3,000-year-old royal menagerie found in China

The remains of numerous wild animals in sacrificial pits have been unearthed in the royal mausoleum area of the Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan province, central China. Artifacts found in the burials indicate the animals were captive bred, not hunted. It is the earliest known collection of captive animals in China, predating the previously accepted earliest examples found in the imperials tombs of the Qin and Han dynasty rulers by a thousand years.

The excavation revealed 19 small and medium-sized pits containing bones of different animals, including: short-horned domesticated buffalo, deer, roe deer, wolves, leopards, foxes, serows, wild boars, porcupines, swans, cranes, geese, haws and eagles. What makes it clear that at least a portion of the animals were kept and likely raised in captivity rather than hunted for sacrifice is the discovery of bronze bells worn around several of the animals’ necks. Twenty-nine bells were found in 13 of the 19 pits.

Niu Shishan, the excavation project leader and a researcher at the institute, sees a sophisticated system at play. “The presence of such a vast collection of wildlife and the standardized treatment of these animals indicate a well-established network for acquiring, breeding and managing wildlife back in the Shang Dynasty,” Niu said.

Through multidisciplinary research, the team has unveiled the origins and husbandry practices of the animals found in the sacrificial pits. “This further confirms the Shang Dynasty’s powerful resource control and logistics reach,” Niu added.

The existence of numerous animal sacrificial pits also reveals the extravaganza and complexity of the Shang royal families’ rituals, as well as the sophistication of the animal sacrificial system of the dynasty, according to Niu.

The excavation also uncovered large sacrificial pits containing human, elephant, and horse skeletons. Horses were the most numerous, and they were placed in each pit in even numbers. Some of the horse skulls had dents in the same place, suggesting they were subjected to the same sacrificial ritual. 

Established just north of the modern-day Anyang in the early 14th century B.C., the ancient city of Yin was the capital of the Shang dynasty, and the first stable dynastic capital in Chinese history. The presence of exotic animal species not native to the area in the royal tomb complex attests to the wide reach of Shang dynasty trade and its rulers wealth. The capital and dynasty were destroyed in 1046 B.C. by Ji Wa, founding king of the Zhou dynasty.

* This article was originally published here