Centers of power and ritual: discussing the archaeological remains from two large Zhangzhung-Period Settlements on the Tibetan Plateau

Summary

The two large settlement sites of Ka’erdong and Zebang which were radiocarbon-dated to 3000-1500 BP probably belong to the former Zhangzhung Kingdom (1500 BC – AD 645). These two sites are unusually large, covering an area of 130,000 m2 and 500,000 m2 respectively. Both sites have large cemeteries, residential areas, ritually-used spaces, and defensive structures. The largest structure observed is a large stone-mound tomb with a diameter of 60 m and a height of 6 m that can be attributed to a "king" or some other high-ranking individual. At some distance, there was an altar with stone pillars associated with a bronze statue that probably depicted a god; furthermore, one of the graves located in the vicinity of the altar contained a gold mask. Based on this evidence and the particularities of the object assemblages in graves and settlement layers, this paper argues that these are the remains of a stable society with a centralized power even though part of the manufacturing economy showing many characteristics of a self-regulating tribal system. The presence of the ritual installations and depictions associated both with altars and special graves indicate that this are was a regional center of worldly and religious power.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Recent Advances in the Settlement and Landscape Archaeology of (South)west China and Southeast Asia Part II: The Micro Perspective of Internal Settlement Organization and Object Production

Keywords

Spatial Coverage