Infographic: Aerial photography of Lingjiatan. Photo by Zhang Changjun
Hefei, February 19 (China News Network) -- Knowing that the jade double bi excavated from the Lingjiatan site in Anhui Province has become the source of inspiration for the design of the back of the medal of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Zhang Jingguo, the first archaeological leader of the Lingjiatan site, is somewhat excited and proud, because this piece of jade double bi was excavated and discovered by his hands.
Located in Hanshan County, Anhui Province, with a total area of 2.2 million square meters, the Lingjiatan site is a central settlement site of the late Neolithic period dating from 5800 to 5300 years ago, and is called the "Three Major Jade Cultures of Prehistory in China" together with the Hongshan Culture and liangzhu Culture. As one of the five regional central settlements in the Yangtze River Basin, the Lingjiatan site was included in the new round of "Chinese Civilization Source Exploration Research Topic" and selected as China's "Top 100 Archaeological Discoveries in a Hundred Years".
Infographic: Aerial photography of Lingjiatan. Over-the-top photography
Since the first excavation in 1987, the Lingjiatan site has undergone 13 excavations, with a total excavation area of more than 6,000 square meters, and more than 3,000 cultural relics have been excavated, including about 1,200 pieces of jade, representative jade, dragon, tiger, bi, primitive Bagua map, etc.
Zhang Jingguo introduced that the jade bi excavated from the Lingjiatan site is small, which mainly reflects the cosmology of the original heavenly circle place. Yushuanglianbi has the philosophical ideas of "middle" and the unity of heaven and man, and has the meaning of peace and peace, and China has had the concept of "Cangbi Li Tian, Huang Qi Li Di" since ancient times.
"Chinese jade culture is unique and continuous in the forest of world culture, and is unique to China." Zhang Jingguo believes that the discovery of the Lingjiatan site may advance the history of Chinese civilization to 5300 years ago. Judging from the current research, the Lingjiatan site has reached the level of primary urban "planning".
Zhang Jingguo introduced that the natural environment and rich jade mineral resources along the mountains and rivers have bred the Lingjiatan culture, which is located in the collision zone between the north and the south of China, east and west, and the economic and cultural exchanges have collided with the spark of civilization. Archaeology has found that the Lingjiatan site began rice farming, and with a material foundation, the ancestors of Lingjiatan had surplus labor force to carry out spiritual civilization construction.
Data map: Lingjiatan Civilization Exploration Source Exhibition Hall. Over-the-top photography
According to the analysis of geological experts, there are traces of floods in the Lingjiatan formation, and the Lingjiatan civilization may be destroyed by floods. Some of the ancestors of Lingjiatan entered the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas along the Yangtze River, evolving the Liangzhu culture, because many pottery, stone tools and jade tools excavated from the Liangzhu site have the shadow of Lingjiatan. Zhang Jingguo said.
According to reports, the Lingjiatan site is the first settlement site in China to be built in layers by terrain, which has a prominent position in the study of the evolution of ancient Chinese society. It is of great significance for the study of the origins of ancient religions, primitive philosophical thoughts, calendar systems, as well as manufacturing technology, craft aesthetics, urban construction, and dragon and phoenix culture.
For example, Zhang Jingguo said that the jade excavated from the Lingjiatan site is mainly jade ceremonial ware, which is a symbol of identity, status, power and wealth, and its production process is in the leading position of China's Neolithic Age, attracting the attention of scholars at home and abroad. "Lingjiatan had a jade-making machine at that time - semi-automatic system stoneware, and jade cutting processes such as wire cutting and slice cutting are still in use today."
At the same time, a well-preserved large-scale ring trench settlement site was found at the Lingjiatan site, and there were several small settlement groups around it, showing a social structure of "stars arching the moon", which indicated that Lingjiatan had entered a civilized society.
Today, archaeologists are excavating the large red clay block accumulation area at the Lingjiatan site. Zhang Jingguo introduced: "The scale is very large, and it is predicted to be a large palace or temple building. ”
"The archaeological excavation area of the Lingjiatan site is only the tip of the iceberg, and in the future, with the progress of science and technology and the efforts of generations or even many generations of archaeologists, Lingjiatan will surely bring more surprises." Zhang Jingguo said.
During the Spring Festival of the Year of the Tiger, due to the Lingjiatan culture of the Beijing Winter Olympics medal "handshake", the Lingjiatan National Archaeological Site Park, which has just been put into trial operation, has set off a boom of "archaeological research and study tours", and tourists have flocked here.
It is understood that Anhui strives to declare the Lingjiatan site to enter the preliminary list of world heritage sites. At present, projects such as Lingjiatan National Archaeological Park and Site Museum are under construction. (End)