"What kind of early human society does the hunting, gathering, fire use, carving and other behaviors found at the site reflect? What are the new developments in the archaeological research on the origin and spread of Austronesian languages? What is the management and utilization of water resources in prehistoric single settlements? What kind of appearance..." Recently, at the "Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Archeology Forum·New Archaeological Discoveries in China in 2023", the Mengxi River Paleolithic Site in Ziyang City, Sichuan, the Keqiutou Neolithic Site Group in Pingtan County, Fujian, Six projects were selected, including the Qujialing Neolithic Age ruins in Jingmen City, Hubei Province, the Shang Dynasty ruins in Zhaigou, Qingjian County, Shaanxi Province, the Nestorian temple ruins in the Tang and Song Dynasties in the west of Turpan City, Xinjiang, and the architectural ruins in the southern part of Liao Shangjing Imperial City in Balinzuo Banner, Inner Mongolia. "New Archaeological Discoveries in China in 2023".
Mengxi River Paleolithic Site:
Revealing the ancient life of humans about 50,000 to 70,000 years ago
"The Mengxihe site is located in Ziyang City, Sichuan Province. The main body is about 50,000 to 70,000 years old. After preliminary comprehensive research and expert demonstration, the site is a rare Paleolithic complex in the world that retains a large number of stone tools, animals and plant remains. It is also a site with rich plant remains during the emergence and spread of modern humans." Zheng Zhexuan, director of the Institute of Paleolithic Archeology and project leader of the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology, started his report with the geographical location of the Mengxi River site.
Back in September 2021, a flood broke down the dike and river bank near the site, exposing some ebony and fossils. With the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, rescue archaeological excavations will be carried out continuously in 2022 and 2023.
"Currently, more than 105,000 pieces of stone tools, animal fossils and debris have been unearthed from the site. The raw materials for the stone tools are mainly very special petrified wood, and the tools are mainly small scrapers and pointed tools, as well as a small number of bone tools and wooden tools. The world's rare evidence of the processing and utilization of organic materials such as bones and wood during the Paleolithic Age. Animal fossils are rich and comprehensive, including dozens of species such as elephants, rhinoceros, cattle, deer, macaques, fish, etc., large, medium and small, aquatic, terrestrial, and edible. Both herbivores and carnivores are available, which initially shows ancient humans’ profound understanding of animal resources in the natural environment and broad-spectrum hunting capabilities.” Zheng Zhexuan said, “What is particularly important is the discovery of extremely rich and rare plant remains. , including large trees and acorns, walnuts, peaches, plums, etc.”
In Zheng Zhexuan's view, the system and rich remains preserved in the water-filled environment contain detailed ancient environmental background, complete production (stone, bone, wooden tools) and life (broad spectrum animal and plant resources) data, Various behavioral patterns (hunting, gathering, using fire, cutting, etc.), as well as early ancient humans' preliminary exploration of the spiritual world (carving traces), comprehensively and three-dimensionally reflect the picture of early human society in a specific period, and provide a basis for in-depth exploration of early human society. It provides important materials for major issues such as the way humans process and utilize special stones and organic materials, the broad spectrum of utilization of animal and plant resources, the emergence of art and the development of technology and cognitive abilities, and the emergence and spread of modern humans.
Wang Youping, a professor at the School of Archeology and Museology at Peking University, said that these rich new discoveries vividly demonstrate the historical scenes of production and life of ancient people in ancient times, allowing the public to no longer just rely on imagination to understand life scenes in ancient times, but within their reach, "especially In addition to stone tools, the Mengxihe site also retains a lot of plant remains, such as acorns, walnuts, peaches, etc., which provides valuable new materials for the study of the Paleolithic Age."
Keqiutou Neolithic Site Group:
Promote the construction of prehistoric archaeological cultural sequences along the southeastern coast of China
The Keqiutou Neolithic Site Group in Pingtan County, Fujian Province is located on Pingtan Island, Fujian. It is continuously distributed along the leeward slope of the eastern foot of the coastal mountain and includes sites such as Keqiutou, Xiying, Donghuaqiu, and Guishan. Since 2017, significant gains have been made after multiple excavations.
Zhou Zhenyu, director and researcher of the Human Origins and Evolution Research Center of the Institute of Archeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that these gains include establishing the archaeological cultural sequence of the southeastern coastal island area from 7,500 to 3,000 years ago, and comprehensively revealing the archaeological cultural sequence of the southeastern coastal area of China since 7,000 years ago. Prehistoric settlement patterns and their change and development patterns, exploration of the physical characteristics and livelihood patterns of early Austronesian people supported by multidisciplinary research, and the gradual clarity of the characteristics of early Austronesian people.
