CCTV***On the morning of December 9, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage released the latest research results of the fifth phase of the Chinese civilization exploration project in Beijing, and the phased division of the origin of Chinese civilization has a clearer and more definite understanding.
The comprehensive study of the origin and early development of Chinese civilization is a major multidisciplinary research project on ancient Chinese history and culture, which has entered the fifth stage of research since its launch in 2002. More than 400 scholars from more than 20 disciplines have carried out large-scale archaeological excavations and investigations and studies on Duyi sites such as Niuheliang in Liaoning, Lingjiatan in Anhui, Liangzhu in Zhejiang, Sidun in Jiangsu, Shijiahe in Hubei, Taosi in Shanxi, Shiyuan in Shaanxi, Bicun in Shanxi, Erlitou in Henan, Sanxingdui in Sichuan, etc., and the latest research results show that the phased division of the origin of Chinese civilization is more detailed and clear.
The origin and development of Chinese civilization has different regional differences and its own characteristics. Since about 5800 years ago, various regions of China have successively appeared relatively obvious social differentiation, and entered the accelerated stage of the origin of civilization. The period from 5800 to 3500 years ago can be divided into two eras: the ancient kingdom era and the dynastic era. Among them, the ancient kingdom era can be further subdivided into three sub-stages. Compared with the fourth stage of the source exploration project, the understanding of the ancient era is deeper.
In the next step, the Chinese Civilization Exploration Project will continue to focus on major issues such as the basic picture of the origin, formation and development of Chinese civilization, the internal mechanism and the evolution path of civilization in various regions, make overall planning and scientific layout, organize multidisciplinary forces to jointly tackle key problems, continuously expand the scope and coverage of time and space, and solve more historical mysteries.
The timeline of the origin of Chinese civilization is advancing in depthIn the first stage of the ancient kingdom era from 5800 to 5200 years ago, the Niuheliang site in the West Liaohe River Basin is represented by the Hongshan culture in the late Neolithic period. The discovery of ruins and precious jade artifacts proves with conclusive and rich archaeological data that as early as 5,000 years ago, the social form had developed to the ancient stage of primitive civilization.
Hongshan culture is one of the earliest origins of Chinese civilization, as the most important core of Hongshan culture archaeology, located in Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province, Niuheliang large-scale ruins group, since the discovery in 1981, archaeological excavation work has continued for more than 40 years.
The first site of the Niuheliang site is located on the highest mountain beam in the center of the site. In 1986, archaeologists at that time preliminarily confirmed that it was composed of three groups of mountain platforms arranged in a zigzag pattern. Excavations from 2017 to 2021 further confirmed that the site was a large platform complex composed of nine foundations. According to the mutual position, the famous "Goddess Temple", where various clay sculptures were unearthed, is located on one of the pedestals.
The new discovery of the Niuheliang site has pushed the timeline of the origin of Chinese civilization into the depth of history by about five or six hundred years.
The discovery of prehistoric hydraulic facilities dates back to about 5,100 years agoIn the second stage of the ancient kingdom period, from 5200 to 4300 years ago, the construction of large-scale water conservancy facilities and city sites showed that the ability to mobilize social resources was strengthened. The Qujialing site in Hubei Province is a large-scale Neolithic site group in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and the prehistoric water conservancy system about 5100 years ago has been newly discovered at the site, which is one of the earliest water conservancy facilities in China so far, and large-scale settlements and high-grade building foundation sites have been discovered, which provides key evidence for the study of the civilization process in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
The latest archaeological confirmation shows that there are many prehistoric water conservancy systems at the Qujialing site. Among them, the Xiongjialing water conservancy system is located in the northeast of the site, which consists of dams, water storage areas, irrigation areas and spillways. The dam is made of earth, and the existing dam body is about 2 meters high, 13 meters wide, and 180 meters long. The water storage area is about 190,000 square meters, which is equivalent to the size of three West LakesThe area of the irrigation area is about 850,000 square meters. The dating data show that the age of the early dam is about 5100 years ago, which is one of the earliest water conservancy facilities found in China so far. Liu Jianguo, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the discovery of large dams is an important indicator of the development of civilization.
Archaeologists found that the Xiongjialing dam is divided into two phases, early and late, with a long period of use, high hardness and density of the dam body, and obvious traces of artificial construction. The original "reinforcement process", that is, doping plant rhizomes in the soil to enhance the strength and stability of the dam body, was also found in the dam body, and the construction process of "grass wrapped in mud" was also discovered. Dams of similar scale have also been found in many places, experts say, this marks the prehistoric ancestors to achieve a leap from adapting to nature to transforming nature, from passive defense against flood and drought disasters to active water control, providing detailed support for exploring prehistoric water control methods and settlement formation in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
In recent years, archaeological work has also revealed that the Qujialing site has gone through three prehistoric cultural stages: Youziling culture, Qujialing culture and Shijiahe culture, and the main age is 5900-4200 years ago, which has existed for nearly 2000 years. In addition, a large central settlement of 1.05 million square meters and a high-grade building foundation site have been newly discovered, with a clear age, clear structure and superb craftsmanship. In addition, the remains of prehistoric rice cultivation and the earliest high-temperature black glazed pottery have also been discovered, and a series of discoveries have provided key samples for the study of the civilization process in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the origin of Chinese civilization.
*: CCTV).
For more exciting information, please contact the application market**"Jimu News" client, do not be authorized**, welcome to provide news clues, and pay once adopted.