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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
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 Populated places disestablished in the 6th millennium BC Archaeological sites in China
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
site of Kuahuqiao culture (跨湖桥文化 Kuahuqiao Wenhua) near Xianghu village, Xiaoshan District, in suburban Hangzhou
Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...
, Zhejiang
)
, translit_lang1_type2 =
, translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese)
, image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg
, image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains
, image_map = Zhejiang i ...
, 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
The Qiantang River (), formerly known as the Hangchow River Postal Map Romanization, or Tsientang River, is a rivers of China, river in East China. An important commercial artery, it runs for through Zhejiang, passing through the provincial c ...
flows into Hangzhou Bay, 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
Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...
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-out tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (tr ...
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 Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...
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 on the Coastline of China, Chinese coast, just south of the Hangzhou Bay in Jiangnan in modern Yuyao, Zhejiang, China. The culture may be divided into early and la ...
*Majiabang culture
The Majiabang culture, formerly also written Ma-chia-pang, was a Neolithic culture that occupied the Yangtze River Delta, primarily around Lake Tai west of modern Shanghai and north of Hangzhou Bay. The culture spread throughout southern Jian ...
*List of Neolithic sites in China
This is a list of Neolithic cultures of China that have been unearthed by archaeologists. They are sorted in chronological order from earliest to latest and are followed by a schematic visualization of these cultures.
It would seem that the defi ...
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 Populated places disestablished in the 6th millennium BC Archaeological sites in China