商代晚期气候变迁与祀井仪式发生——基于水井水位线的分析

Climate Changes and Sacrificial Rituals Worshiping Wells in Late Shang Dynasty——An Analysis Based upon Well Water Levels

殷墟水井水位线深度的历时性统计数据显示,从殷墟一期到殷墟四期水井水位线基本呈递增趋势,尤其在殷墟四期上升趋势较为明显,说明商代末期殷墟地区的降雨量相对较少,气候更为干旱。商人在殷墟三、四期开始在水井及其周围举行祀井仪式,祈求水井出水或是降雨,反映了商人在仪式信仰层面对环境变迁所做出的反应。

Diachronic statistics concerning water levels in wells dug during the time from the First Phase to the Fourth Phase of the Yin Ruins show that the well water level was increasingly retreating farther below the ground, particularly during the Fourth Phase, proving a decrease in precipitation and a drier climate in this region back at the end of Shang Dynasty. Sacrificial rituals held at and in the vicinity of wells, for more well water, or precipitation, in the Third Phase and the Fourth Phase, reflect how Shang people responded to environmental changes in term of their beliefs and sacrificial ceremonies.