China discovers 3,000-year-old royal zoo – History

A large number of wild animal remains were unearthed from the sacrificial pits in the Yin Xu Wang Tomb District in Anyang, Henan. Artifacts found in the tombs suggest the animals were bred in captivity rather than hunted. It is the earliest known collection of captive animals in China, predating the previously recognized earliest specimens found in the tombs of Qin and Han dynasty rulers by a thousand years.

The excavations revealed 19 small and medium-sized pits containing bones of different animals, including: short-horned domestic buffalo, deer, roe deer, wolf, leopard, fox, antelope, wild boar, porcupine, swan, crane, goose, hawthorn and eagle. The discovery of bronze bells worn around the necks of some of the animals suggests that at least some of the animals were kept in captivity and may have been raised in captivity rather than hunted for sacrifice. 29 bells were found in 13 of the 19 pits.

Niu Shishan, the leader of the excavation project and a researcher at the institute, saw a complex system at work. “The presence of such a large number of wild animals and the standardized handling of these animals indicates that a well-established network of wild animal acquisition, breeding and management has been established as early as the Shang Dynasty,” Niu said.

Through multidisciplinary research, the team revealed the origins and rearing methods of the animals found in the sacrificial pits. “This further confirms the Shang Dynasty’s strong resource control and logistical scope,” Niu added.

Niu believes that the existence of numerous animal sacrifice pits also reveals the splendor and complexity of royal rituals in the Shang Dynasty, as well as the complexity of the animal sacrifice system of the dynasty.

Excavations also uncovered large sacrificial pits containing human, elephant and horse skeletons. The number of horses is the largest, with an even number of horses placed in each pit. Some horse skulls have indentations in the same location, suggesting they underwent the same sacrificial rituals.

The ancient city of Yin was established north of modern Anyang in the early 14th century BC. It 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 region in the royal tomb complex attests to the extensive scope of Shang trade and the wealth of its rulers. In 1046 BC, Jiwa, the founder of the Zhou Dynasty, destroyed the capital and dynasty.