Researchers in China have uncovered fascinating evidence from the Liangzhu culture (5000-4550 years ago) showing how East Asia’s first urban societies changed their attitudes toward the dead.
At the Liangzhu archaeological site, 52 worked human bones were discovered in canals and moats, with most being unfinished products.
These findings suggest that as population grew and social complexity increased, interpersonal relationships changed and anonymous dead became raw materials.
Unlike earlier periods when all deceased were buried, in Liangzhu some bones were used to make tools and ornaments.
This shift in death perception may result from urban living where individuals couldn’t know all community members.
This discovery represents the first evidence of human bone working in Chinese prehistory.
The practice lasted over 200 years, indicating it became culturally embedded in this early urban society.
Cloudflare