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this investigation of late Shang royal tombs of the Xibeigang cemetery takes a social interpretative archaeological perspective. Here, social-interpretative archaeology centres upon the reconstructive investigation of the intention and strategy adopted by those who conducted certain social practices (cf. Tilley 1994). Such intentions and strategies are ‘chosen’ from a repository of memories or customs that are preserved mostly in the form of ‘practical consciousness’ (i.e. internalised or embodied memories from which we decide how to handle certain social settings; see Giddens 1984: 41–45). To identify the archaeological evidence for such practical consciousness, we must situate the available evidence in the flow of time. The material traces of those past funerary occasions would have helped to preserve internalised memories, would have been referred to and would have been symbolically used in various manners and for various purposes in the practice (e.g. Mizoguchi 1993; Parker Pearson 1999: 193–97). At the Xibeigang cemetery, a ‘royal tomb’ is comprised of a rectangular main burial chamber with a sloping ramp attached to each of the four sides (Figures 1 & 2). Some tombs were built immediately in front of the designated ‘front’ of a pre-existing tomb (the ‘front’ being marked by the southern ramp in each case (strategy X). Those who participated in the funeral would have faced towards a specific pre-existing tomb, thereby effectively paying respect to both the person buried in that tomb and the person being buried (Figure 2). Interestingly, other tombs were constructed immediately behind the ‘rear’ of a pre-existing tomb. In those cases, the mourners turned their backs on the deceased, literally showing disrespect to the occupant (strategy Y), or putting themselves in the position of being respected by the deceased of the pre-existing tomb (strategy Y’ ) (Figure 2). Y and Y’ strategies have vastly different intentions behind them and we must, where possible, differentiate them from one another. In most cases, however, it may be difficult to specify which is which. There were also tombs located as if they were pairing with one another, although there must have been a gap between their construction. Here, it can be inferred that those who conducted the funeral at the later tomb intended to portray the person that they were burying as ‘equal’ to the person buried in the earlier grave (strategy Z) (Figure 2). Such strategic placement of the later tombs was made possible by the probable presence of an ancestral shrine. An ancestral shrine structure (F1) was excavated on the tomb of Fu-Hao   , and is assumed to be the ‘shrine of Mother Xin’—the posthumous name of Fu-Hao, recorded in oracle bone scripts (IA CASS 1980). Markers, such as low earthen platforms, probably also indicated the location of the main burial pit and the four ramps of the pre-existing tombs. Furthermore, as the edges of at least one of the ramps of a newly built tomb often overlap slightly with those of a pre-existing tomb (Figures 1 & 2), it is probable that the strategies were very carefully designed and pre-planned. It is, however, virtually impossible to prove whether it was the kings themselves who designed or planned such strategies prior to their death, or if it was those who conducted the funerary rituals. Through examination of the available evidence, we will attempt to verify this inferential hypothesis regarding the importance of ancestors and the cultic reproduction of kingly authority (Keightley 1999).

This study takes a social-interpretative archaeological perspective to investigate the late Shang royal tombs at the Xibeigang cemetery. The focus is on understanding the intentions and strategies behind the construction and siting of tombs, which would have been informed by practical consciousness or embodied memories of past funerary practices. The study identifies three key strategies: X, where a tomb is built in front of a pre-existing tomb to show respect to both the deceased and the person being buried; Y, where a tomb is built behind a pre-existing tomb to show disrespect to the deceased or to put the mourners in a position of being respected; and Z, where tombs are paired to portray the person being buried as equal to the person buried in the earlier grave. The study also suggests that such strategic placement of tombs would have been made possible by the presence of ancestral shrines and markers indicating the location of the main burial pit and ramps of pre-existing tombs. However, it is difficult to determine whether it was the kings or those who conducted funerary rituals that designed or planned these strategies, although the careful design and pre-planning suggest the involvement of both.