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The cultures inhabiting the Western fringes of the Shang and Zhou world are mostly seen as inferior and uncivilized. Archaeological work here has been limited to studying mortuary practices and the association of material styles with historically mentioned groups. The Siwa culture 寺洼 (1400-700 BCE), inhabiting modern day Gansu, has been identified as the Qiang 羌 people -- prized captives who were sacrificed by the Shang -- or the Rong 戎 and Di 狄tribes, the marauding barbarian hoards who toppled the Western Zhou dynasty.