Abstract
The horse (Equus caballus) played a crucial role in shaping the political, economic, and cultural landscape of ancient China. During the Western Zhou period, horses were essential resources for the subsistence economy and military warfare, and were also key components of mortuary and sacrificial practices of the elites. The affiliation of chariot-horse pits and horse pits with mortuary contexts underscores the ritual significance ascribed to horses, making the study of chariot and horse burial a longstanding focus of archaeological interest. Previous research on Western Zhou chariot and horse burial has largely focused on the configurations of horses and chariots and their association with social status and hierarchy. However, there has been a lack of analysis of the horse skeletons themselves. Key questions, such as the sequence of chariot and horse interments and the criteria for selecting horses for chariot-horse pits, remain unexplored.
Drawing on the on-site extraction and analysis of horse remains from chariot-horse pit no. 2 (CMK2) at the Western Zhou period site of Yaoheyuan in present-day Pengyang County, Ningxia, this study seeks to reconstruct the sequence of chariot and horse interments and analyzes the biological characteristics of these horses. Alongside published zooarchaeological data, we also examine the selection criteria for horses used in chariot-horse pits and horse pits during the Western Zhou.
Yaoheyuan is the capital site of a Western Zhou feudal state recently discovered in northwestern China, representing the first discovery of its kind in the region. Located at the eastern periphery of the high-ranking burial area, CMK2 contained the largest number of chariots and horses among all excavated examples. A total of three disassembled chariots and a minimum of twenty-eight individual horses (excluding a fetus expelled post-mortem) were found. Detailed analyses of the stratigraphic relationships among the horse remains indicate that their placement was not random. Horses lying directly on the bottom in the western, southern, and eastern parts of the pit were the first to be interred. Subsequent layers of horses were buried on top of these in all directions, with the remaining concentrated in the northeastern corner. The horses exhibit no evidence of struggle, limb binding, or skeletal fractures. These observations strongly suggest that the horses were killed outside the pit and then buried by burial personnel using tools. The post-mortem fetal extrusion in a female horse further implies that the interment likely occurred in late spring or early summer.
Of the horses for which sex determination is possible, only one has been identified as female, while all others are male. The age range of the horses is relatively broad, characterized by a predominance of adult individuals alongside juvenile and aged horses, a demographic pattern potentially reflective of a small herd structure. The observed dental and skeletal abnormalities suggest that some of these horses were likely involved in transport to some extent. Overall, the horses selected for CMK2 were primarily adults in their prime age, at their peak working capacity, and of relatively tall stature. Further comparative analysis with contemporary horse pits indicates that the selection of horses for chariot-horse pits and horse pits during the Western Zhou, based on biological characteristics such as age and stature, was likely linked to the rank of the elite burials and associated sites.
The study of CMK2 at Yaoheyuan represents an important first step in understanding the interment practices associated with chariots and horses, while providing new insights into criteria for selecting horses for chariot-horse pits and horse pits during the Western Zhou period. It is hoped that this case study will broaden research perspectives and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the chariot and horse burial system in ancient China.
Keywords
Western Zhou; Yaoheyuan; chariot-horse pit; sequence of interments; horse selection
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