Early humans experienced a process of migration from the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and by the middle and late Paleolithic period, prehistoric humans settled in the Yangtze River Delta region. By the Neolithic period, the cultural influence of the Yangtze River Delta region extended to today's Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian and other places, and has become the center of the southern cultural system. Mr. Su Bingqi said in "New Exploration of the Origin of Chinese Civilization", "The southern fauna in the southeast centered on the Taihu Lake is listed together with the northern fauna and the central plains fauna as the three major fauna. ”
In 1978, archaeologists excavated 20 pieces of jade such as Jade Jue, Jade Pipe, Jade Bead, and Jade Huang in the third and fourth layers of the Yuyao Hemudu site in Zhejiang Province, dating back to 7,000 years. Its material is inferior jade and fluorite, and the production is also very rough, which is the earliest jade found in the Yangtze River Delta region so far.
Figure 1: YuJue, jade pipe and jade juan excavated from the Mudu site in Yuyao, Zhejiang in 1978
From August 2000 to January 2001, archaeologists conducted drilling and rescue excavations at the Qitou Mountain site in Jiangyin during the Majiabang culture period, and unearthed 17 pieces of jade such as jade, jade pipe and jade huang, dating from 7,000 to 6,000 years ago.
Figure 2: Various jade pipes excavated from the Qitou Mountain site in Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, in 2000
In 1990, at the Tashan site in Dancheng, Xiangshan County, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, archaeologists excavated jade artifacts such as jade, jade pipe, and jade beads, dating back 6,000 years.
Figure 3: Jade and jade pipes excavated from the Tashan site in Xiangshan, Zhejiang in 1990
The above jade excavated from the sites of the three stages of Hemudu culture, Majiabang culture to Songze culture is the source of jade in the Yangtze River Delta region. It is almost the same as the earliest Jade Seal and Jade Pipe found in China in the Northeast Region, which is a clear proof of the spread of the Northeast Jade Culture coast to North China and the eastern coast, as to whether it is mainly by sea, or land, and how the route is, it remains to be studied.
——Excerpt from the author's original article "How to Form the Eastern Ritual and Reveal the Secret of Liangzhu Jade"