Zhou period transformations at the Qianzhongzitou site (Gaomi, Shandong, China)

With the eastward expansion of the Western Zhou c . 1050 BC, the Jiaodong Peninsula on the north-east coast of modern-day China became part of a large polity. Excavations at Qianzhongzitou, located on this peninsula, are revealing how political control over local populations took place. Here, the authors focus on a sequence of Zhou-period, non-residential platforms, the construction of which signifies new forms of ritual spaces. These types of spaces, also found elsewhere in the region, arguably aided in the state assimilation of local deities, illustrating the critical role that ritual played in political unification of early Chinese states and dynasties.