Zhengzhou, 18 Dec (Xinhua) -- After more than 6 months of exploration and excavation at the Suyang site with Yangshao culture as the main body, archaeologists not only found a number of artifacts with strong Qujialing cultural factors, but also found a stone sculpture of the head of an animal with the characteristics of Hongshan culture. Experts believe that these findings provide new valuable materials for studying the impact of the Northward Advance of Qujialing Culture on the Central Plains, and also reflect the exchange and integration of the Yellow River civilization represented by yangshao culture and the Yangtze River civilization represented by Qujialing culture in the Heluo region around 5,000 years ago.
This is a jade tree excavated from the Suyang site (taken on December 15). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li An
This is a jade juan excavated from the Suyang site (taken on December 15). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li An
This is a faience spinning wheel excavated from the Suyang site (photographed on December 15). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li An
Located in Zhangwu Town, Yiyang County, Luoyang City, the Suyang ruins are divided into two areas, Xiacun District and Suyang District, with an area of more than 600,000 square meters.
In the Suyang area, archaeologists have excavated a number of relatively well-preserved Yangshao mid-period housing sites. A contiguous house in a northwest-southeast direction has a flat floor, as hard and smooth as "cement", and there is a large area of collapsed walls on the ground. "This kind of shaped housing site that appeared in the stage of the temple bottom ditch was found for the first time in the Luoyang area." Zhang Hai, deputy dean of the School of Archaeology and Archaeology at Peking University, said that the well-preserved architectural remains provide important information for discussing the construction technology and architectural culture of the middle and late Neolithic period in the Heluo area.
At present, archaeologists have cleaned up 11 housing sites, 126 ash pits and cellars, and one ditch. The excavated relics are mainly pottery, stone tools, and bone tools.
"The most surprising thing about the Suyang site is the convergence of elements of different civilizations at the same site." Zhang Hai said excitedly that among the cultural relics unearthed in the ash pit, pottery with Qujialing cultural factors accounted for the majority, and even in one ash pit, more than 20 restorable Qujialing period artifacts were unearthed, such as horizontally mounted wide flat-footed basin-shaped dings, jar-shaped dings, double-belly beans, circle foot cups, lace catcher covers, faience spinning wheels, etc., which show that in the central plains of the late Yangshao period, the Qujialing culture in the Yangtze River Basin and the Yangshao culture in the middle reaches of the Yellow River already had deep exchanges and collisions.
In addition, a stone sculpture of a beast's head that resembles a tiger's head unearthed at the site is very similar to the end decoration of a beast's head excavated from the Banlashan Cemetery of the Hongshan Culture. "This basically proves that there are also close exchanges between Yangshao culture and Hongshan culture, and it is likely to occur in the upper class." Zhang Hai said.
This is a stone sculpture of a tiger's head excavated from the Suyang site (taken on December 15). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li An
The Suyang site is located on the southern line of the Kunhan Ancient Road, which has been an important node of cultural exchange since ancient times. Zhang Hai believes that the convergence of these diverse cultures is also an important feature of the emergence of early Chinese cities.
The archaeological excavation work of the Suyang site began in June 2021 and was included in the project of "Archaeological Research on the Civilization Process of the Central Plains of China", and the current work mainly revolves around the core living area of the Suyang area, with an excavation area of 800 square meters.
This is the archaeological excavation site of the core living area of the Suyang area of the Suyang site taken on December 15 (drone photo). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li An
Workers work at the archaeological excavation site in the core living area of the Suyang area of the Suyang site (photo taken on December 15). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li An
Ren Guang, director of the Prehistoric Research Office of luoyang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, introduced that the latest exploration results show that the Suyang site is a large settlement site with Yangshao culture as the main body and a double ring trench. The east and west sides of the site are surrounded by natural gullies to form a natural outer ring trench, and a large artificial ring trench is built inside the site as an inner ring trench, and the double ring trench indicates that the site may be of a higher rank and should be a regional central settlement.
"On the inner side of the ring trench in the Suyang area, we found a large area of densely distributed cultural layer accumulation and remains, some of which can be as thick as 5 meters, and the preliminary inference should be the core living area; there are densely arranged earth pit tombs in the southwest of the outer side of the ring trench, which may be planned clan cemeteries; and the southeast side has also explored the remains of an artificial lake for water storage or water purification." Ren Guang said that the Strong Planning, Clear Layout Structure and Obvious Functional Partitioning of the Suyang Ruins Settlement provide us with valuable materials for studying the settlement form, social development level and life and industry model of the area during the Yangshao period.
Zhao Xiaojun, president of the Luoyang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that from the excavation results, the existence time of the Suyang site from the middle of the Yangshao culture to the late Longshan culture is very long, which provides rich physical data for the establishment of the archaeological cultural sequence of the late Neolithic period in the Heluo area and the discussion of the civilization process in the Central Plains.
Source: Xinhua Net