on the limited observations possible from the painted pottery shards of the NLS, some of it may be affiliated to those of eastern Xinjiang, such as Tianshanbeilu Cemetery which is broadly contemporary with the NLS (Tong et al, 2020; Wang et al, 2019). Furthermore, the settlers of the NLS were characterized by the populations from eastern Eurasia, based on the physical anthropological characteristics of skulls (e.g.…”

The dissemination of Chinese potash-rich faience: investigation of faience beads from the Wupu cemetery, Xinjiang

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