Social structure and political order as reflected in the Maoqinggou burials: a few preliminary remarks
The funerary site of Maoqinggou provides some interesting insight into social structures and the political order in Inner Mongolia during the Eastern Zhou period. According to the burial objects in the 79 graves dating from the 8th to the 3rd century BC, there seem to have been few social differences linked to gender or age. The significant inequalities in the distribution of grave goods, for instance animal heads, belt plaques, beads, ornaments, pottery vessels, and weapons, might therefore be due to other factors, such as family, wealth or personal authority. Further excavations and comparative studies are necessary in order to gain a more profound understanding of social structures in the Ordos area during the Iron Age.
