Master Archaeologist

Chapter 159 What a Miserable Musician
In fact, archaeologists are all professionally trained.

If you see human bones or something, you will definitely not be afraid.

But the premise is to be mentally prepared.

After a brief inspection of the east ear chamber, everyone thought that no one was martyred in this ear chamber.

Because there is no trace of any coffin at all, not even the wood traces left after decay.

Naturally, everyone was also very relaxed, and didn't think they would find anything like human bones.

In such a relaxed mood, the timid Zhuang Yunpeng accidentally pulled out a human bone.

Moreover, it was still half of the skull with eye sockets, so the sudden fright still gave him a shock.

His voice immediately attracted the attention of others.

Chen Han and Lin Ya quickly surrounded them and looked at the ground in front of Zhuang Yunpeng.

Actually nothing special.

It's just a gray-white skull, plus a little bit of limb bones.

The skull is still very broken, only the forehead, half of the eye socket, and half of the cheek, and the position is just facing everyone.

At first glance, it seemed that a half-skeleton face was staring at him.

It was a little bit scary indeed.

"Senior Brother Zhuang, you really need to practice your courage."

"When I was at the Lajia ruins last year, I didn't see how afraid you were of human bones?"

Chen Han patted Zhuang Yunpeng's shoulder dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.

Having calmed down, Zhuang Yunpeng, who was extremely ashamed by his behavior just now, also blushed and said: "Isn't it a sudden sight, and I'm not used to it!"

"Although we are doing archaeological work, there are not many opportunities to see human bones and corpses!"

"Mr. Sui last time, I had nightmares for several nights in a row before I got used to it."

"This surviving human bone can't be compared with Mr. Sui." Chen Han shrugged, not agreeing.

He didn't think there was anything scary about these human bones and ancient corpses.

Squatting down, Chen Han picked up a limb bone with great interest, turned around, looked at it and said: "The calcium loss is a bit serious."

"The skeleton has also decayed, and there are only a few remaining bones left."

"But it's better than the three martyrs outside, at least we can keep some."

Looking up and looking around again, some jade huang, jade ring, jade pendant, and bronze mirror that had been cleaned up by Zhuang Yunpeng also came into view.

These jade products are small in shape and have rough and simple decorations, which are not much better than the jade products of the Neolithic Age.

It should not be the funerary object belonging to the owner of the tomb, but the object worn by the martyr.

It's just that his body and even his bones are rotten, so these accessories are scattered around.

Standing up, Chen Han looked at the position of the martyr, and probably guessed the identity of the martyr.

"This martyr should have been a percussion and music performer during his lifetime. Zhao Hu wants to take him underground and continue to play music for him."

Modern people sometimes make some good-natured jokes when some famous people die.

For example, "God likes to play basketball, so he recruited Kobe."

"God said there should be physics, so Sir Newton went to heaven."

These words, for modern people, are a joke.

But for the ancients, it was the real situation.

In the era when the sacrificial burial system existed, whether it was the West or the East, the people who were buried were basically skilled.

In other words, the owner of the tomb needs them.

Musicians, samurai, coachmen, cooks...

It was all because the deceased nobles needed these people to continue to serve after their death, so they were "taken" away together.

As for why Chen Han felt that this martyr was a musician.

Just look at his position.

The position where his body is located is right in front of the chimes and chimes.

As we all know, when playing this kind of music, the musician needs to stand in front of the instrument and beat rhythmically with a "stick" to play the music.

Combined with the funerary objects in the east ear room, they are basically banquet utensils, either musical instruments for the banquet, or wine vessels and containers used for the banquet.

Obviously, the martyr buried here can only be a musician who is in charge of playing musical instruments.

In modern times, singers and musicians are a very high-end profession.

But in ancient times, kabuki and musicians had a slightly higher status than slaves, and they could only be regarded as servants.

Being buried or something is very common.

"The treatment of this martyr is worse than that of the three outside. He didn't even give him a coffin."

Touching his chin, Chen Han felt a little strange.

No trace of a coffin was found in the room, which indicates that the martyrs may have been placed directly on the floor after death.

Not even a pair of coffins and tombs is given. Compared with the warriors, coachmen, and eunuchs at the door, the difference between this treatment is a bit big.

But after thinking about it carefully, Chen Han could understand.

What are the identities of the three people at the door?

Although the "Jingxiang Ling" is a position held by an eunuch, and he is the monarch's domestic slave, he is still an official!
Coachman, from the Warring States period to the Western Han Dynasty, has always been a high-status position, not a servant.

Speaking earlier, during the Spring and Autumn Period, those who could drive the monarch had to be high-ranking nobles. Ordinary slaves, savages, and Chinese were not qualified to drive the monarch.

It was the same in the Warring States Period, only important ministers were qualified to drive the monarch.

The imperial servant, one of the Nine Ministers of the Western Han Dynasty, was dedicated to driving the emperor.

Generally speaking, in that society, the social status of aristocratic coachmen was not low at all.

Not to mention warriors, they are the ones who defend the monarch. Under the influence of the twentieth rank, those who join the army usually mean they have the ticket to become a nobleman.

And the warriors who guard the monarch must have the title of nobility.

From this point of view, there is no social status at all, and the musicians who can only be used for the entertainment of the king seem to be treated lower than other martyrs, which is in line with the social system at that time.

"It's just that this is too miserable, at least give it a straw mat." Zhuang Yunpeng muttered from the side.

Chen Han shook his head: "Maybe there was a straw or reed mat when he was buried."

"But this human bone can't be preserved. Do you think the straw and reed can be preserved?"

Professor Li, who had been cleaning a copper ampoule by the side, said without raising his head after listening to their chat:

"Okay, record the situation of this martyr, and then let experts in human studies study the age and gender of this martyr."

"Ah?!" Zhuang Yunpeng pointed to the fragments of the skull and the few broken limb bones, and said in surprise, "How can you tell the age and gender with only so few bones left?"

"The pelvis and teeth that distinguish age and gender are gone, is this okay?!"

Professor Li smiled meaningfully: "As long as there is a piece of bone, those who study the human body can also judge gender and age through bone density and length."

"Don't underestimate the role of modern anthropology!"

(End of this chapter)