northeastasiaarchaeology

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

China starts new terra cotta army dig

China launched a second excavation project on Thursday on a burial pit in the ancient capital of Xi'an, where an army of terra cotta warriors guards the mausoleum of China’s first emperor.

Archaeologists plan to excavate about 200 square meters of Pit No.2, located near the tomb of Emperor Qinshihuang, founder of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), according to Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum.

Archaeologist Yuan Zhongyi estimated that the burial pit has 1,400 clay figures and horses and 89 chariots waiting to be unearthed.

Yuan described Pit No.2 as “the essence of the terra cotta warriors,” for its mix of terra cotta chariots, cavalry and archers. Read more.

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

Gyeongju, Korea: 5th c. Silla burial reveals man buried alive with woman. From the Chosun Ilbo  http://bit.ly/1D5ZG66 

“An ancient tomb with a man and woman who probably died in their 20s or 30s has been discovered in downtown Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

Archaeologists on Thursday said that the tomb probably dates back to the 5th century Silla Kingdom, the capital of which was Gyeongju. It also contains gold and silver accessories and horse riding equipment.

The bodies appear to be positioned on top of one another. The excavation team concluded from the leg bones and teeth that the one at the bottom is a woman in her 30s and the one on top a younger man...”

Check out the rest of the article: http://bit.ly/1D5ZG66

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

Bronze mirror linked to the perhaps legendary Himiko found in China for first time

http://bit.ly/1G9y2Zl

"A bronze mirror found in China resembles those associated with Japan’s third-century shaman queen Himiko, providing perhaps the first solid evidence that she was given the mirrors by a Chinese emperor. Wang Chenyi, a Chinese researcher from Henan province, recently reported in a local archaeological journal that he bought the bronze mirror from a farmer at an antiques market in the ancient capital of Luoyang around 2009. The mirror is similar in design to Sankakubuchi Shinjukyo (triangular-rimmed deity-and-beast mirrors) widely discovered in Japan. They are believed to have been produced around the third century."

story by KAZUTO TSUKAMOTO of the Asahi Shimbun; photos courtesy of Wang Chenyi and the Asahi Shimbun.

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

Ichikawa, Japan: Archaeological excavations at a shellmidden in Chiba prefecture earlier in 2015 have revealed a 7500-yr-old wooden dugout boat in what is being dubbed a ‘Jōmon time capsule’. Other worked wooden objects and pit features with preserved nuts were found. The in which the shellmidden was found is the future site of a highway that will encircle the greater Tokyo area. http://s.nikkei.com/1AECvhS 

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

Prehistoric burial in eastern Siberia may be the earliest example of death during childbirth. Fetal bones are clearly visible around the abdomen, pelvis and thighs of this woman, buried between 7725 and 7630 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating. Check out the connection to the University of Saskatchewan! http://bit.ly/1zgKXVl (photo credit: Vladimir Bazaliiskii)

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

Chungju, Korea: 2200-yr-old burial (Early Iron Age) yields treasure-trove of bronzes, including seven narrow-style bronze daggers http://bit.ly/15t7lyU | #archaeology #고고학 #考古學

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

Asuka, Japan: Moat ruins found in Japan part of a burial mound for an ancient emperor? http://bit.ly/1xV4bdI  #archaeology   #koukogaku   #考古学

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

Nanjo, Japan: Ancient burial remains in Okinawa cave may fill void in Japanese ancestry. Ancient human remains found at the Sakitari-do cave site in Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. The area being pointed to is the head. (Shunsuke Nakamura) | http://bit.ly/1wJPwCD 

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

Naju, Korea: Archaeologists find elaborately made gilt-bronze shoes in 5th c. C.E. burial. The shoes are Baekje style and were given as a gift to a chiefly leader in Mahan territory in Jeolla Nam-do, Korea bit.ly/1EGDLWE

This photo belongs to the National Naju Institute of Cultural Heritage in Korea. We claim fair use copyright for educational purposes.

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

Chinese archaeologists have unearthed at least 28 chariots and 49 pairs of horse skeletons while excavating a group of ancient tombs in central China’s Hubei Province.

