In the long history of civilization in China, many ancient tombs have been discovered. As the saying goes, there are all kinds of birds when the Woods are big. In the same way, there are many tombs, all kinds of them.
First, we need to define "unusual". Because in the history of China, most tombs were dug into a rectangular pit and people were buried in it. In archaeology, this is called "the tomb with vertical holes and pits". This is the most common tomb, that is, the most common tomb. Unusual tombs can be understood as "tombs without vertical holes and pits".
I. Typical examples of tombs:
Firstly, this paper introduces an unusual tomb found in the Central Plains: M45, Xishuipo, Puyang.
(Image from Henan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology: Xishuipo, Puyang, Zhongzhou Ancient Books Publishing House, 20 12)
If the photo is not obvious enough, let's take a look at the hand-drawn circuit diagram:
This is a tomb of Yangshao culture, about 5000 years ago. Located in the southwest corner of Puyang County, Henan Province, this is a low-lying land, and it is difficult to drain rainwater in rainy season, commonly known as "Xishuipo". The earliest image of a dragon was found in this tomb, that is, a clam shell was placed in the shape of a dragon and a tiger. China's title of Yilong comes from this tomb. This was a discovery that shocked the world at that time. Many scholars have devoted themselves to the study of this mausoleum. According to Mr. Feng, this tomb embodies China's ancient astronomical view. The dragon on the left and the white tiger on the right correspond to the stars in the sky. (See Shi Feng: Civilization Stopping: Ancient Thought, Astronomy and System, China Social Sciences Press, 20 18).
Then, let's take a look at Hongshan Culture's large-scale tomb found in the Xilamulun River basin in western Liaoning and eastern Inner Mongolia: the tomb made of stone at Niuheliang site, which is called "Jishi Tomb" by archaeology. It looks like this:
Let's start from the top view:
Zoom in:
Niuheliang Site is located at the junction of Jianping County and lingyuan city, Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province. Because of their prominent positions, these tombs are all on a hill, rising from the outside to the inside, forming steps, and then sealing the soil and accumulating stones. Because some wonderful things have been found in this place, such as Jade Pig Dragon and Statue of Goddess, which is a kind of tomb with altar and tomb.
(The legendary "Statue of Goddess")
In addition, the shape of masonry is round and square. According to some scholars' research, this may be the embodiment of China's earliest local view of heaven and earth. This is also a textual research on Mr. Shi Feng. There are some things here that reflect the ancient astronomical concepts, and the ancients may be more knowledgeable than we thought. This tomb is about 5000 years old! (For illustrations, see Shi Feng's Civilization Stopping, Niuheliang Site of Chaoyang Cultural Bureau, 2004. )
Second, unusual grave types.
Due to the relatively backward production technology and high infant mortality rate, we can see many infant tombs on tombs. In our country, there is a special baby tomb, that is, a large clay pot is used to hold the baby's body, and then the clay pot is buried underground, some with the adult's grave, and some are separated. Archaeologists call it "urn coffin burial".
The urn coffin burial is usually like this:
If you have the opportunity to go to Banpo Site Museum, you can see the urn coffin burial group of Banpo Site.
Before private ownership and monogamy came into being, there were some large tombs in the legendary "primitive society".
In southern China, there are some tombs with boats as coffins, which we call boat coffin burial:
Stone tombs in Koguryo area (haha, is it very similar to the Mayan altar);
"Oriental Pyramid"-Xixia Mausoleum;
In fact, there are other types of tombs, such as celestial burial in Tibet, water burial, stone shed tomb in Northeast China, Jia-shaped tomb in Shang Dynasty, mountain-piercing tomb in Han Dynasty and sloping tomb with patio and niche in Tang Dynasty. If it is difficult to get pictures in Tibet because of religion and other reasons, you can search for them yourself. The latter, I will have the opportunity to introduce some "unusual" tombs and tombs in the history of China.
Bibliography:
Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: China Archaeological Neolithic Volume, China Social Sciences Press.