China News Service, Wuhan, March 22 (Reporter Liang Ting) The Qujialing site in Jingmen, Hubei Province was selected as one of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in the country in 2023 on the 22nd. Previously, this archaeological project was selected as one of the "Six Major New Archaeological Discoveries in China" in 2023.
Aerial photography of the newly discovered Xiongjialing Dam at the Qujialing site in Hubei. (File photo) Photo courtesy of Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology
Qujialing site is the discovery and naming place of Qujialing culture. It is located in the transition zone from the southern foot of Dahong Mountain to Jianghan Plain. It is a Neolithic era with Qujialing as the core and including more than ten sites including Yinjialing. The large-scale site is also an important site that demonstrates the origin of civilization in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
Since the 1950s, many archaeological excavations have been conducted at the site. From 2015 to the present, with the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology, Jingmen Municipal Museum, Jingmen Qujialing Site Protection Center and other units have continued to carry out archaeological work here and achieved important results.
Archaeological work revealed a large-scale ceremonial building of the Qujialing Culture, and found a loess platform and a "stone pier" with a huge volume, clear structure and exquisite construction technology. It is the earliest "stone pier" discovered by Chinese archaeology, filling the gap in Chinese architecture. gaps in history.
In addition, the discovery of a large-scale prehistoric water conservancy system built according to the situation, including dams, water storage areas, irrigation areas, and spillways, integrated functions such as drought and flood control, domestic water use, and agricultural irrigation. It is the earliest and clearest discovery to date. It is one of the most important water conservancy facilities in the world, marking the transformation of the prehistoric ancestors' water control concepts from passive waterproofing and water protection to active water control and water use, achieving a leap from adapting to nature to transforming nature.
The newly discovered Zhengfan Dam section at the Qujialing site in Hubei. (File photo) Photo courtesy of Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology
The water management paradigm of the Qujialing site not only provides detailed support for the management and utilization of water resources in prehistoric single settlements, but is also an important archaeological basis for studying early man-land relations, social organization and other issues. The social and cultural development of the Qujialing site has a clear continuity. It reveals the development height and social complexity of prehistoric culture from multiple angles and levels. It is a precious evidence for studying the civilization process in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and provides a basis for exploring the formation and development of Chinese civilization. Development provides typical cases. (over)