Excavations of a 2500-year-old tomb located in a village near Luoyang, in China’s Henan Province, revealed evidence of burial traditions taking place 2500 years ago, including sacrifices of multiple animals such as cows and rams.

Archaeologists believe that the tomb is connected with the Luhun Rong, an ethnic minority tribe, which was active during the Spring and Autumn Period (771-476 BC) of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC). The tribe was described in historic texts as barbarians and during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) it was completely eliminated. The artefacts found inside the tomb include a number of chariots, skeletal remains of horses, bronze bells, bronze tripod vessels used to hold food and wine during important rituals, and cowrie shells. Some of them are believe to have originated in the region of the Indian Ocean or the South China Sea. According to archaeologists the finds are also characteristic of burial traditions of royal or otherwise wealthy families from the Zhou as well as the later part of the Shang Dynasty (1600–1046 BC)

(after Archaeology)