Qiuwan Site

Qiuwan Site

The Qiuwan Site is located southeast of Tanzhijicheng in Maocun Township, Tongshan County, covering an area of approximately 3,000 square meters. It was discovered in 1957, underwent trial excavations in 1959, and had two full excavations in 1960 and 1965, uncovering a total area of 735 square meters. The site contains cultural remains from the Longshan Culture of the late Neolithic period as well as the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties.

The Longshan Culture stratum is not thick. Residential remains such as hearths and bag-shaped storage pits were found, along with artifacts including tripod cauldrons with ghost-faced legs, pottery ?, and eggshell-thin black pottery fragments. Other production tools unearthed include stone axes, adzes, arrowheads, knives, shell sickles, shell arrowheads, bone arrowheads, and pottery spinning whorls.

In the Shang Dynasty cultural layer, rammed house foundations, postholes, hearths, and storage pit remains were discovered, as well as shell sickles, deer antler mattocks, bronze knives, chisels, fishhooks, and bronze arrowheads. Pottery items include li tripods, ? , gui vessels, dou stems, zun vases, basins, jars, urns, ? , plates, and vessel lids, along with oracle bones, oracle shells, bone needles, bone hairpins, bone hair sticks, shell ornaments, and tooth ornaments. In the southern part of the site, a ritual site for human sacrifice was found. At the center of the ritual were four large natural standing stones, surrounded by 20 human skeletons, 2 human skulls, and 12 dog skeletons. Some human skeletons had their hands bound behind their backs, were face-down with knees bent, or had heads separated from bodies. All human and dog skeletons faced toward the central stones. The ritual site is divided into upper and lower layers, suggesting that the same sacrificial practice was carried out at least twice. Based on the form of the ritual and historical records, it is believed to have been a communal earth worship ceremony, with the central stones serving as the “Shezhu” (earth god pillars). This practice of human sacrifice in earth worship originated in the late primitive society among agricultural tribes that worshipped the earth deity.

In the Western Zhou cultural layer, pottery items such as li tripods, ? , jars, and gui vessels were found, along with bronze ge dagger-axes. Natural remains include shells, boar teeth, deer antlers, and ma turtle shells.