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Situated southeast of the Chuwangcheng (City of the Chu kings) site, Zhengjiahu cemetery is a significant burial ground occupied throughout the Warring States and Qin-Han periods. Excavation in Area C was conducted in 2021. During the excavation, two noteworthy Qin culture tombs were uncovered—tombs M274 and M234. These tombs yielded a wooden gu-rod with extensive text and painted burial containers. The wooden gu-rod, remarkable in its form and abundant in content, is important for the study of the social history and ideology of the late Warring States period. Additionally, the discovery of painted burial containers bridges a gap in our current understanding of Qin and Han painting media and genres. These artifacts offer indispensable data for researching burial customs and rituals, along with the religious thought of the Qin migrants from Guanzhong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology excavated at the site of Sunjiagang during 2016–2018 after 33 earthen pit tombs were uncovered in 1991. It yielded 192 pit tombs and one urn burial along with a number of pottery vessels and jade artifacts. The whole cemetery was laid out with a clear pattern of spatial arrangement, organized in an orderly style. A unique burial practice prevailed in the cemetery, for which the deceased was laid upon a layer of grave goods. According to the typology of unearthed pottery vessels and jade artifacts, the cemetery at the Sunjiagang site dates sometime from 2200 to 1800 BCE. It represents a new local variant of the Xiaojiawuji culture, and thus can be named the Sunjiagang type culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Zaoshulin cemetery includes five large tombs with an entry ramp leading to a central chamber on one side, 19 medium tombs, and 62 small tombs. According to the inscriptions on the bronze vessels, the layout of the tombs, and the grave assemblages, this cemetery was the burial place for the high-ranking noblemen of the Zeng state. Three hierarchies of tombs from large to small in size correspond to the social ranks of marquises, high-ranking noblemen, and low-ranking noblemen. Amongst these tombs, the occupants of five large burials in three groups are identified as Lord Qiu of Zeng and his wife Yu, Marquis Bao of Zeng and his wife Mi Jia, and Marquis De of Zeng. The Zaoshulin cemetery, along with the sites and cemeteries at Yejiashan, Wenfengta, Guojiamiao, Sujialong, presents a clear and complete archaeological sequence of the culture of Zeng. It also establishes a reference point for Bronze Age archaeological culture in South China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]