"New progress in Austronesian archaeological research, represented by the archaeological discoveries of the Keqiutou site group in Pingtan, has promoted the construction of prehistoric archaeological cultural sequences along the southeastern coast of my country and provided information for exploring the characteristics, livelihood patterns, and migration patterns of early Austronesian people. It has solid archaeological support." Zhou Zhenyu said.
In his view, Chinese civilization has both continental and maritime characteristics, and maritime civilization is an indispensable and important part of Chinese civilization. The progress of prehistoric archeology in the southeastern coastal areas and the in-depth understanding of the early Austronesian people will help us understand the origin, development and spread of maritime civilization.
Li Xinwei, a researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that the new archaeological discoveries at the Keqiutou Neolithic Site Group have allowed us to deepen our understanding of the maritime nature of Chinese civilization. "At the same time, there are still many issues that need to be discussed in the future."
Qujialing Neolithic Site:
Discover a large-scale prehistoric water conservancy system built according to the situation
From a geographical point of view, the Qujialing site is located in the Qujialing Management Area of Jingmen City, Hubei Province. It is located in the transition zone from the southern foot of Dahong Mountain to the Jianghan Plain. It has Qujialing as the core and includes Yinjialing, Zhongjialing, and Tombs. It is a large-scale Neolithic site with more than 10 sites including Ziba and Yangwan.
Speaking of new archaeological progress at the site, Tao Yang, associate research librarian of the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology, said: “After systematic exploration and dissection at multiple locations, multiple groups of large-scale prehistoric water conservancy systems built according to the situation were discovered, and the Xiongjialing and Detailed archaeological work has been carried out on two water conservancy systems in Zhengfan." Among them, the Xiongjialing water conservancy system includes dams, water storage areas, irrigation areas and spillways and other components. It can be divided into early and late phases. The late dams are based on the early dams. It is made by widening and widening the height. The early dam dates from 5100 to 4900 years ago and is the earliest and clearest water conservancy facility discovered so far.
Dai Xiangming, a professor at the School of History at Capital Normal University, believes that the construction of large-scale water conservancy facilities is the result of social development to a certain level and settlement population reaching a certain scale. “Water conservancy systems have been discovered in many sites in the Yangtze River Basin, such as the Liangzhu Dam. Its discovery Revealed a new understanding of Liangzhu culture."
Tao Yang said that the water conservancy system discovered at the Qujialing site marks the transformation of the water management concept of prehistoric ancestors from passive waterproofing and water protection to active water control and water use, achieving a leap from adapting to nature to transforming nature. From an academic point of view, the exploration of the water management paradigm at the Qujialing site provides detailed support for the management and utilization of water resources in prehistoric single settlements; the archaeological work at the Qujialing site demonstrates the planning concept of large-scale central settlements in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River , layout evolution and social structure tradition, providing research samples for investigating the formation and development of prehistoric water conservancy society and the origin and evolution of civilization in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
Zhaigou Shang Dynasty ruins:
Provide precious materials for exploring the political and geographical structure of Fang State in the Shang Dynasty in northern Shaanxi
According to the oracle bone inscriptions of the Yin Ruins, in the late Shang Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty was surrounded by almost all Fang Kingdoms. Since the 1940s, a large number of Shang Dynasty bronzes have been discovered in northern Shaanxi. Many archaeological discoveries at Shang Dynasty sites such as Lijiaya and Xinzhuang in Qingjian have shown that the northern Shaanxi Plateau was once one of the important distribution areas of the Fang Kingdom in the Shang Dynasty. In order to further explore the complexity of the settlement form and social structure of the Shang Dynasty in the loess hilly areas, in June 2022, the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology and relevant units launched a series of archaeological surveys, exploration and excavations centered on the Zhaigou site.
According to Sun Zhanwei, associate researcher at the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, the Zhaigou site is located in Zhaigou Village, Xiejiagou Town, Qingjian County, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province. It is the largest central settlement site of the Shang Dynasty in northern Shaanxi. At present, relics with different functions such as large-area rammed earth building foundations, large tombs, small cemeteries, copper casting remains, and general residential sites have been discovered, and they are densely distributed on adjacent hills. Its rich relics, complete elements and huge scale highlight the distribution characteristics of "multi-mao-one" of Fangguo's central settlement sites in the Loess Liangmao area in the north of the Shang Dynasty.
"The unique 'multi-mao-in-one' settlement distribution pattern summarized in this area through field archeology has enriched the academic community's understanding of the formation, model and characteristics of business civilization, and also broadened our horizons." Beijing United Professor Lei Xingshan, president of the university, said.
