Four archaeological discoveries focus on the early urban appearance of the middle reaches of the Yellow River

　　Guangming Daily, Beijing, September 17th (Reporter Li Yun and Wang Xiaofei)Recently, National Cultural Heritage Administration held a working meeting on the important progress of the major project "Archaeological China" in Beijing. The four archaeological projects of this workshop are the latest achievements in the excavation and research of early city sites in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, which are all in the early development stage after the formation of Chinese civilization. These latest achievements show the historical process of China’s prehistoric civilization and the formation and development of early countries.

　　Excavation site of Xiaoyuliang stone building in Bicun site, Xing County, Shanxi Province Xinhua News Agency issued

　　　Shicheng Site in Houchengzui, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia: Prehistoric Prototype of "Tunnel War"

　　■ Project introduction:The Shicheng site of Houchengzui is located in Qingshuihe County, Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, with an area of about 1.38 million square meters. Archaeological findings show that this site of Longshan period, which is more than 4,000 years ago, has a triple defense system: the first defense system consists of the outer urn city wall, horse face, abutment and outer ring trench; The second defense system consists of the urn city wall, the abutment and pier arranged on the urn city wall, and the inner ring trench; The third defense system consists of the main city wall, the main city gate and two horse faces arranged on both sides of the main city gate.

　　The most amazing thing is that two underground passages were found under the outer urn. Sun Jinsong, dean of the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, said that the two tunnels have both offensive and defensive functions. The widest part of the passage is 3.4 meters, the deepest part is 6.3 meters, and the top of the passage is 2.4 meters, so that people can travel without hindrance. After deduction, it can be seen that people outside the city can enter the urn through the tunnel at that time, and then shunt into the city wall to reach the interior of the main city. Of course, the reverse is also possible. Are these two tunnels the remains of "tunnel warfare" more than 4,000 years ago?

　　■ Expert comment: Song Jianzhong (researcher of National Cultural Heritage Administration Archaeological Research Center)

　　In recent ten years, archaeology has continuously promoted fine excavation and multidisciplinary cooperation. There are three levels in the area of Shenmu Shigao site in Shaanxi, Shicheng site in Houchengzui, Inner Mongolia and Bicun site in Xingxian, Shanxi. Shigao site has the largest area and the highest level, while Bicun site has the smallest area. Moreover, the three sites are all buildings made of stone and wood, and they are similar in cultural appearance. Therefore, I think Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia should work together, adhere to the problem orientation, study the context of the three sites, and make clear whether there is synchronicity among them. These will certainly promote the study of the large regional form in the north.

　　Pottery unearthed from Bicun site in Xing County, Shanxi Province, Xinhua News Agency issued

　　　Bicun Site in Xing County, Shanxi Province: An Important Guancheng along the Yellow River around 4000 years ago.

　　■ Project introduction:Bicun Site is located in Xingxian County, Luliang City, Shanxi Province, dating from 4000 to 3700 years ago. It is the first confirmed large-scale Shicheng settlement in Longshan period along the Yellow River in Shanxi Province, and it was also an important Guancheng at that time.

　　Xiaoyuliang site is the core area of Bicun site. Archaeologists have discovered a group of stone buildings, the second house in the middle is the central house, and the houses on the other two sides are arranged progressively to the west on this axis. The walls and floors of these houses have been carefully treated, and the walls are smeared with grass and mud. There is a ground stove in the house, and the maximum diameter of the stove reaches 2.6 meters. In addition to the house in the central building, there is a house in the northwest corner, which was a large studio in the early stage and divided into small compartments in the later stage. "It is particularly noteworthy that there are steps in the northwest corner of the room near the north wall. We speculate that this may be a post." Zhang Guanghui, a researcher at Shanxi Institute of Archaeology, introduced. Bicun site is located at the key road between the west and the Central Plains, and the inner and outer city walls have a relatively strict defensive layout. The city gate is backed by the Yellow River and faces the east, and checkpoints are set up everywhere. Therefore, "we speculate that this is an important checkpoint". In addition, the gate of the site is composed of three large piers in the shape of "pin" in the east, south and north, which shows a unique gate shape of Shicheng site in Hetao area.

　　■ Expert comment: Han Jianye (Professor, School of History, Renmin University of China)

　　The gate structure of Bicun Ruins is not only practical in layout, but also very neat in symmetrical structure, with a ceremonial nature. Houchengzui site and Bicun site are similar in age, and both are in the early development stage of Chinese civilization, which may be closely related. The next step should be to explore the relationship between sites in a wider scope in the north, such as what is the relationship between Bicun site and Shimao site? What is the relationship between Bicun Site and Shimao Site and Xia Dynasty? What is the relationship between cattle and sheep unearthed from Bicun site and Eurasian grassland? These relationships still need to be sorted out.

