Does size matter? Analyse van het grafritueel uit de Xiongnu-periode (200 BC – 200 AD)  in Mongolië en Rusland

From the second century BC and the second century AD the Xiongnu lived in the region that is now modern Mongolia, Southern Russia and North China. They were a powerful entity that was North of the Han empire. The written sources from the Han dynasty show us that the Xiongnu tribe was hierarchically ordered, with the chanyu at the top. The status of the chanyu was hereditary. This made the Xiongnu empire the first and most stable steppe empire that has ever existed. In the graveyards from the Xiongnu there are tombs of several sizes and types. I’ve investigated these differences through by focussing on square tomb and one circular tomb in four case studies with a model to get insight into the spaces were grave goods and animal sacrifices are deposited. In these case studies I explored the similarities and differences between these tombs, that vary in their size. By comparing these tombs I hoped to get insight in the mortuary ritual. I’ve compared the tombs through their size,...Show moreFrom the second century BC and the second century AD the Xiongnu lived in the region that is now modern Mongolia, Southern Russia and North China. They were a powerful entity that was North of the Han empire. The written sources from the Han dynasty show us that the Xiongnu tribe was hierarchically ordered, with the chanyu at the top. The status of the chanyu was hereditary. This made the Xiongnu empire the first and most stable steppe empire that has ever existed. In the graveyards from the Xiongnu there are tombs of several sizes and types. I’ve investigated these differences through by focussing on square tomb and one circular tomb in four case studies with a model to get insight into the spaces were grave goods and animal sacrifices are deposited. In these case studies I explored the similarities and differences between these tombs, that vary in their size. By comparing these tombs I hoped to get insight in the mortuary ritual. I’ve compared the tombs through their size, artefact assemblage and offers that are placed in spaces in the tomb. To get an answer to the assumption that tomb size is a indication for the status of the buried person and if there are other markers that can point to a higher status in society. In the historical sources there are several accounts that a carriage and loads of other items were given to the chanyu and his family by the Han emperor. This indicates that tombs with carriages inside might be attributed to the highest members of society. The results of this study show that the largest tombs have some features that are absent in smaller tombs. These features are a carriage from the Han and animal sacrifices that are placed in a different place than the other tombs. The larger tombs also seem to have more animal sacrifices compared to the smaller ones. Therefore there are more indications for a high status than just the size of the tomb.Show less

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Does size matter? Analyse van het grafritueel uit de Xiongnu-periode (200 BC – 200 AD) in Mongolië en Rusland