Chinanews client, Beijing, April 13th (Reporter Song Yusheng) On April 13, the "Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in China in 2020" were announced in Beijing.
The first reaction of many people is probably to see what kind of exquisite cultural relics there are.
However, in the opinion of the archaeologists participating in the review, whether the excavated cultural relics are exquisite should not be the first consideration.
Wang Wei, chairman of the Chinese Society of Archaeology, said in an interview with the media after the meeting, “Our selection is not just to see whether the earthen cultural relics are exquisite. The first thing to look at is the academic nature. Will waiting for a few big questions help."
So, what important problems have been solved by the ten archaeological projects selected this time?
A reporter from Chinanews.com sorted it out.
The origin of civilization
In the field of archaeology, the traceability of civilization has always been an important topic.
How did human civilization come into being?
How has the Chinese civilization developed so far?
In the absence of written records, the solution of such problems largely depends on archaeological empirical research.
The ruins of Zhaoguo Cave in Gui'an.
Photo courtesy of Guizhou Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Among the ten major projects selected this time, the oldest is the Zhaoguodong site in Gui'an New District, Guizhou, from 40,000 to 10,000 years ago.
The polished bone tools found in the stratum of the site more than 30,000 years ago are one of the earliest polished bone tools discovered in China.
The results of this excavation provide important evidence for the study of human physique characteristics in southwest China during this period.
The Jingtou Mountain Site in Yuyao, Ningbo, Zhejiang is the deepest and oldest coastal shell mound site on the coast of China, with a strong and distinctive marine cultural attribute.
At the press conference, Li Shuicheng, a professor of liberal arts at Sichuan University, introduced that the excavation of the Jingtou Mountain site was 8 meters deep from the current surface.
Because the burial environment is underwater, a large amount of organic matter remains, including fish baskets for fishing, wooden handles of stone tools, etc., as well as the remains of seafood that people had eaten at that time.
Large amounts of antlers, shells, etc. are placed in the cultural relics warehouse of the Jingtou Mountain site in Yuyao, Ningbo, Zhejiang.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Gang
He believes that this discovery has advanced the upper limit of Hemudu culture by more than 1,000 years.
"The earliest age was 8,300 years ago, which is more than 1,000 years earlier than the Hemudu culture we knew before. And there is clear evidence that the origin of the Hemudu culture is the kind of remains represented by Jingtou Mountain."
The archaeological site of the Shuanghuaishu site in Gongyi, Henan.
Photo courtesy of Zhengzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology issued by China News Service
The Shuanghuaishu site in Gongyi, Henan Province is the site of an urban settlement that has been carefully selected around 5,300 years ago.
Its age is in a very important period for the development of Chinese civilization.
Around 5,000 years ago, important evidence of the origin of civilization and the dawn of civilization appeared in all regions of China.
Li Shuicheng pointed out that before the Shuanghuaishu site, only the Henan region was relatively weak in this regard. This discovery just filled the gap.
The earliest known granary city was discovered at the Shizhuang site in Huaiyang, Henan.
Although the age of the site has not entered the stage of letter history, it is still unclear what kind of people the site represents, but Xu Hong, the former team leader of the Erlitou Team of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the Granary City should not be a general village site, but should belong to the site. A relic with a specific function under the scope of national management.
"This provides important clues for us to further explore the birth and development of the early states and dynasties of the Central Plains, the social structure at that time, and related management systems."
Cultural exchange "millennium unresolved" may have an answer
In addition to tracing the source, many archaeological projects among the ten items have also promoted the study of the internal exchanges of Chinese civilization.
The archaeological site of Xuyang Cemetery in Yichuan, Henan.
Image source: ICphoto
For example, the discovery of the Xuyang cemetery in Yichuan, Henan confirmed the historical event of "the Rong people moved to Yiluo" in the literature.
Han Guohe, vice president of Zhengzhou University, said that during the excavation of more than 500 tombs in this project, archaeologists noticed that there are still burials of cattle, horses and sheep heads and hooves in the tombs of high-ranking nobles, which maintains some of the customs and characteristics of Lu Hunrong’s own people. On the other hand, the ritual instruments used in the tombs were the same as those in the Eastern Zhou tombs of the same period in Luoyang, which shows that Lu Hunrong was in the process of Huahua.
The original tomb of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Shaoling, Xi'an, Shaanxi is a high-level tomb of the Sixteen Kingdoms period.
Huo Wei, Dean of the School of Archaeology, Culture and Museum of Sichuan University, pointed out that the tomb is in the process of gradually moving from the unified dynasty of Qin and Han Dynasty to the great integration and exchange of the five-hu sixteen nations.
The tombs not only absorbed many characteristics of the tombs of the Central Plains dynasty, but also opened a precedent for the tomb system of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
The long stepped tomb passage continues the tradition of the Western Jin Dynasty, and the tomb form with a patio laid the foundation for the tombs of the Sui and Tang dynasties.
Gold artifacts unearthed from the 2018 Xuewei Tomb No. 1 in Dulan Hot Water, Qinghai.
Photo courtesy of Qinghai Dulan Hot Water Joint Archaeological Team
The 2018 Xuewei No. 1 Tomb in Dulan Dulan Tombs in Qinghai Province, which has attracted widespread attention before, was also selected as one of the “Top Ten Archaeology”.
The unearthed silver seal confirmed that the owner of the tomb was King Tuyuhun, and the time was the period of Tubo rule.
Huo Wei believes that this discovery provides very favorable evidence for the interpretation of the relationship between Tang, Tubo and Tuyuhun.
"It is possible to find a solution to this unsettled millennial case."
Gold artifacts unearthed from Tomb No.1 of Xuewei in Dulan, Qinghai.
Photo courtesy of Qinghai Dulan Hot Water Joint Archaeological Team
Chinese archaeology has developed to "leading"
This year is a special year for Chinese archaeology.
Marked by the 1921 excavation at the Yangshao Village site in Mianchi County, Henan Province, 2021 will be the century of Chinese archaeology.
Over the years, Chinese archaeology has introduced many advanced concepts and methods.
These methods are all reflected in the "Top Ten Archaeological Projects" selected this time.
For example, Xu Hong said frankly that the reason why the Shizhuang site in Huaiyang, Henan can be identified as the earliest known granary city is precisely because the current technology can use soil microstructure detection and analysis, archaeologists made such an inference.
Talking about the development of Chinese archaeology in recent years, Wang Wei, chairman of the Chinese Archaeological Society, said frankly that various scientific and technological archaeological methods and advanced archaeological concepts have been applied to practice.
At the press conference, more than one expert put forward that "technology has added wings to Chinese archaeology."
In Wang Wei's words, science and technology have equipped archaeologists with telescopes and microscopes.
"We used to have many signs that we couldn't observe with the naked eye, and we can understand them through scientific and technological means."
At the Jingtou Mountain site in Yuyao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, staff excavated in the site's steel structure foundation pit near the ancient tidal flat area.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Gang
He also emphasized that in recent years, many methods of Chinese archaeology are also innovations based on his own traditional methods.
For example, the selected Jingtou Mountain site needs to excavate an environment 8 meters above the ground; the underwater archaeology of Nanhai No. 1 made in the past few years has also been innovative.
Wang Wei said, "I think our Chinese archaeology has gone from'following' to'paralleling', and then in a certain field, we have already developed in the direction of'leading'. Of course, we must continue to communicate and learn from abroad." (Finish)