Ancient Chinese Tombs Reveal Shocking Secrets: Puppies Sacrificed to Replace Humans in Rituals
Pigs and dogs were among the animals that were usually used for religious sacrifice. Over time, perhaps because of increasing trade between China and western Eurasia, livestock like sheep, goats, and cattle become more popular.
Archaeologists Roderick Campbell and Zhipeng Li scoured old archeological data from past excavations in China and discovered that most of the dogs that had been sacrificed and buried were just pups at the time of their deaths. The discovery dispels the previously held belief that the sacrificed dogs were beloved pets that had been buried with their owners.
Furthermore, the young age of the canine victims suggests that dogs may have even been bred specifically for sacrificial use.
“Why would you sacrifice a cute little puppy?” muses Campbell, an archaeologist at New York University’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World.
“On the other hand, if it’s not your puppy and if you’re living in a society where you don’t have the same assumptions of dogs and cuteness… it’s a cheaper investment in the animal. You don’t have to raise it yourself.”
The study, which was published in the journal Archaeological Research in Asia, conducted an analysis of the animal bones found in human tombs. They found that 73 percent of the buried puppies were less than a year old when they died, while 37 percent were not even 6 months old. Only 8 percent had an adult-like skeleton. If the dogs were pets, Campbell notes, they would have been of all ages.
The archaeologists examined about 2,000 gravesites in Xiaomintun, under the modern city of Anyang. About one-third of the sites contained the remains of dogs. The findings raise some potential theories how and why the Shang Dynasty sacrificed animals.
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