The wood used for funeral utensil in ancient tomb is a kind of valuable materials and important for understanding vegetation, climate and society conditions in the history. Here, we identified the tree species and dated the time of wooden utensils for funeral excavated from tombs in Shuijia Village, Shenyang, using wood anatomy methods and dendrochronological techniques. The results showed that 7 out of the 16 wood samples were identified as Pinus tabuliformis from Pinaceae, 8 were Larix sp. from Pinaceae and most likely Larix olgensis, and the rest one was Acer sp. from Aceraceae. Currently, these tree species are still widely distributed in Liaoning Province, indicating that forest structure (tree species composition) is relatively stable and that the climate at that time was quite similar to that at present. The timbers used for wooden utensils of funeral for civilian tombs had regional biogeographic characteristics and reflected regional social productivity development level in Mukden (now Shenyang) in Qing Dynasty: most of them were native tree species with low cost and high availability; the main timber trees were conifer species, and a few of them were broadleaved trees. These timbers were likely from the forest in Shenyang or mountainous areas in Eastern Liaoning, with Hunhe River waterway being an important transport way for timbers to Shenyang. Some P. tabuliformis and Larix sp. timbers could be cross-dated well, and the growth period of the trees was determined to be 1680s-1770s (early to mid-Qing Dynasty). The variations of tree-ring width of these timbers had good consistency and high climate sensitivity, reflecting the consistency of regional climate and environment. These timbers have the potential to indicate the climate condition of the early to mid-Qing Dynasty.
古墓葬器所用木材是我们了解当时植被、气候以及社会状况的重要材料。本文利用木材解剖学和树木年代学方法,对沈阳浑南水家村墓葬群出土的木质葬具进行树种识别与树木年轮定年研究。结果表明: 16个木质葬具样本中有7个为松科松属油松木材,有8个为松科落叶松属木材,很可能为长白落叶松,有1个为槭树科槭树属木材。这些树种至今在辽宁地区仍广泛分布,说明该地区森林结构(树种组成)相对稳定,在一定程度上反映了当时气候与现在相似。也表明清代盛京(今沈阳)地区平民墓葬木质葬具所用木材存在区域性的植物地理特征,并反映出当时的生产力发展水平,即均是低成本、易获得的乡土树种,且这些木材以针叶树为主,也有少量阔叶树。这些木材很可能来源于沈阳当地或辽东山区森林,浑河水道是木材运至沈阳的重要途径。部分油松和落叶松葬具木材可以较好地交叉定年,确定树木生长年代在1680s—1770s(清朝早期至中期)。这些样本的年轮宽度变化具有较好的一致性和较高的气候敏感度,反映出区域气候环境的一致性。这些木质葬具对清朝早期至中期的气候条件具有一定的指示潜力。.
Keywords: cross-dating; dendrochronological method; wood identification.