Ancient Stone-Coffin Tombs Discovered In Sichuan

Xinhunet/China View ^ | 7-20-2005

[blam]

Ancient stone-coffin tombs discovered in Sichuan

www.chinaview.cn 2005-07-19 22:23:42

CHENGDU, July 19 (Xinhuanet) - Archaeologists discovered more than 20 ancient tombs with stone coffins dating back nearly 2,800 years ago in southwestern China's Sichuan province, local government announced Tuesday.

The discovery of stone coffins, first of its kind found in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze, a major Tibetan habitat inwest Sichuan since ancient times, proved other ethnic groups also lived in the area before as Tibetan seldom use stone coffins for burial, said Chen Zujun, an expert from the provincial archaeological research institute.

"Traditionally, Tibetan choose water burial, inhumation, cremation, or sky burial and the coffins they used are usually made of wood instead of stone," said Chen.

In addition, Tibetan in Garze usually use a special rope made of cowhide to bind the bodies into the shape of a fetus and seal the body's eyes, nose, and mouth with butter, said Chen.

"The bodies we found this time lying on their back or stomach in the coffins," said Chen.

The coffins were about 1.8 meters long and one to 1.5 meters wide and the coffin cover is made up of three to five pieces of stone slate.

"They are quite similar to the stone coffins of the ancient Qiang people, a nomadic tribe used to live in the current northwestern part of China more than 3,000 years ago, which werealso found the valleys of the Yalong River, Minjiang River and Jinsha River in Sichuan," said Chen.

"The coffin owners may be from a branch of the tribe, which moved from the north," he said, adding they also found 140 articles of cultural relics, including stoneware, bronze wares and potteries, which proved the tombs made up a cemetery of a tribe relying on handicraft industry.

The tombs were found at the Xiangcheng County by local farmerswhen building houses early this month, according to the prefecture cultural administration of Garze, which said the county governmenthas put the tombs into its cultural relics protection list and has taken special measures to protect the tombs. Enditem

[blam]

GGG Ping.

[JimSEA]

"They are quite similar to the stone coffins of the ancient Qiang people, a nomadic tribe used to live in the current northwestern part of China more than 3,000 years ago, which werealso found the valleys of the Yalong River, Minjiang River and Jinsha River in Sichuan," said Chen.

I will have to keep an eye out for the other items found with the coffins. At first I was thinking about the Plain of Jars -- They are the darnedest things I ever saw. Quite skillfully made but very "jar" like(there is a disappointing article in Archeology this month). The more they look, the more complex things get.

[blam]

Quite skillfully made but very "jar" like(there is a disappointing article in Archeology this month). The more they look, the more complex things get."

Yup, I saw that.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Blam.

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[par4]

Traditionally, Tibetan choose water burial, inhumation, cremation, or sky burial

Interesting find, but does anyone know what a sky burial is?

[par4]

Traditionally, Tibetan choose water burial, inhumation, cremation, or sky burial

Interesting find, but does anyone know what a sky burial is?

[easonc52]

Interesting find, but does anyone know what a sky burial is?

I didn't know, but a search brought up this link among others.

Tibet's 'sky burial' lives on to link death and nature (NYT)

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #1

Qiang's language is said to be in Tibeto-Burman branch. Their ancient habitat seems to overlap the region people who produced Tarim Mummies inhabited. I wonder what their relationship was. More specifically, was it like Scythian/Xiongnu interaction?

[marsh2]

Could sky burial be the elevating of bodies on platforms supported with posts - similar to some American Indian tribes?

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #10

I think it is ritualizing the process of vultures consuming corpses in the wild, which happens naturally.

People who inhabit inhospitable environment where trees are scarce and whose life-style is nomadic appear to adopt this ritual.

In Siberian tundra, there are people called Chukchis. When a Chukchi dies, his body is carried out to the open plain, and its trunk is cut up open, so that any scavenging animals can easily devour the body.

[Drammach]

Could sky burial be the elevating of bodies on platforms supported with posts - similar to some American Indian tribes?

That was my first impression as well..

Thanks to easonc52 for the link.. (post#8)..
Well done explanation of Tibetan burial rites, and very informative..