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The Kuahuqiao site () is an early
Archaeologist Yan Wenming (严文明) has researched the site since the beginning. He uncovered a community of wooden dwellings that was constructed on stilts over the marshy wetlands.
Large quantities of stoneware, unglazed pottery, sophisticated painted pottery, jade artifacts, and other cultural relics were found. Villagers made pottery with wild rice as a bonding material. Many wooden, stone and pottery utensils were also unearthed from the site.
According to Yan Wenming,
During latest excavations, numerous well-preserved organic remains were found. They indicate that rice, dogs and pigs had already been domesticated by villagers. Thus, it was established that paddy rice cultivation was already practised in China dating back 7,700 years. This evidence was well-dated, and may be the earliest evidence for rice cultivation. It was found by a team led by Cheng Zong of Durham University in UK.
According to Gary Crawford, of the University of Toronto at Mississauga, this new evidence is "an important contribution to understanding agricultural origins in the rice regions of East Asia."
A very early
The discovery of an 8000-year-old dugout canoe at Kuahuqiao in the Lower Yangzi River, China.
antiquity.ac.uk The earliest domesticated
The discovery of an 8000-year-old dugout canoe at Kuahuqiao in the Lower Yangzi River, China.
antiquity.ac.uk *Zheng Lifei
8 August 2007, chinadaily.com.cn {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Hangzhou Neolithic cultures of China History of Hangzhou Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Zhejiang Xiaoshan District Populated places established in the 6th millennium BC
The Kuahuqiao site () is an early Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
site of Kuahuqiao culture (跨湖桥文化 Kuahuqiao Wenhua) near Xianghu village, Xiaoshan District
Xiaoshan is one of ten urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, East China. Xiaoshan was formerly a city in its own right, separated by the Qiantang River from Hangzhou proper, but the municipal ...
, in suburban Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...
, Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...
, China. It was first discovered in the early 1970s during the construction of a local brick factory, which destroyed a large part of the site. But the professional excavations first started in 1990.
The site is located near the place where the Qiantang River flows into Hangzhou Bay
Hangzhou Bay, or the Bay of Hangzhou (), is a funnel-shaped inlet of the East China Sea, bordered by the province of Zhejiang and the municipality of Shanghai, which lies north of the Bay. The Bay extends from the East China Sea to its head ...
, and it has a history of 8,000 years. Rising sea levels may have suddenly deluged the area around 7,550 years ago.
Excavations
Archaeologist Yan Wenming (严文明) has researched the site since the beginning. He uncovered a community of wooden dwellings that was constructed on stilts over the marshy wetlands.
Large quantities of stoneware, unglazed pottery, sophisticated painted pottery, jade artifacts, and other cultural relics were found. Villagers made pottery with wild rice as a bonding material. Many wooden, stone and pottery utensils were also unearthed from the site.
According to Yan Wenming,
"The culture of Kuahuqiao is very unique. It can hardly be compared to any other ancient cultures discovered in the province, and we found it difficult to put it into the cultural chronology within our knowledge."In 2001, a second excavation was also carried out. In the same year, Kuahuqiao culture was recognised as one of top 10 most important archaeological discoveries of the year in China. Kuahuqiao has been entered in the official list of the Monuments of the People's Republic of China since 2006.
Discoveries
During latest excavations, numerous well-preserved organic remains were found. They indicate that rice, dogs and pigs had already been domesticated by villagers. Thus, it was established that paddy rice cultivation was already practised in China dating back 7,700 years. This evidence was well-dated, and may be the earliest evidence for rice cultivation. It was found by a team led by Cheng Zong of Durham University in UK.
According to Gary Crawford, of the University of Toronto at Mississauga, this new evidence is "an important contribution to understanding agricultural origins in the rice regions of East Asia."
A very early dugout canoe
A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek – ''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' ( ...
was revealed; this demonstrates the earliest technology for constructing this type of watercraft in China, and perhaps the world.Leping Jiang & Li Liu (2005)The discovery of an 8000-year-old dugout canoe at Kuahuqiao in the Lower Yangzi River, China.
antiquity.ac.uk The earliest domesticated
peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...
was found here. The second oldest remains of peach have been found at Neolithic Tianluoshan site, also in Zhejiang Province.
See also
*Hemudu culture
The Hemudu culture (5500 BC to 3300 BC) was a Neolithic culture that flourished just south of the Hangzhou Bay in Jiangnan in modern Yuyao, Zhejiang, China. The culture may be divided into early and late phases, before and after 4000 BC respec ...
*Majiabang culture
The Majiabang culture, also named Ma-chia-pang culture, was a Chinese Neolithic culture that existed at the mouth of the Yangtze River, primarily around Lake Tai near Shanghai and north of Hangzhou Bay. The culture spread throughout southern Jian ...
* List of Neolithic sites in China
Notes
Literature
*Xiaoshan Bowuguan萧山博物馆 (Xiaoshan Museum): Xiaoshan gu Taoci萧山古陶瓷 (Old ceramics in Xiaoshan), Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe 2007;External links
*Leping Jiang & Li Liu (2005)The discovery of an 8000-year-old dugout canoe at Kuahuqiao in the Lower Yangzi River, China.
antiquity.ac.uk *Zheng Lifei
8 August 2007, chinadaily.com.cn {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Hangzhou Neolithic cultures of China History of Hangzhou Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Zhejiang Xiaoshan District Populated places established in the 6th millennium BC