Significant discoveries at pre-Qin archaeological sites in Huangpu and Zengcheng, Guangzhou
30 ancient human remains unearthed from the Jinlan Temple site
Yesterday, the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism held a press conference on Guangzhou’s historical, cultural heritage and archaeological work at the Nanyue Palace Museum.
At the meeting, Yi Xibing, director of the Guangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, informed the media of the archaeological results of the Huangpu Pitouling and Jinlan Temple sites in Zengcheng.
During the archaeological excavation of the Jinlan Temple site in Zengcheng, Guangzhou, the Guangzhou Academy of Cultural Relics and Archaeology discovered 32 tombs from the late Neolithic Age to the Warring States Period, and 30 ancient human remains have been unearthed.
According to Yi Xibing, among the late Neolithic tombs that have been excavated, most of the tomb bones are relatively intact. They are very rare in the Pearl River Estuary and even the Lingnan region. They are of great significance to the restoration of the pre-Qin period of the Pearl River Estuary region's ethnic morphology and population migration interaction.
In addition, the site also provides important material materials for studying the changes in the geographical environment of the Pearl River Delta, the development of human-land relations around the Pearl River Mouth in the pre-Qin period, and the history of human production, life and cultural development in the Pearl River Mouth region in the late Neolithic period.
Text/Guangzhou Daily All-Media Reporter Bu Songzhu, Correspondent Sui Wenguang Travel Xuan
Photo/provided by Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Broadcasting and Tourism
Ruins of Jinlan Temple, Zengcheng
30 ancient human remains help study the evolution of ancient Chinese Homo sapiens
The Jinlan Temple site is located in Jinlansi Village, Shitan Town, Zengcheng District.
Three excavations were carried out from 1958 to 1961.
In accordance with the cultural relics protection laws and regulations, in conjunction with the construction of the Guangzhou-Shantou high-speed railway project, the Guangzhou Academy of Cultural Relics and Archaeology has been approved by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to conduct archaeological excavations on the site from November 2020.
The archaeological excavation covers an area of 800 square meters.
As of the end of March, prehistoric shell mounds with an area of more than 500 square meters have been discovered, 32 tombs have been cleared (30 in the late Neolithic period, 2 in the Warring States period), as well as 38 ash pits, 941 column caves and ash ditch in each period. 21 sets, 3 wells, 1 wall, 165 sets of various cultural relics and animal specimens such as shells, fish bones, and pig bones were unearthed.
Tombs from the Late Neolithic Age to the Warring States Period are the most important discoveries of this archaeology, including 30 tombs from the Late Neolithic Age and 2 from the Warring States Period. At present, 30 human remains have been unearthed.
The late Neolithic tombs were all rectangular vertical cavern earthen pit tombs, arranged in an orderly manner, with a northwest-southeast direction, filled with a large number of shells.
Burial objects are mostly practical objects, such as pottery tripod, pottery bean, pottery kettle, pottery circle foot pot, pottery spinning wheel, stone adze, Beiju, etc. The phenomenon of burial of broken objects is more common.
There are many well-preserved human bone remains at the bottom of the tomb, most of which are buried with straight limbs. Only one is buried with bent limbs. There are no burial implements such as coffins and human bones. Signs of binding are visible.
One of the tombs in the Warring States Period was a rectangular vertical hole earthen pit tomb. A well-preserved human bone remains can be seen at the bottom of the tomb. The other is an earth pit tomb with an oval mouth and a rectangular tomb bottom. No human bones and burial objects are seen.
The discovery of 30 human remains provides a wealth of basic materials for the development of bone and tooth morphology, bone biomechanics, paleopathology, ancient DNA analysis, isotope analysis, etc., and is useful for studying and interpreting the micro-evolution of ancient humans during the prehistoric period in South China and China The evolution of the ancient Homo sapiens has extremely important academic significance to clarify the migration and interaction of the population and the transformation of the way of life in the prehistoric period of South China.
The archaeological excavation also found a number of remains of pillar caves, wells, ash pits, ash ditch, walls and other related living sites, dating from the late Neolithic period to the Qing Dynasty.
There is a superimposed and broken relationship between these relics and tombs, which proves that the northern part of the Jinlan Temple site has experienced the evolutionary relationship between the cemetery and the function of the residence during the long historical evolution process.
According to Yi Xibing, the Jinlan Temple site provided extremely important materials for the reconstruction of human social history in the area around the Pearl River Estuary in the late Neolithic period (around 4000 years ago). 30 late Neolithic tombs have been excavated, and most of the bones are preserved. It is relatively complete, and it is very rare in the Pearl River Estuary and even in the Lingnan region. It is of great significance to the study of the ethnic morphology and population migration interaction in the Pearl River Estuary during the pre-Qin period.
The site also provides important material materials for studying the changes in the Pearl River Delta and the development of human-land relationships around the Pearl River Estuary in the pre-Qin period.
Archaeological notes
Ruins of Jinlan Temple, Zengcheng
The most important discovery of this archaeology
Tombs from the Late Neolithic Age to the Warring States Period include 30 tombs from the Late Neolithic Age and 2 tombs from the Warring States Period. At present, 30 human remains have been unearthed.