　　Gold Covered Surface Unearthed from M2 of High-grade Noble Tomb in Zhengzhou Shangcheng Site Xinhua News Agency

　　　Erlitou Site in Yanshi, Henan Province: How many more pieces are added to the Wangdu puzzle?

　　■ Project introduction:Erlitou site is located in Yanshi District, Luoyang City, Henan Province, with an existing area of 3 million square meters, which is generally considered as the capital site in the late Xia Dynasty by academic circles.

　　Before, I only knew the "Jiugongge" layout of Erlitou site, but the details were not clear. The latest archaeological excavations show that there are rammed earth walls on both sides of roads in many cities, and the outer sides of many areas outside the palace area and workshop area are also separated and protected by fences. There are different levels of buildings and tombs in different grids, and each grid may be inhabited by different people. Zhao Haitao, an associate researcher at the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that all these indicate that Erlitou Capital probably has a layout of "living in different areas, living outside the area, and integrating residence and burial".

　　The latest excavation also found the remains of pottery making for the first time in the site, and unearthed more than 800 pieces of pottery with red paint on the surface, suggesting that there may be lacquer making workshops around; Nearly 100 square meters of bone and horn processing workshops were found in the southwest corner of Miyagi. The discovery of these new workshops is helpful to study the manufacturing process and technology of handicraft industry.

　　■ Expert comment: Lei Xingshan (Professor, School of History, Capital Normal University)

　　The discovery of Erlitou site "Jiugongge" is a major breakthrough in Xia cultural archaeology. Lifang system was once an important system in the city, but it appeared relatively late. The "Jiugongge" in Erlitou is the "Li" that can be confirmed.

　　In the past archaeological work, turquoise workshops were found. Now, workshops for making bone horns and lacquerware have been found, which has strengthened some characteristics of Erlitou as the capital. It can also be seen from archaeological discoveries that although the ages and crowds are not the same, there are similar cultural features in the ruins far and wide. The similarity and continuity of cultural characteristics and the identity and inheritance of cultural genes are vivid examples of the pluralism and continuity of Chinese civilization.

　　The remains of the bone-making workshop, which was carefully excavated for the first time at Erlitou site in Yanshi, Henan Province, were issued by Xinhua News Agency.

　　　Shang Dynasty Cemetery in Shuyuan Street, Shangdu, Zhengzhou: First Discovery of Gold Covering in the Early Shang Dynasty in Central China

　　■ Project introduction:The Shang Dynasty cemetery in Shuyuan Street, Shangdu, Zhengzhou is located in the southeast of the inner city of Zhengzhou Shopping Mall site. It is a high-grade aristocratic cemetery in the early and middle period of Shang Dynasty, where a rare gold overlay was unearthed.

　　Two east-west trenches were found on the north and south sides of the cemetery, and the tombs were mainly distributed between the two trenches. Tomb No.2 is the tomb with the largest number, the richest variety and the highest level of funerary objects found at present. Besides a large number of bronzes, there are also gold coverings with a gold content of 88% and a weight of 40 grams, as well as gold ornaments such as gold bubbles and gold foils, which provide new reference materials for discussing the gold masks appearing in Sanxingdui and the cultural style of gold decorations in southwest China. Huang Fucheng, a researcher at Zhengzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that the phenomenon of dog martyrdom at the bottom of Tomb No.2 was very rare in the early and middle Shang cultures, which provided a new understanding of the source of dog martyrdom culture in later high-level tombs such as Yin Ruins in Anyang.

　　■ Expert comment: Chen Xingcan (researcher, Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

　　The age of Shang Dynasty cemetery in Shuyuan Street, Shangdu, Zhengzhou is in a critical period between the early Shang Dynasty and the middle Shang Dynasty, one period earlier than the Yin Ruins and one period later than the lower culture in Erligang, Zhengzhou. In the past, tombs were rarely found in the early and early stages of the Shang culture in Zhengzhou, especially high-grade large tombs, so the discovery of this large tomb is of great significance. Gold wares began to appear in Shang Dynasty, but they were very few. Such a large number of gold ornaments, such as the gold overlay unearthed in M2 tomb, provided us with new research materials to study the relationship between the appearance of gold wares and Eurasia grassland and the West.

　　Schematic diagram of the Shicheng site in Houchengzui entering the city through the tunnel Photo courtesy of National Cultural Heritage Administration