Henan province has 14 items listed among the recent-concluded selection of "China's 100 Major Archaeological Discoveries in Last 100 Years", ranking 1st nationwide.
As the 11th Party Congress of Henan Province approaches, we are launching the Archaeological Discovery in Henan: A Marvel in the World series featuring 7 bilingual stories about Henan's 14 items in "China's 100 Major Archaeological Discoveries in Last 100 Years" to demonstrate Henan's long history and rich culture.
Here is the 1st episode: The Jiahu Site & The Peiligang Site.
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Located in Jiahu village, 1.5 kilometers southwest of Beiwudu town, Wuyang county, Henan province, the well-preserved Jiahu Site covering an area of 55 thousand square meters is rich in cultural remains, which dates back to some 7,500 to 9,000 years ago.
Jiahu Bone Flute. [Photo/jiahugov.cn]
Beside the earliest "liquor" in the world, the world's earliest and best-preserved musical instrument, namely bone flute, is another important discovery at the Jiahu Site, which changed the music history in the world and refuted the sayings that "Chinese flute comes from the Western countries" and "7-note scale comes from abroad".
As the earliest Neolithic cultural remains found in the Huaihe River basin, the Jiahu Site connects the Neolithic cultures of the middle reaches of the Yellow River and those of the middle and lower reaches of the Huaihe River, reflecting the colorful life of the ancient Chinese people living in the upper reaches of the Huaihe River some 8,000 to 9,000 years ago.
Located in the west of Peiligang village, about 8 kilometers northwest of Xinzheng city, Henan province, the Peiligang Site is a major historical and cultural site protected at the national level in China. Dating back to some 8,000 years ago, the Peiligang Culture was named after the Peiligang Site, about 1,000 years earlier than the Yangshao Culture (dating back to 7,000 years ago).
A stone sickle with sawteeth. [Photo/Henan Daily]
More than 400 cultural relics were discovered at the Peiligang Site, including stone tools, pottery wares, bone implements, etc., highlighted by stone sickles with sawteeth, stone spades with a blade at both ends, stone querns and rollers.
The discovery of the Peiligang Site not only filled the historical gap in the early Neolithic Age before the Yangshao Culture, but also provided physical evidence for further study of the Chinese civilization. (Source: dahe.cn Translator: Zhao Hanqing Video & Poster: Wang Junyi Proofreader: Li Wenjing and Ding Lan)
Related reports
Special Coverage on Party Congress | Episode II: The Yangshao Site & The Miaodigou Site
Special Coverage on Party Congress | Episode III: The Shuanghuaishu Site & The Erlitou Site