Tombs of the Late Neolithic Age
Burial goods are mostly practical objects;
There are many well-preserved human bone remains at the bottom of the tomb, with signs of binding.
Tombs of the Warring States Period
A well-preserved human bone remains can be seen at the bottom of the tomb in the rectangular vertical cavern earthen pit;
There are no human bones and burial objects in the earth pit tomb at the bottom of the oval tomb and rectangular tomb.
Huangpu Pitouling Site
"Largest" Late Neolithic Cellar
Explains that the ancestors of Guangzhou were "very able to tun"
The Pitouling site is located in the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City in Huangpu District.
In accordance with cultural relics protection laws and regulations, in conjunction with the construction of the rainwater storage and regulation project (Phase I) in the middle of the Knowledge City, with the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Guangzhou Academy of Cultural Relics and Archaeology conducted the Pitouling site from June 2016 to March 2017. The first stage of rescue archaeological excavation included 19 tombs in the late Warring States period and 2 tombs in the Nanyue Kingdom period in the Western Han Dynasty, and 66 cultural relics (sets) were unearthed.
From October 2020, rescue archaeological excavations will be carried out again on the Pitouling site.
As of the end of March, the area of archaeological excavation was about 4,000 square meters, 5 late Neolithic tombs, 260 cellars and ash pits, 70 column holes, 1 trench, and 38 tombs from the middle and late Warring States period to the early Western Han Dynasty were cleared.
More than 400 sets of cultural relics were unearthed.
According to Yi Xibing, the Pitouling site contains cultural remains from the late Neolithic period, the middle and late Warring States period to the early Western Han Dynasty. The age is about 4500-2200 years ago.
The late Neolithic remains include pits, ash pits, pillar caves and other relics, and the number is large. The original distribution of the remains of this period may exceed 10,000 square meters.
The 48 pits are the most eye-catching discoveries of this excavation. H25 is the largest in scale, nearly circular in plane, with a maximum diameter of 2.74 meters and a depth of 5.2 meters. It is the largest late Neolithic pit in the Lingnan area. .
This shows the level of development of the ancestors' productivity and the abundance of social property reserves at that time.
A suspected building site was found in the southeast of the site excavation area, in order to explore the living style and architectural form of the late Neolithic ancestors in the northern part of Guangzhou, and to identify such relics in the archaeological excavation site of the hills and hills from prehistoric to Shang and Zhou sites Etc. have important value.
The unearthed cultural relics of this period are mainly pottery, mainly including pots, pots, beans, supports, etc. with sand and black tires, followed by clay pottery beans, plates, pots, etc. There are also a few stone tools.
The Pitouling site is another important discovery after the Chaling site and Gancaoling site of Huangpu Tangcun in 2017. The number, scale, and density of the site are far greater than those of the latter. It is also rare for archaeological cultural relics of the same period in Lingnan. .
The remains of these pits are of great academic significance for studying the development level of productivity, the scale of early agricultural production and the stage of social development at that time.
Column caves, trenches and other relics related to housing construction provide extremely rare archaeological evidence for restoring the way of living of prehistoric ancestors.
Although the number of tombs in the first phase remains small, their early age and clear hierarchical relationship are very important for the construction of the prehistoric cultural development sequence of the Pearl River Delta.
Tombs from the middle and late Warring States period to the early Western Han Dynasty are the highest-level Yue people cemeteries that have been discovered in the Lingnan area in terms of number, scale, and preservation of the most complete soil.
M30 is the tomb of the late Warring States Period known to be the most complete and preserved in the Lingnan area.
On the surface, there are relatively tall soil closures, the tombs are arranged along the mountainous trend, the tombs are shallowly buried, and the stone beds at the bottom of the tombs have obvious relics of Jiangsu and Zhejiang mound tombs, reflecting the strong ethnic characteristics of the Yue culture.
The coffin settings of some large and medium-sized tombs show the influence of Chu culture in Lingbei, reflecting the blending and interaction of Chu and Yue culture.
The Pitouling site is a major archaeological discovery in the pre-Qin period in Guangzhou, as well as an important archaeological discovery in the Pearl River Delta and even in the Lingnan region. The understanding of the historical status of the region and even the Lingnan region also provides important clues for exploring the civilization process of Lingnan in the pre-Qin period.
Archaeological notes
Huangpu Pitouling Site
Site age
Contains cultural relics from the late Neolithic period, the middle and late Warring States period to the early Western Han Dynasty. The age is about 4500-2200 years ago.
The most notable discovery of this archaeology
There are 48 pits in the late Neolithic age, of which H25 is the largest late Neolithic pit found in the Lingnan area.
The unearthed cultural relics are mainly pottery.
Tombs from the middle and late Warring States period to the early Western Han Dynasty are the highest-level Yue people cemeteries that have been discovered in the Lingnan area in terms of number, scale, and preservation of the most complete soil.
Among them, M30 is the tomb of the late Warring States Period with the most complete and largest scale of soil closure and preservation known in the Lingnan area.