In archaeological discoveries, experts will always unearth some strange things, but experts say that the strangest things are always the next, just the so-called "no weirdest, only more weird." For example, when experts excavated the Dadianzi site, they unearthed an alien-shaped jar, and its role is still unsolved, what kind of strange jar is it? If you are also curious, the following Xiaobian will reveal the secret to you.
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In the 1970s, according to the arrangements of superior leaders, a large-scale census of cultural relics was carried out throughout the country. In Inner Mongolia, the census of cultural relics is also in full swing, during which experts have also gone to the countryside to investigate and look for some forgotten historical sites. In June 1976, archaeologists from Chifeng City came to the area around Ao Han Qi, and according to some local grazing villagers, there were many high platforms in Dadianzi Village before, and some people dug out some broken jars. Out of professional sensitivity, experts suspected that Gaotai was an ancient site, so they immediately asked the villagers to lead the way to Dadianzi Village to find out. 2 kilometers east of Dadianzi Village, experts did find the high platform in the mouths of the villagers, but they had been buried in the wild grass, and the villagers were herding sheep and cattle inside. After investigation, experts determined that Gaotai was indeed an ancient site, and in subsequent excavations identified it as an early Bronze Age settlement site, dating back about 3700 years, and named it the Dadianzi site.
In the years that followed, experts discovered the area of the Dadianzi site, about 120,000 square meters, and also cleared out a large number of house ruins, more than 800 tombs, unearthed more than 10,000 stone tools, pottery, jade and bronze, and even some shell coins, indicating that the ancestors of Dadianzi at that time were already engaged in some trade. Among the many excavated cultural relics, the most surprising thing for experts is that there is a well-preserved and extremely ornate clay pot, but it has a strange shape and does not know what its role is.
The painted clay pot is about 38.8 centimeters high, about 12 centimeters in diameter, about 30 centimeters in diameter at the belly, and about 10 centimeters in diameter at the bottom, and is geometrically patterned with red, white, and black throughout, which experts call the early animal face pattern. In the middle of the belly of the clay pot, there are also four symmetrical ear knobs, and there are also perforations on the ear knobs, which experts speculate are for tethers. Experts believe that this is a jar of water or food, but it is strange that this jar cannot be put up at all, because the bottom is too small and the abdomen is too large to fall down with a slight shake, so it is not practical at all. Later, after research, experts speculated on three highly likely effects:
Function one: The painted clay pot may be a water-drawing pot, that is, a jar used to draw water in the river. For example, tie a rope on its four buttons and throw it into the river, because it is a small structure with a thick bottom of the abdomen, so it will immediately twist into the river, just so that the river water flows into the jar. If the bottom area is large, the jar will float on the river for half a day and cannot get water, so this is a clever design. In the past ancient sites, experts also found that the bottom area of the clay pot is smaller, and later experts have been identified by experts as a kind of water tank, and the pattern painted clay pot of the Dadianzi site may be an early water collection pot, after which its bottom will become smaller and more conducive to water collection.
Function two: the use of painted clay pots may be different from what we think, because the ancients may not have used them on flat ground. For example, the ancients had to work in the fields or by the river, and used this jar to bring a jar of water or food, because the fields and rivers were all thin mud, so the clay pot could be inserted into the thin mud, so it became very stable, and it would not fall. In addition, if the weather is very hot in the summer, the ancients inserted the clay pot into the thin mud, and also cooled the water and food inside, which is equivalent to playing the role of our current refrigerator. It can be seen that the pattern painted clay pot is not a simple clay pot, it is likely to be a high-tech at that time.
Function three: The painted clay pot is a ceremonial vessel, not a living utensil. We all know that in ancient society, sacrifice was the top priority, the ancients had to prepare a lot of utensils when they sacrificed, perhaps the pattern painted clay pot is one of them, otherwise how could it be painted with such a gorgeous painting? During the sacrifice, people fill the jar with food or wine, and then tie a rope to the ear button and hang it around their neck. Experts speculate that in the culture of the ancestors of Dadianzi, they believed that the land was unclean, so the jar could not be placed on the ground during the sacrifice, but must be held in the hand, so when making the clay pot, they did not think about putting it on the ground.
Until now, the role of the painted clay pot has been somewhat controversial, because no other artifact can prove its role, so the pattern painted clay pot has become an unsolved mystery. Nowadays, the painted clay pots are in the Chifeng Museum in Inner Mongolia, so if you're interested, check it out and see if you can uncover its hidden mysteries.
Resources:
"Faience China" by Jia Lianmin, Publisher: Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House
Wenlan Hairun Studio Editor-in-Chief Wen Xiucai, this article is written by: Special History Writer: Liu Lijiang's
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