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9. ground conditions have already been noted in the preceding chapter. The new observations made in the autumn have added new weight to the argument in the preliminary analysis of the deposit: human burials, well diggings, removal of the soil for agricultural purposes and flood have disturbed the stratified deposit of Hsiao-t'un to a very large extent. Such disturbance could, of course, be repeated again and again, to a indefinite number of times. A comparative study of the stratifications of the different trenches that have been opened show clearly the effects of such disturbances. On the basis of such observations, we have discovered a protective layer of the cultural deposit of the Shang Dynasty. This layer is made up of a sort of brownish soil, saturated with fine white tiny tissues. Its physical composition is very tough, and its thickness may attain to two meters. Except for the charcoal, no artifact of human origin was ever found, if it were not intruded by later disturbances. But after this layer was taken off, in the cultural layer underneath, if such there were many unexpected discoveries associated with the inscribed oracle bones, could be made. Such undisturbed stratified deposits were found rather rarely; only in Trench 1a. 13c and pit G.C. were such observations made. Even in these two spots, later burials had intruded into the early cultural deposits; but it is comparatively an easy matter to separate them from the latter. With this discovery the sequence of the deposit of Yin-hsü gradually becomes intelligible; the associated finds of the inscribed oracle bones from the undisturbed stratum may serve as standards, according to which artifacts from the stratigraphically more obscure deposits might be properly grouped, and chronicled. E. Conditions of the Underground Deposits. As the extent of disturbance has been very large, the nature of the deposits of the different artifacts naturally varies a great deal.
