Tomb of Fu Hao: An Undisturbed Shang Royal Burial
- Date
- c. 1250 BCE
- Category
- Culture, arts & philosophy
- Region
- North China (Anyang, Henan)
- Era
- Ancient Civilizations
- Significance
Excavated intact in 1976 at Yinxu (Anyang), the tomb of Fu Hao — a consort and military commander of King Wu Ding — is the only undisturbed royal burial of the Shang period yet found, and one of the most important archaeological discoveries for understanding Bronze Age China.
Its single shaft yielded an extraordinary assemblage: more than 400 bronze objects (including ritual vessels, weapons and bells totalling over 1.6 tonnes of bronze), some 750 jades, hundreds of bone artefacts, and nearly 7,000 cowrie shells, together with sixteen human sacrificial victims. Inscriptions naming Fu Hao on the ritual bronzes allowed archaeologists to identify the occupant and cross-reference her with oracle-bone records, which describe her leading military campaigns and conducting state sacrifices. The tomb illuminates Shang elite material culture, the scale of bronze production, the practice of human sacrifice, the use of cowries as proto-money, and — strikingly — the prominent public role a woman could hold in the Shang state.
One piece of history in your inbox, weekly
New empires, events and features as they land — one good email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Empires active in c. 1250 BCE
- New Kingdom of Egypt1550 BCE – 1077 BCE
- Shang Dynasty1600 BCE – 1046 BCE
- Hittite Empire1650 BCE – 1178 BCE
- Elamite Kingdom2700 BCE – 539 BCE
Related culture, arts & philosophy events
- Oracle-Bone Script: Earliest Attested Chinese Writingc. 1250 BCE
- Great Hypostyle Hall and temple-building at Karnakc. 1290–1213 BCE
- Merneptah Stele: earliest mention of 'Israel'c. 1208 BCE
- Olmec colossal heads carved at San Lorenzoc. 1200 BCE
- Compilation of the Zhouyi (Core of the I Ching)c. 9th century BCE
- Composition of the early Upanishadsc. 800–500 BCE
Further reading
The wider story
The Story of Art
The best-selling art history ever written, from cave paintings to the modern age.
Get it on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.