Negotiated afterlives: Emulation, Display, and Localized Decision-Making in Eastern Zhou Tomb Construction in the Xiang-Yi Plain

This paper focuses on the interpretation of mortuary architecture from several Eastern Zhou period cemeteries in the Xiang-Yi plain region of northern Hubei, which is located along the banks of the Han River. It demonstrates that identifying patterns in tomb construction and mortuary space usage across several large cemeteries in a single locality has the potential to yield nuanced interpretations of this important region's experience of social and political changes during the Spring and Autumn into the Warring States periods and especially leading up to the and through imperial unification under the Qin. Especially highlighted in this paper are the decision-making processes and desires for emulation, display, and cultural negotiation involved in the construction of the tomb shafts and coffins and in the placement of grave goods within burials. More broadly, this paper engages with regional history in early China studies, quantitative methods in Chinese archaeology, and chaîne-opératoire approaches to archaeological interpretation.