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Earthen platforms uncovered at a site in eastern China are believed to reflect efforts by early states to use ritual events as a way to unify their expanding territories.
The three large platforms were discovered during excavations of the site of Qianzhongzitou in Gaomi, Shandong province, which began life as a small farming village c.3,100-2,600 BC before later developing into a local ritual centre. The earliest of the platforms dates to the Western Zhou period (c.1046-771 BC), while the other two were constructed during the Warring States period (c.475-221 BC).
The platforms differ in shape: the Western Zhou period construction is trapezoidal, while those from the early and middle Warring States periods are rectangular and circular respectively. However, all were meticulously constructed, with soils of different colours selected deliberately and carefully compacted through ramming. There are no signs of walls or roofs, nor any evidence of post-holes or other construction features, leading researchers to conclude confidently that these were open spaces specifically designed for ritual gatherings. Similar examples have been found elsewhere in the region. Extensive food waste was discovered associated with the platforms at Qianzhongzitou, including marine remains such as oyster and clam shells, and various animal bones, as well as cooking vessels – among them, one exceptionally large zeng steamer basket, measuring 1.2m in diameter and 0.9m tall – and finely crafted serving ware. All of these discoveries point to large-scale public feasting, probably including people of high status.
The findings indicate that these platforms were built by political entities from west of Qianzhongzitou on their expansion into the area: the first by the Western Zhou state who arrived here in the 11th century BC, and the later two by the Qi state who brought the region under their control in the Warring State period. It is therefore believed that the primary purpose of these constructions was to create a sacred space for the worship of local deities, where public ceremonies and feasts could take place. In this way, these political entities used spiritual beliefs and rituals as a means to bring the population together, cultivate a shared sense of identity, and assimilate new territories into their expanding states. The political unification of China is commonly credited to the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, in 221 BC, but the platforms at Qianzhongzitou show that the use of shared beliefs and communal ritual events to consolidate collective cultural identities began much earlier than this, and perhaps even sowed the seeds for the later unification of wider areas.
The research has been published in Antiquity (https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.10156).
Text: Amy Brunskill / Images: the authors
