Large amounts of plant branches and leaves were unearthed from Tomb No. 303 at Dasikong Village, Yinxu excavated in 2004. These plant remains were put around the rim of a bronze Zun-vessel. After careful sample recovering, they are subject to morphological and molecular genetics studies. The study results show that these plant remains were that of rosthorn bittersweet (Celastrus rosthornianus Loes) which belongs to Staff vine (Celastrus) Genus, Celastraceae Family. The reasons why this kind of plant was buried in the tomb would be that the people of the Shang Dynasty have known its medical function, or that these branches and leaves were used to cover the grave goods. That they could be preserved to the present would be because of the special taphonomic environment and their own components.
