Editor's note: Hanfu designer, agricultural "shake" leader, archaeological expert, subway driver...... Three hundred and sixty lines, the lines can shine. Ordinary posts can also be impressive, and the energetic young people are shining. On the eve of Labor Day and May Fourth Youth Day, Dahe.com launched a special plan - "Flash Youth Model Young", focusing on model youth, paying attention to emerging industries, and seeing the appearance of shining youth.
At the archaeological site, there is such a group of people -- they are very young, but they deal with the oldest things of human society every day; they embrace technology and fashion, but they are willing to give up the prosperity of the city and take the loneliness of the mountains; they are faced with ruins, bricks and rubble, but they can interpret the infinite mystery from it.
"What we need to do is to 'dialogue' with ancient humans, interpret ancient societies, and tell modern people the stories of ancient civilizations. Speaking of archaeology, Yang Meng, a young archaeologist and assistant librarian of the Zhengzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said.
"The first time I saw Okawamura in a book, I was fascinated"
Painted pottery double pot, prehistoric "three rooms and one living room", "village under the starry sky", ...... Speaking of the representative discoveries of the Dahe Village site, Yang Meng is like a treasure.
The ruins of Dahe Village, located in the southeast of the intersection of Lianhuo Expressway and Zhongzhou Avenue in Zhengdong New District, Zhengzhou City, are the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units announced by the State Council. This is Yang Meng's first construction site after graduation and joining the work.
"The excavation of the ruins of Dahe Village began in 2018. Prior to the excavation, we conducted a comprehensive and systematic exploration of the site. Yang Meng said that through this exploration, the area of the site was determined, and a ring moat was found on the periphery of the site.
He made a particularly important discovery: in the central and western part of the site, there was a nearly rectangular rammed earth wall, which was built in a way that used both rammed earth and adobe, "which was relatively rare in the Central Plains at that time."
Today, the ruins of Dahe Village have been included in the project of "Research on the Civilization Process of Archaeological China and the Central Plains". Not long ago, Yang Meng and his colleagues participated in the final report of the project. "For the study of the civilization process in the Central Plains, the Dahe Village site is a very critical and important site. He said.
"Archaeology is like revealing secrets, we need to think about it constantly"
"To be honest, I didn't apply for archaeology. Yang Meng admits that his relationship with archaeology was during his college years, when he was transferred to the museum major when he was enrolled, he experienced confusion and exploration, and finally "fell in love with archaeology" for a long time.
The archaeology major in his freshman year made him "get better", and since his sophomore year, his daily reading has been mainly archaeology. "With more and more contacts, I gradually found that the profession of archaeology has its own unique charm. Yang Meng said.
After joining the work, like all archaeologists who are rooted in the front line, Yang Meng's daily routine is to go out early and return late, sleep in the open, and be exposed to the sun and rain.
"We usually start work at 7 a.m., and sometimes we start work at 6:30 in the summer. The main purpose is to facilitate the migrant workers on the construction site to go home. Yang Meng said that there are no holidays on the construction site, and the seemingly same work is repeated every day.
Fieldwork is a long undertaking, and the archaeological discoveries that have amazed the world are gradually revealed in this repetition day after day.
"Archaeology is like revealing secrets, when a problem is solved, many new problems will arise, and we need to keep thinking, maybe this is the charm of archaeology. Yang Meng said.
"The application of multidisciplinary methods to make archaeological results more comprehensive"
"Teacher Zhao, come and see!" During the interview, the "sharp-eyed" Yang Meng saw the animal teeth and bones hidden in the soil, and hurriedly called out to his colleagues on the side.
After constant cleaning with a brush, the outline of the bones gradually emerged.
"This is a stratum from the late Yangshao period, and according to morphological observation, it should be a cow's tooth. It is generally believed that cattle were introduced to China in the late Longshan period, and if this is the case, it is necessary to consider whether the tooth was mixed in the later period, or whether the age of this stratum is the late Yangshao period. The specific situation needs to be further analysed. Yang Meng told reporters.
Yang Meng said that this is an important branch of archaeology - the research scope of zooarchaeology, and it is also the main direction of his research during his graduate studies. "By studying the morphology of the bones, it is possible to determine the animal species. In addition, cut marks, burn marks, and other processing marks on bones are observed to understand how animals are being utilized. He said.
Archaeology is a highly integrated work, and multidisciplinary collaboration has played an important role in the excavation of the Dahe Village site.
"It is the application of multidisciplinary approaches that makes the archaeological results more comprehensive. Yang Meng said that through geological analysis, they found that during the period from Yangshao to Longshan, there were at least two earthquakes in Dahe Village, one of which had a magnitude of no less than six.
Thousands of years ago, earthquakes were called "catastrophic", and they may even have had a subversive impact on human thinking and cognition at that time. Yang Meng told reporters that he may never be able to get the truth, but archaeology is to do its best to get close to the truth.
"I look forward to showing you a more full and vivid Dahe Village"
In June 2023, Yang Meng and several colleagues traveled to Romania to carry out excavation work on the Dobrovac site. This is also China's first archaeological excavation project in Europe under the Belt and Road Initiative.
"Through this excavation, we found that although they are thousands of miles apart, there are many similarities between the two sites, such as painted pottery and red clay houses, which inspire us a lot. Yang Meng recalled.
Shortly thereafter, at an academic exchange meeting held in Constanza, Yang Meng gave a report entitled "Archaeological Discovery and Research of Dahe Village Ruins in Zhengzhou", introducing the splendid Yangshao culture of the mainland to foreign scholars.
"The scholars present showed a very strong interest in the Dahe Village site. Yang Meng introduced that at the end of 2023, several Romanian scholars made a special trip to visit the Dahe Village site and were full of praise.
Today, the Dahe Village National Archaeological Site Park is still in full swing of construction, and in the near future, a heritage park covering an area of more than 2,000 acres will be displayed in front of the world.
"At present, the collation research work is ongoing. We hope that through our continuous efforts, we will show you a more full and vivid Dahe Village. Yang Meng said with confidence. (Li Dongbao/Text: Liu Xiaoming/Video: Hu Hanze/Poster)