Discovering a Lost Civilization in Gansu

In the rugged landscapes of Gansu province, where the Tao River and Bailong River carve through the arid highlands, archaeologists in the early 20th century uncovered traces of a forgotten Bronze Age culture. Named after the Siwa Mountain burial site near Lintao county, the Siwa Culture emerged as one of northwest China’s most intriguing archaeological discoveries.

The story begins in the 1920s when Swedish geologist Johan Gunnar Andersson, already famous for his work at Yangshao, conducted surveys in Gansu. He initially labeled these findings as the “Siwa Period,” recognizing their distinct characteristics. Two decades later, Chinese archaeologist Xia Nai excavated six Siwa Culture tombs in 1945, making crucial observations about the possible ethnic affiliations of these ancient people. Pei Wenzhong’s 1947 excavation of another tomb added to the growing body of knowledge.

Through the 1950s, archaeological surveys along the Tao River valley revealed numerous Siwa Culture cemeteries and settlement sites, establishing their core distribution area. The discovery of “Anguo-style pottery” in Pingliang’s Anguo town in 1958 pushed the known boundaries of this culture further east. By the 1970s, investigations extended to the Bailong River valley, with major excavations at Xujianian in Zhuanglang, Lanqiao in Xihe, and Jiuzhan in Heshui providing comprehensive understanding of the culture’s chronology, distribution, and material characteristics.

Three Windows into the Past: Key Archaeological Sites

### Siwa Mountain: The Type Site

The namesake Siwa Mountain cemetery represents the westernmost known Siwa Culture site. Early excavations here (predominantly pre-1949) revealed vertical earthen pit tombs containing three distinct burial practices: extended supine burials, disarticulated “bone-scattered” interments, and cremations. The pottery assemblage, mostly plain-surfaced vessels including jars, urns, li tripods, and ding-shaped vessels, established the cultural markers. The iconic saddle-mouthed jars became the culture’s signature artifact, alongside small bronze objects and stone tools.

### Xujianian: A Complete Funerary Landscape

Located 3.5 km northwest of Zhuanglang county, the Xujianian cemetery on a sloping terrain yielded 104 well-preserved Siwa Culture tombs in 1980. This excavation provided unprecedented insights into burial customs, with rich grave goods demonstrating social stratification. The site’s excellent preservation allowed archaeologists to reconstruct complete funerary rituals and material culture sequences.

### Jiuzhan: Daily Life Revealed

The easternmost major site at Jiuzhan village, Heshui county, uniquely contained both residential areas (16,000 m² beneath modern villages) and cemetery sections. After initial surveys in 1958 and 1978, the 1984 excavation uncovered 82 tombs and 75 m² of settlement remains. The stratified residential evidence allowed archaeologists to establish three chronological phases – a rarity in Siwa Culture studies that illuminated cultural development over time.

Material Culture: Artifacts of a Bronze Age Society

The Siwa people left behind a distinctive material record dominated by their characteristic pottery. Two ceramic types predominated: coarse sandy ware (with visible grit and pottery fragments) and finer clay ware, all fired at relatively low temperatures. The earthy color palette ranged from brown to orange-yellow, often with uneven firing.

Surface treatments remained mostly plain, though some vessels featured short appliqué strips, incised lines, or cord marks. Rare painted pottery used simple yellow and black designs. The vessel repertoire included:

– Distinctive li tripods (both segmented and continuous crotch types)
– Yan steamers
– Bowls and dou stemmed dishes
– Various jars (single-handled, double-necked with saddle mouths, flat-mouthed, shouldered, and belly-handled)
– Three-legged urns

The iconic saddle-mouthed jars with double neck handles became the culture’s most recognizable artifact. Stone and bone tools (knives, axes, arrowheads) accompanied bronze weapons (ge dagger-axes, arrowheads) in the technological assemblage.

At Jiuzhan, the sole residential area excavated revealed a 30 m² surface-level building (F1) with postholes (15-26 cm diameter) and a rectangular hearth (66×90 cm). Storage pits reached 1.8 m diameter and 1.7 m depth, suggesting substantial food storage capacity.

Burial Customs: Windows into Siwa Beliefs

Siwa mortuary practices show remarkable diversity. Most tombs were small rectangular earthen pits, occasionally with side chambers. Many featured ledges (of either undisturbed or packed earth) and niche-like recesses at the head and foot. Burial containers typically consisted of single wooden coffins, with rare examples of inner-outer coffin combinations.

Three burial styles coexisted:
1. Extended supine inhumations
2. Disarticulated “scattered bone” interments
3. Partial body part burials suggesting possible ritual dismemberment

While most graves contained single occupants, some held multiple individuals. Grave goods ranged from 1-2 pottery vessels in modest burials to dozens in wealthier tombs. A few contained animal bones, likely ritual offerings, and rare instances of human sacrifice (usually one victim per tomb).

Regional variations emerged in burial assemblages. Western sites like Siwa Mountain produced squat, basin-like jars resembling Xindian Culture types, while eastern sites (Xujianian, Jiuzhan) favored taller, slender forms. Xujianian’s double-saddle-mouthed jars and gui-style dou dishes contrasted with Jiuzhan’s single-saddle-mouthed vessels and shallow-bowled dou.

Cultural Connections and Chronology

The Siwa Culture didn’t exist in isolation. Strong Zhou cultural influences appear in continuous-crotch li tripods, yan steamers, and shouldered jars. Bronze ge dagger-axes from Xujianian match types from Zhou centers in the Wei River valley and Shu culture sites in southern Shaanxi.

Dating evidence from Jiuzhan proved revolutionary. Stratigraphy showing Siwa and Zhou artifacts in contemporaneous layers, plus radiocarbon dates (3050±120 BC, uncalibrated), established that:
– Phase I corresponded to early Western Zhou (possibly late Shang)
– Phase II matched late Western Zhou

This confirmed the Siwa Culture flourished alongside the Western Zhou dynasty (1046-771 BC), not sequentially as previously thought. The 1970s discovery of Siwa-style saddle-mouthed jars in a Western Zhou tomb at Baoji’s Zhuyuangou corroborated this revised chronology.

The People Behind the Pots: Ethnic Identity

Since Xia Nai’s 1940s proposal, most scholars identify the Siwa people as Qiang or a related group. These semi-nomadic pastoralists inhabited China’s northwestern frontiers, frequently appearing in Shang and Zhou oracle bone inscriptions as both adversaries and allies. The Siwa Culture’s location in the Tao River-Bailong River corridor, combined with its mixed agricultural-pastoral economy and distinctive burial customs, aligns well with historical descriptions of Qiang groups.

The culture’s material connections with both Zhou centers and Sichuan basin cultures suggest they occupied a crucial intermediary position in Bronze Age exchange networks. Their ability to maintain cultural distinctiveness while absorbing outside influences speaks to resilient social organization.

Legacy and Ongoing Mysteries

Today, the Siwa Culture represents a vital piece of northwest China’s ancient cultural mosaic. Its investigation continues to reshape our understanding of:
– Early interactions between Zhou civilization and frontier groups
– The development of bronze technology beyond the Central Plains
– Diverse mortuary practices in prehistoric China

Ongoing research focuses on clarifying regional variations within the culture and its precise relationships with neighboring groups. Each new excavation – whether in the Tao River valley or newly identified eastern extensions – adds pieces to this archaeological puzzle. The Siwa people’s legacy endures not only in museum cases displaying their distinctive saddle-mouthed jars, but in our evolving comprehension of China’s multidimensional Bronze Age world.