On January 30, the "New Archaeological Discoveries in China in 2023" was announced in Beijing, and six projects were on the list, including the Paleolithic site of Mengxihe in Ziyang City, Sichuan Province, the Neolithic site group of Shell Qiutou in Pingtan County, Fujian Province, the Neolithic site of Qujialing in Jingmen City, Hubei Province, the Shang Dynasty site in Zhaigou in Qingjian County, Shaanxi Province, the site of the Jingjiao temple in the Tang and Song dynasties in the west of Turpan City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the architectural site in the south of the Imperial City of Liaoshangjing, Bahrain Left Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and undertaken by the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the "New Archaeological Discoveries in China" is known as the "Big Six" in the industry, and six archaeological projects of great value are selected every year. At the Archaeology Forum of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the "six majors" selected this time jointly outlined for us a vivid picture of the production and life of the ancients.
Paleolithic site of Mengxi River, Ziyang City, Sichuan Province: refresh the understanding of the Paleolithic Age
Located in Lezhi County, Ziyang City, Sichuan Province, the main cultural layer of the site is 7 to 50,000 years old, and it is the clearest, most systematic and all-element site in the Paleolithic site in the world.
Zheng Zhexuan, deputy research librarian of the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, introduced that the reason why it is called "all-element site" is because the site not only found stone tools, but also bone and wood production tools, which is rare in the world for the processing and utilization of organic materials in the Paleolithic Age; The use of animal and plant resources at this site is "large, medium and small, water, land and air, carnivorous and grass-eating", from large trees to small plant seeds, bears on the ground, and birds in the sky.
The higher proportion of elderberry and muscular grass found here is a medicinal plant of traditional Chinese medicine, which means that before the legend of "Shennong tasted a hundred herbs", ancient humans had an understanding of plant resources. At the same time, clear traces of fire were found at the site, as well as cut marks and scratches on the bones. Among them, carving and other behaviors were very rare in the Paleolithic Age, reflecting the initial exploration of the spiritual world by early ancient humans.
Wang Youping, a professor at Peking University's School of Archaeology and Museums, said: "For the public, the Mengxi River site is a restoration of a scene of life in ancient times that is within reach. The ancestors who lived at this site tens of thousands of years ago, their cognition and ability to control things, greatly refreshed our understanding of social life in the Paleolithic Age. ”
The Neolithic ruins of Shell Qiutou in Pingtan County, Fujian Province: Improving the "Ocean Puzzle" in the Formation and Development of Chinese Civilization
The Shell Qiutou site group includes the Shell Qiutou, Xiying, Donghuaqiu, Guishan and other sites in Pingtan Island, Fujian, dating from 7500 to 3000 years ago. The coastal area of Fujian is considered to be an important starting point for the formation and spread of early Austronesian language groups to Taiwan.
Zhou Zhenyu, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of History), said that this group of sites shows the clothing, food, housing and transportation of the early Austronesian people: their livelihood patterns are both continental and oceanic, and rich marine and terrestrial animal resources have been found in the remains of various periods; Phytolithic rice remains more than 7,000 years ago were also found at the sites of Xiying and Shell Qiutou, which are the earliest rice remains in the southeastern coastal islands of China. Their ceremonial public activities were well developed, which may be related to the livelihood patterns of seafaring, fishing and hunting.
The characteristics of both oceanic and continental characteristics of the early Austronesian language group are in line with the logical characteristics of the Austronesian language family that originated from the mainland and spread to the ocean. Zhou Zhenyu said. Preliminary studies in molecular biology have shown that the Pingtan prehistoric population has a relatively close genetic relationship with the ethnic groups of southern China and Southeast Asia, which also indicates the continental nature of the early Austronesian language group**. Archaeological studies of plants have found that rice and millet were introduced to Taiwan between 4,800 and 4,600 years ago. Li Xinwei, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of History), pointed out that the series of archaeological discoveries on Pingtan Island have deepened our understanding of the oceanic nature of Chinese civilization.
Neolithic site of Qujialing, Jingmen City, Hubei Province: the wisdom of water control in the Jianghan Plain more than 5,000 years ago
The Qujialing site is located in the Qujialing Management Area of Jingmen City, Hubei Province, with Qujialing as the core, and is a large-scale Neolithic site integrating more than ten sites such as Yinjialing, Zhongjialing, Zunziba and Yangwan.
