Kuahuqiao site

Kuahuqiao (跨湖桥 遗址Kuahuqiao Yizhi) is an early neolithic site of Kuahuqiao culture (跨湖桥 文化 Kuahuqiao Wenhua); it was discovered in 1990 near Xianghu village, Xiaoshan District, in the outskirts of Hangzhou, in the Chinese province of Zhejiang. The site has a history of 8,000 years.

Excavations

Archaeologist Yan Wenming (严文明) has researched the site since the beginning. Large quantities of stoneware, unglazed pottery, sophisticated painted pottery, jade artifacts, and other cultural relics were found.

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 in China.

Kuahuqiao has been entered in the official list of the Monuments of the People's Republic of China since 2006.

See also

• List of Neolithic sites in China
• Wet rice cultivation

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; ISBN 9787501021161

External Links

• Paddy rice cultivation in China dating back 7,700 years
• Zheng Lifei, Hangzhou home to ancient cultural heritage. 8 August 2007, chinadaily.com.cn