China News Service, Changchun, February 23rd (Guo Jiaqu Jiawei) The reporter learned from Jilin University on the 23rd that in the past year, the archaeological team of the school discovered for the first time two pieces of early Yangshao culture more than 6,000 years ago at the Shicun site in Xia County, Yuncheng, Shanxi Province. stone cocoons.
Since 2019, the School of Archeology of Jilin University, Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology, Yuncheng Cultural Relics Workstation and other units have jointly investigated and excavated the site of Shicun, Xia County, Yuncheng, Shanxi. One of the earliest stone-carved silkworm chrysalis found.
In 2022, the archaeological team of Jilin University excavated a total of 6 house sites, 8 urn coffins, 10 tombs, and more than 600 ash pits at the Shicun site. Han Dynasty and several other periods.
Since the site was excavated, the total number of stone-carved silkworm chrysalis and pottery silkworm chrysalis has reached 6.
"The discovery of the stone cocoon, together with the stone silkworm chrysalis, reveals that as early as 6,000 years ago, in the Yuncheng Basin, the core area where Chinese civilization originated, the silkworm played an important role in the production and life of the ancestors. The origin of silk reeling technology provides important clues." said Fang Qi, the person in charge of the archaeological excavation project at the Shicun site in Xia County, Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, and deputy dean of the School of Archeology of Jilin University.
Previously, the archaeological team of Jilin University found many "stone balls" in the Shicun site, but they were not nearly round "stone balls", and their bottoms were flattened or even sunken, which was very similar to silkworm eggs.
Stone cocoons dating back more than 6,000 years.
(Data map) Photo courtesy of Jilin University
Combining key discoveries such as stone-carved silkworm chrysalis, stone-made silkworm cocoons, and "stone ball" silkworm eggs, as well as the main excavation results of the site in 2022, Fang Qi made a bold judgment on the settlement nature and function of the Shicun site.
Fang Qi believes that the Shicun site is probably not a general living settlement in the traditional sense, but a primitive handicraft workshop settlement mainly focusing on sericulture and silk reeling next to a large living settlement.
Dong Xinlin, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, affirmed and supported Fang Qi's judgment.
He said that according to the existing excavation situation, the life atmosphere of the Shicun site is not obvious, and the settlement sites with production workshops as the mainstay or the production and labor function divisions of large-scale living settlements are in line with the existing excavation areas. Condition.
In order to uncover the hidden secrets of the Shicun site, the archaeological team of Jilin University has begun to look for new breakthroughs.
At present, they have completed the collection of cultural relics, surface survey and related exploration work on the Yuancun site near the Shicun site.
Qiao Liang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, pointed out that whether there are other relatively close social connections between the Shicun site and the Yuancun site remains to be revealed by future archaeological excavations. The village ruins can be qualitatively established.
(over)