Liu Xu is a professor from the School of Archaeology at Peking University.

"This chariot and horse pit is different from...

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

Check it out! Arranged by time period...lots of interesting stuff in Japan, but the media there writes very little about it in English.

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

Top 10 News Stories on Northeast Asian Archaeology in 2014 from NE Asia Archaeology According to bit.ly

http://on.fb.me/1txeHqW

Happy New Year. The past year was a great one for archaeology. There are so many lists on the Top 10 archaeology stories of 2014 floating around social media these days, but due to one (undeclared) bias or another, almost none of the Top 10 lists feature stories from China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, southern Siberia, or Maritime Russia. We here at NE Asia Archaeology strive to correct the media bias against NE Asia and highlight the archaeologies of areas such as the Korean peninsula and Japanese archipelago.  

These are the top 10 news stories on Northeast Asian archaeology in 2014 based on the number of clicks from our followers and fans of NE Asia Archaeology on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Google+ (soon to be relaunched) as determined. Enjoy them again with us!

1.   Scientists: Glass dish unearthed in Nara came from Roman Empire - by Kazuto Tsukamoto, AJW by The Asahi Shimbun website - 136 clicks   URL: bit.ly/1yDLJbR   Date: 14-11-14

2.   First pants worn by horse riders 3,000 years ago - by Bruce Bower, Science Newswebsite - 121 clicks URL: bit.ly/1kusSvM   Date: 14-05-31

3.   Rebun Island Fieldwork 2014 - Baikal Archaeology Project website - 106 clicks   URL: bit.ly/N2R3TS   Date: 14-03-11 [NOTE: the contents of this webpage have been archived]

4.   Tombs of Emperor Yang and his Queen of Sui Dynasty unearthed in Yangzhou - translator: Su Minjie, Chinese Archaeology website - 95 clicks   URL: bit.ly/1tquPg5   Date: 14-04-21

5.   Wooden Tablets Excavated at Sabi-Period Site of Paekche's Last Capital - Early Korea Project website - 88 clicks   URL: bit.ly/1g2dwIm   Date: 14-03-02

6.   Tombs of Workers who Built Terracotta Warriors Mausoleum Discovered in China - Reuters, International Business Times website - 79 clicks   URL: bit.ly/1hGBhXJ   Date: 14-05-12

7.   1,500-year-old coffin excavated from grasslands in N China - Zhang Ling (Xinhua), Chinese Archaeology website - 52 clicks   URL: bit.ly/1gz1hTh   Date: 14-03-19

8.   2,100-Year-Old King's Mausoleum Discovered in China - by Owen Jarus, livesciencewebsite - 49 clicks    URL: bit.ly/1s72ARf   Date: 14-08-04

9.   Humans have been changing Chinese environment for 3,000 years - by Gerry Everding, Washington University in St. Louis Newsroom website - 49 clicks   URL: bit.ly/1qfz8si   Date: 14-06-19

10.  Prehistoric site discovery puts Legoland plan at risk - by Kim Hyung Eun, Korea JoongAng Daily - 48 clicks   URL: bit.ly/1nu2LC7   Date: 14-08-07

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

Rubbing of 1/4 of the gigantic King Gwanggaeto Stele that dates to 414 CE. The original is still standing near the border between North Korea and China in Ji'an. It is nearly 7 m in height and was erected to commemorate the deeds of Goguryeo’s (c. 200/300-668 CE) greatest ruler, Gwanggaeto the Great. The second photo is detail of the script in the stele. The stele refers to major political events of the day that may not all be accurate. Thus the stele is controversial in the perennially geopolitically sensitive countries of modern Northeast Asia. This rubbing is one of a very small number and is displayed at the Yeungnam University Museum in Korea.

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

At the 20th International Gaya Studies Conference at the Gimhae National Museum in Gimhae, Korea. The theme of this year's event is Long-distance Interchange and Artifacts.

[northeastasiaarchaeology]

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH) in Korea just published it's third English-language issue of the 'Journal of Korean Archaeology'. Good luck trying to get a hold of it though. Why spend an enormous effort to produce a beautiful glossy magazine about something important without any plan to distribute it?