New findings shed light on life and death in Shang era

A large settlement and cemetery from the early Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC) have been unearthed in Laishui county, Baoding, North China's Hebei province, offering new insights into the region's ancient history.

Dated more than 3,200 years ago, the Fuwei site, located at the foothills of the Taihang Mountains, was excavated continuously by a joint archaeological team from 2023 to 2025.

"We discovered the remains of a wall and a moat dating to no later than the early Shang Dynasty, something we had not anticipated at the start," says Chang Huaiying, the project's lead archaeologist from the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Their foundation is the earliest example of rammed earth architecture ever found in the central-northern part of the North China Plain, he adds, noting that such structures are extremely rare for this period in the region.

Equally significant is a large cemetery linked to the Datuotou culture, a local archaeological culture from the same period. "It is the best-preserved, largest and most complex Datuotou cemetery ever found,"Chang says.

So far, the team has excavated 58 tombs arranged in neat rows and columns, indicating careful planning. "Findings from 2025 show the cemetery's layout. The diversity of burial practices far exceeded our expectations," he says.

The graves reveal varied burial practices, including the first-known evidence of limb dismemberment in this culture. Animal sacrifices were common, particularly the skulls of sheep, cattle and dogs placed on ledges within the graves. One grave contained as many as 12 animal skulls.