The Working Body: Activity Patterns and their Implications for Labour Organization During the Shang Dynasty, China

My project will be examining the differences of activity patterns between the Middle and Late Shang dynasty. I will accomplish this by examining the degrees of expression on bones that are caused through the movement of activity. I will be using four collections from the Bronze Age cities of Huanbei (Middle Shang dynasty, ca. 1350-1250 B.C.) and Yinxu (Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1200-1046 B.C.), located in the modern day city of Anyang, China. Each collection represents a neighbourhood within the city that had an associated specialized workshop, i.e. bronze, pottery, bone workshop. The expectation is that the individual’s bones will modify and reflect the labour intensity and/or specialization of activities they engage in. These modifications can reveal patterns of activity based on division of labour via age, sex and neighbourhood, and whether these patterns change over time. This project aims to understand the organization of activities among the non-royal population to better comprehend their daily lives.

Faculty Supervisor:

Zhichun Jing

Student:

Partner:

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Education

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program: