| Abstract: |
Based on the analysis of burial patterns found at several archaeological sites in the Yellow River valley, this study demonstrates the existence of various forms of ritual practice directed towards ancestors during the Neolithic period. Different ritual behavior revealed in the data clearly indicate the development of the ancestral cult in three respects: (1) the ancestors venerated shifted from collective groups to exclusinve individuals with high social status
(2) the worshippers who performed the rituals changed from large social organizations at the community level (probably represented by multilineage groups) to small social groups at the lineage or family level
and (3) social beneficiaries of the ritual changed from the entire community to selected social sectors of the whole, mainly lineages or families with high social status. ancestor worship in ancient China, therefore, can be characterized by two basic forms, "group ancestor worship," with a number of variations within the two. The former form may have associated with and egalitarian social organization, and the latter seems to have deeply influenced the religious and political systems of the Shang dynasty.
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