Sun Zhanwei said that the discovery of the Shang Dynasty remains at the Jianzhaigou site in Qing Dynasty is a major breakthrough in the archeology of Fangguo during the Shang Dynasty in recent years. It has found a clear archaeological background for the bronzes that have been continuously unearthed in the loess hilly areas. The discovery of a large number of chariot and horse remains has provided a solid foundation for exploration. The emergence of carriages and the formation of the carriage and horse burial system in my country provide important evidence. The large number of bronze chariots and horses, weapons, jades, bone wares, lacquer wares, and tortoise shells unearthed are the same as the material culture of high-level tombs in the Yin Ruins. The gold earrings, copper snake daggers, and pottery have distinctive local characteristics, reflecting the relationship between the Loess Hilly Area and the Shang Dynasty. Close economic and cultural exchanges between dynasties, as well as the strong influence of the Shang Dynasty on surrounding areas. "In short, the latest archaeological discoveries of the Shang Dynasty in Qingjian provide very precious information for exploring the political and geographical structure of the Shang Dynasty Fang Kingdom in northern Shaanxi."
To the west are the ruins of Nestorian temples from the Tang and Song Dynasties:
Unearthed multilingual documents with important research value
The Nestorian Temple ruins in the west are located at the southern foot of the Flame Mountain to the north of Dafu Sangai Community, Taogou Street, Gaochang District, Turpan City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The ruins date from the Tang to Song Dynasties and are one of the rare existing Nestorian temple ruins at home and abroad.
Liu Wensuo, a professor at the School of Sociology and Anthropology at Sun Yat-sen University, introduced that from September to December 2021, Sun Yat-sen University, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and the Turpan Institute of Studies jointly conducted the first excavation of the site, fully revealing the site. The second excavation was carried out from February to April 2023 to clean up the remains and accumulations on the eastern and northern slopes of the hill as well as the south and west sides of the hill top.
“The two archaeological excavations unearthed a rich variety and large number of cultural relics, including documents, murals, woodware, pottery, paper, fabrics and leather products, metalware, coins, stone tools, glassware, etc., as well as mural fragments and pottery fragments. , porcelain shards, crops, plants, animal bones, etc.," Liu Wensuo said.
Liu Wensuo said that the excavation results showed that the temple (monastery) building was relatively well preserved and the structure was complete. A large number of important cultural relics were unearthed, especially multilingual documents, with a number of 876 pieces (groups), which are of important research value.
Guo Wu, a researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the Nestorian temple site in Xipan has attracted great attention from the international academic community. The preservation of such complete ruins and rich cultural relics provides very precious information for the study of the Silk Road and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. .
Architectural ruins in the southern part of the Imperial City of Shangjing in Liao Dynasty:
Provide an important basis for studying the architectural properties of the Liao Shangjing City Site
The Liao Shangjing ruins are located in the southeast of Lindong Town, Balinzuo Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Since 2011, the Inner Mongolia Second Working Team of the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Cultural Relics and Archaeological Research Institute have jointly formed the Liao Shangjing Archaeological Team through archaeological exploration and excavation. and the eastward axis of Miyagi,
“In order to further understand the layout and evolution of the Liao Shangjing ruins and promote the effective protection of the Liao Shangjing ruins, the Liao Shangjing archaeological team will conduct an inspection of the large architectural ruins in the southern part of the Liao Shangjing imperial city from May to October 2022 and May to October 2023. Archaeological exploration and excavation have been carried out." Wang Ying, associate researcher at the Institute of Archeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, introduced the latest archaeological progress at the Liao Shangjing site.
According to Wang Ying, the large palace buildings of the Liao Dynasty that have been excavated in the past were all facing east. Only after the abandonment of the capital city of the Jin Dynasty were they rebuilt into south-facing buildings with reduced size. "The 'Yardyard 1' excavated this time is the first large-scale south-facing building built in the Liao Dynasty to be discovered in the imperial city of Shangjing in the Liao Dynasty. It deserves attention."
Qin Dashu, a professor at the School of Archeology and Museology at Peking University, said that the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has continued to explore the concepts and methods of capital archeology for many years, providing a reference for urban archaeology.
According to reports, this excavation was carried out on the premise of protecting the site, using a limited area of refined excavation and critical anatomy methods. In terms of single buildings, it was confirmed that several large-scale building foundations had been preserved during multiple constructions. The earth platform foundation, column network and pier structure and the corresponding ground relationship; in terms of building groups, the plane layout of the two sets of courtyards and the relationship between their construction and use at the times were confirmed. It can be said that this excavation is a successful innovative practice in the concepts and methods of urban archaeology and architectural archaeology excavation.
Wang Ying said that based on documentary records, the large-scale architectural ruins excavated in the southern part of the imperial city are large in scale and prominent in location, and may be related to important early Liao Dynasty buildings such as the royal temple, Confucius Temple, Imperial College, and government offices recorded in the "History of Liao". It provides an important basis for studying the architectural properties and functional divisions of the Liao Shangjing city site.
Reporter Zhao Xiaoxia
"People's Daily Overseas Edition" (Page 11, February 5, 2024)