■Shimao Imperial bet365 sports Terrace distant view Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology/Photo provided

The Hetao area is located on the edge of northern China，Long considered a dry and barren land，The degree of civilization is relatively low。In recent years，With the discovery of super-large central settlements represented by the Shimao site，Academic circles are gradually realizing that the Hetao area is not only a strong cultural group bet365 sports early civilization of East Asia，It is an important part of the formation of Chinese civilization。However, due to the limited work carried out，The civilization process of the Hetao area is still unclear，Various "Shimao Questions" emerged bet365 sports academic world。What deserves attention，A large number of special remains related to religious sacrifices were unearthed bet365 sports Hetao area，bet365 sports context that settlement archeology has not yet been fully developed，This type of remains provides important clues for understanding the civilization process bet365 sports Hetao area。

　　Early Longshan Period: The emergence of bet365 sports remains

Early Longshan Period，Religious sacrificial remains appear bet365 sports Hetao area for the first time。Baotou Ashan bet365 sports southern foothills of Yinshan Mountain、Shenmujia、Altar-type relics are commonly found in stone city settlements such as Heimaban and Weijun。These ruins are located on higher hills or artificially paved platforms，The surrounding terrain is wide，Far away from residential areas。There are two types of ruins: mound stone circle altar and simple stone circle altar，All are distributed in a combined row。This type of ruins is completely different from residential and burial architectural forms，With the modern Mongolian people、The Aobao used for sacrifice by the Daur and Tibetans are very similar，Academic circles generally believe that，This type of remains is related to religious sacrificial activities。

In addition，Zhungar Village Tower bet365 sports Yellow River area of ​​Nanliu River、Shipupo Mountain in Jiaxian County、Divination bones are commonly found in stone city settlements such as Hengshan Wayao Quzhaishan and Wubaoguan Hugeda，The whole system is processed from animal shoulder blades，There are several circular burn marks on the front of the bone fan。The use of animal shoulder blades for divination was a popular religious sacrificial practice in China during the pre-Qin period，The diviner burns the selected animal bones、Drilling and chiseling，Then judge the good or bad fortune based on the appearance of burn marks and cracks。

The origin of divination bones is still controversial，Fujiamen, Wushan, Gansu、Both the so-called divination bones from the late Yangshao period have been found at the Fuhegoumen site in Balingzuo Banner, Chifeng and the Xiawanggang site in Xichuan, Henan Province，But the quantity found is very limited，The distribution area is very scattered，The late divination bones discovered are all from the late Longshan period，The span of time is very large，Therefore it is difficult to determine whether the divination bones originated bet365 sports late Yangshao period。The early Longshan period divination bones are only found bet365 sports south-flowing Yellow River area，Not only widely distributed，And it also has a clear inheritance continuity bet365 sports late Longshan period，Therefore, the origin of the Divination Bones is likely to be closely related to the Hetao area。

Since religious sacrificial remains are commonly found bet365 sports Hetao area，The function is an unavoidable problem。Early Longshan Period，bet365 sports context of “population-resource” pressure，Shicheng settlements were generally born bet365 sports Hetao area，Conflicts between different regions are also common。Different from ordinary settlements，Construction of Stone City Settlement、Maintenance and use require more strength within the settlement group，The relationship between clan organizations has been significantly weakened bet365 sports Hetao area，Large venues for public gatherings are generally disappearing，New social organizations and social orders tend to be formed。Affected by the weakening of clan organization relations，The independence between extended families and families is significantly strengthened，Social differentiation is gradually forming，Religious sacrificial rituals have also become an effective way for some large families and families to unite internally and externally。Visible from existing materials，Altars are commonly built bet365 sports southern foothills of Yinshan Mountain，Bone divination is generally popular bet365 sports Yellow River area of ​​Nanliu River，There may be two different religious sacrificial "experiments" in building a new social order bet365 sports Hetao area。

　　Late Longshan Period: The development of bet365 sports remains

Late Longshan Period，With the cultural and hierarchical integration of Shimao culture within the Hetao area，The Hetao area has also ushered bet365 sports highest peak of social development。The bone divination that was popular bet365 sports Nanliu Yellow River area bet365 sports early Longshan period has spread to the entire Hetao area at this stage，Not only found bet365 sports Stone City settlement，In Shenmu Xinhua、Xinzhou Tour Invitation、Also often found in ordinary settlements such as Dingxiang Qingshi，It shows that religious sacrificial rituals represented by bone divination have become an effective way to maintain relationships within settlements and highlight identity hierarchies bet365 sports Hetao area。Sacrificial methods represented by "altars" still appeared bet365 sports Daihai area bet365 sports late and early Longshan period，But the influence of Diugu Gu gradually weakened and coexisted，And generally disappeared bet365 sports late Longshan period。To this point，The religious connotation and religious model bet365 sports Hetao area are gradually becoming consistent。