In recent years, archaeologists have discovered a number of large-scale prehistoric water conservancy systems built due to the situation, and carried out detailed archaeological investigations on the two water conservancy systems of Xiongjialing and Zhengjia. Dai Xiangming, a professor at the School of History at Capital Normal University, said: "The discovery of the water conservancy system has actually connected the Qujialing ruins into a whole, making it an important site to prove the origin of civilization in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River." ”
Tao Yang, deputy research librarian of the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that in the construction of the dam, many details reflect the wisdom of the ancients, for example, the ancients used the naturally distributed bedrock face as a spillway, showing the scientific construction concept of "adapting measures to local conditions".
The complex water conservancy system of the Qujialing site integrates various functions such as drought resistance and flood control, domestic water and agricultural irrigation, marking the concept of water control of the prehistoric ancestors from the initial passive waterproofing and water resistance to active water control and water use, realizing the leap from adapting to nature to transforming nature.
Zhaigou Shang Dynasty Site in Qingjian County, Shaanxi Province: Fang State where the Shang civilization coexisted in northern Shaanxi and the Central Plains
The Zhaigou site is located in Zhaigou Village, Jiejiagou Town, Qingjian County, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, with an area of about 3 million square meters, and is the largest central settlement site of the Shang Dynasty in northern Shaanxi.
The oracle bone inscription of Yinxu records that in the late Shang Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty was surrounded by many countries. The Northern Shaanxi Plateau was once one of the important distribution areas of the Shang Dynasty. For the first time, the site of the Shang Dynasty in Zhaigou discovered the largest, largest number and highest level of A-shaped aristocratic tombs outside the Yin Shang cultural circle. The unearthed gold earrings, snake-headed daggers, and pottery have distinctive local characteristics, reflecting the close economic and cultural exchanges between the Loess Hilly Region and the Shang Dynasty, as well as the influence of the Shang Dynasty on the surrounding areas. Sun Zhanwei, an associate researcher at the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, introduced.
The site also found a number of pottery fans with outstanding Yin Ruin style. Lei Xingshan, a professor at Beijing Union University, said: "The discovery of mature and fine pottery proves that at least some of the bronzes came from here, rather than being cast in Yinxu, and it also shows the high level of bronze casting technology here." ”
The site of the Nestorian Monastery in the Tang and Song dynasties in the west of Turpan, Xinjiang: witnessing the inclusiveness of Chinese civilization
The site of the Jingjiao temple in the west is located at the southern foot of the Huoshan Mountain in Turpan City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the age of the site is about the Tang to Song Dynasty, which is one of the rare existing Jingjiao sites at home and abroad.
During the Tang Dynasty, Nestorianism was introduced to China along the Silk Road. Liu Wensuo, a professor at the School of Sociology and Anthropology of Sun Yat-sen University, said that the buildings of the Jingjiao monastery (monastery) in the west are relatively well preserved and the structure is complete, and a large number of important cultural relics have been unearthed in recent years, especially multilingual documents. Preliminary identifications include Chinese, Syriac, Sogdian, Uighur, etc., and there are also some double-sided written documents, one side of which is Chinese Buddhist or Taoist scriptures, and the other is Uighur Nestorian or Syriac Nestorian literature.
In recent years, 186 fragments of murals have been unearthed at the site, "the pigments and style of the murals are very similar to those found in many places in Xinjiang, which is a trace of mutual learning between different religions." Liu Wensuo said.
The simultaneous appearance of multiple languages and religions here is the embodiment of the inclusiveness of Chinese civilization. Guo Wu, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of History), said.
Architectural ruins in the southern part of the Imperial City of Liaoshangjing, Inner Mongolia: Evidence of the sinicization of Liaoshangjing architecture
The site of Liaoshangjing is located in the southeast of Lindong Town, Bahrain Left Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
In recent years, archaeologists have carried out archaeological exploration and excavation of large-scale building sites in the southern part of the imperial city of Liaoshangjing, mainly excavating two large courtyards and four single buildings such as the main hall and the side hall, as well as ancillary buildings such as corridors and courtyard walls. Wang Ying, associate researcher of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of History), introduced that the large palace buildings of the Liao Dynasty seen in the previous excavations were all sitting west and facing east, and the courtyard of this excavation was the first time that the Liao Dynasty was found in the imperial city of Liaoshangjing, and the large buildings built in the north and facing south were found. "After the Khitan came into contact with the Han people in the Central Plains, they received a large number of Han cultures, and the newly discovered south-facing large-scale buildings should be important evidence that the Khitan people accepted the Han culture. Qin Dashu, a professor at the School of Archaeology and Museums of Peking University, said.
Combined with the literature, the large-scale architectural sites in the southern part of the imperial city excavated this time are large-scale, high-level, and prominent, which may be related to the important early Liao Dynasty buildings such as the imperial temple, the Confucian Temple, the Guozijian, and the government office contained in the History of Liao. Wang Ying introduced.
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