Displacement, Trauma, and Becoming among Shang Communities during the Western Zhou Period (ca. 1046-771 BCE)
Abstract: At the height of its prosperity, the Late Shang state (ca. 1250-1046 BCE) existed as one of the preeminent powers in the ancient world. The sprawling Shang capital at Anyang rivaled other contemporaneous centers in the world both in population and urban development. With the fall of the Late Shang state following a series of conquests by the Zhou and their coalition of highland allies, the Shang people at Anyang and affiliated settlements dispersed widely throughout the Western Zhou (ca. 1046-771 BCE) world. Displaced to new locales with their own complex histories, the Shang people were confronted with the reality of navigating new worlds while simultaneously dealing with the fall of their own. While archaeologists have long recognized the material evidence for the Shang people in Western Zhou spaces, there remains much unknown regarding the complex social processes involved in the displacement of the Shang. This talk explores the lifeways of the Shang people in the aftermath of the Zhou conquests…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Denny Hall (DEN). Campus room: 313. Accessibility Contact: pjgibbs@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, May 16, 2025, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM.