China News Network Yinchuan, May 6 (Yang Di) reporter learned from Zhou Xinghua, former director and deputy research librarian of the Ningxia Museum, that Zhou Xinghua was on the top of a high mountain on the south bank of the Yellow River during the archaeological investigation in North Long Beach, Zhongwei City, Ningxia More than 30 sites of ancient human settlements and prehistoric rock paintings distributed on the site were discovered.
According to Zhou Xinghua, the site of ancient human settlements is located on the top of the high mountain of Guaizigou, and the northern slope of the mountain is the rolling Yellow River. The settlement site is surrounded by mountains on three sides, facing the ditch to the south and facing the sun. The periphery of the site is oval, with a length and width of about 100 meters, and more than 30 housing bases or residual walls are distributed. The houses are square or rectangular, and there are foundations or staggered residual walls. The walls are all made of stone, and the existing residual height is about 60 centimeters up to about 1 meter, and the residual width is about 40 centimeters. The wall is made of stones in place, dry and dry, and tightly jointed. It is speculated that the settlement house should have a firewood canopy that was destroyed later, leaving only the stone foundation and residual walls.
Prehistoric petroglyphs distributed on sites of ancient human settlements. Photo courtesy of interviewees
The interior layout of the settlement is compact. Two or three single rooms are located in one place, the walls are connected, and the door is facing the settlement center. Scattered fragments of red pottery and ground stoneware were scattered on the surface of the site. There are tomb groups around the settlement. The layout of the settlement houses, the surface remains and the characteristics of the tombs show that the ruins of Guaigou should be the original settlement sites.
There are still prehistoric rock paintings in Guaizigou and the surrounding areas where the ancient human settlements are located. There are animal images of deer, sheep, horses, and birds, as well as shooting images and human faces, etc. The bluestone is hard, and the chiseling is obvious. The traces of the rock paintings are the same as those of the rock. Guaizigou is a mountain ditch that flows into the Yellow River. The rock painting on the rock surface is about 5 meters below the bottom of the ditch. The rock wall is upright and there is no place for climbing. Therefore, it is speculated that the rock painting should be cut under the surface of the Yellow River and the surface of the mountain ditch At that time, people could drill rock paintings at the bottom of the ditch. Later, with the undercutting of the surface of the Yellow River and the surface of the mountain ditch, rock paintings have now become unattainable. This can be seen from the ancient times of the rock painting era of the Kuizigou.
Zhou Xinghua said that the original settlements found in Guaizigou, North Changtan, Zhongwei City, Ningxia, and the prehistoric rock paintings are at the same site, which is extremely rare. The original settlements here and the prehistoric rock paintings mutually prove that the original settlement in Ningxia Zhongwei, Guizigou is regarded as a Neolithic site. The discovery of this primitive settlement site filled the gap of the primitive social stone settlement site in Ningxia, and provided extremely important first-hand evidence for studying the origin of human civilization and the connotation of the Yellow River culture in the upper Yellow River. (Finish)