At the same time that bone divination is popular in ordinary settlements，Large and super-large settlements present completely different religious sacrificial rituals。The Shimao site unearthed is very rich in remains related to religious and sacrificial activities。Waierngcheng at the east gate of the outer city of Shimao site、6 remains of human skulls were found under the walls such as piers and horse faces，Most of the deceased are young women，Obvious signs of burning and chopping were found on some skulls，Religious sacrificial acts that should be carried out for the construction of city walls。Sun Zhouyong thinks it may be related to the record in "Historical Records" of Qin Degong's "Zeng Gou Yi Four Gates"，The function of "kill with control Gu" is similar。Collapse and accumulation of part of the stone walls at the east gate of the outer city and the imperial city platform gate of the Shimao site, or a large number of jade articles were found embedded bet365 sports outer edges of the walls，Jade types include jade shovels、Yuhuang、Yazhang, etc.。These jade articles, considered high-end luxury goods in other cultural areas, are intentionally embedded bet365 sports stone walls，Given new religious connotation by the ancestors of Shimao，Ye Shuxian believes that it may be related to the "Yumen Yaotai" recorded bet365 sports literature。

A large number of stone carvings were unearthed from the southern slope protection of the Imperial City of Taipei bet365 sports Shimao site，Stone sculpture shape、Very rich in patterns and techniques。Although different types of stone sculptures have different usage scenarios，But they are usually located on the majestic Imperial City Taipei University，For people to look up and worship，Reflects the spiritual sustenance of Shimao ancestors for the location of Huangcheng Terrace，Not only increases the mystery of the location of Huangcheng Terrace，It also highlights the religious authority of Shimao’s upper class。More than 100 pieces of divination bones were also found bet365 sports collapsed pile at the upper part of the northern end of the Taitung retaining wall of the Imperial City at the Shimao site，The bones are distributed bet365 sports same position，Reflects signs of concentrated processing after the divination is over，It also implies that there should be a centralized divination location on the top of the Imperial City Platform。In addition，A considerable number of mouth springs were also found on the top of the Imperial City Platform，Judging from pre-Qin literature records and ethnological data，Kouhuang is responsible for worshiping ancestors of ghosts and gods、Features such as entertainment and love expression，The mysterious melody with a sense of ritual may have been given to communicate with humans and gods、The function of worshiping ancestors。

Overall view，The upper class society in Shimao has made various attempts to build beliefs or communicate with humans and gods，The remains of religious sacrifices can be divided into two forms: one is the "hiding jade on the wall" and "human head sacrifice" ceremonies held during the construction bet365 sports city；One is a public ceremony held on the top bet365 sports Imperial City Terrace，Including regular viewing and worship of stone sculptures，Also includes divination rituals and oral reed performances held at special times。

The Houchengzui site is located bet365 sports gap bet365 sports stone wall of the Wengcheng city wall、Jade knives were found at the bottom of collapsed piles and trenches、Special jade articles such as jade rings，Shows similar religious connotations to the Shimao site，But it is not clear how many forms of religious sacrificial remains there are。Overall，Compared to ordinary settlements，Large and very large settlements have mastered more diversified sacrificial methods。These rituals dominate the spiritual world of the ancestors of Hetao in an "authoritative" way，To achieve the legitimacy of maintaining real social organization and political hierarchy、The purpose of sanctity，It has not only become an effective means for rulers at different levels to unite people and maintain social order，It also makes large and very large settlements the most important political and religious center bet365 sports Hetao area。

It’s worth noting，Most bet365 sports sacrificial methods or elements of Shimao Culture were inherited by the subsequent three generations of civilization。Divination has become a common way for three generations of royal families or noble groups to “communicate between humans and gods” and predict good and bad luck。Although the stone sculptures were not directly inherited by future generations，But the composition bet365 sports stone carving patterns and the divine face pattern、Content elements such as animal mask patterns were basically inherited by later bronze ritual vessels，Become an effective way for witches and wizards to communicate with the gods during the sacrifice process。The construction of sacrificial etiquette order by three generations of civilization，It should be based on the religious sacrificial tradition bet365 sports Hetao area，The Hetao area also provides important information for exploring the complexity bet365 sports three generations of civilized society。

The formation mechanism of the origin of early civilizations and countries is a question that is diligently discussed by academic circles，Religion is one of the most important dynamic mechanisms。bet365 sports process of developing towards civilization bet365 sports Hetao area，Religious sacrifices have always played a role in uniting people's hearts and maintaining social order，Theocratic power and secular power are closely combined，Promoted the Hetao area to complete the hierarchical integration from between settlement groups to between regions，Then moving towards the journey of early states。Civilized development is a common feature of the evolution of human society，But due to the environmental background、Resource conditions、Production method、There are differences in factors such as consciousness, cultural traditions, etc.，The civilization process and manifestations are different in different regions，The religious sacrificial factors reflected bet365 sports civilization process of the Hetao area，Provides an important "Hetao case" for exploring the origins of Chinese civilization and country。

　　(Author’s unit: College of Liberal Arts, Shaanxi Normal bet365 sports；School of History, Anhui bet365 sports)