Suojincun Site

The Suojincun Site is located at the northwest end of Suojincun, about 2 kilometers outside Taipingmen in the northern suburbs of Nanjing. The site is a circular earthen mound with a diameter of approximately 100 meters, covering an area of 7,000 square meters. Excavations were carried out twice by the Nanjing Museum in 1956 and 1957, uncovering an area of 544 square meters. The cultural layer reaches a thickness of up to 1.43 meters and primarily consists of late-stage remains of the Hushu Culture. Burnt hearths and remnants of red-fired earthen living surfaces have been commonly found, along with animal bones and traces of smoke. Pottery is predominantly made of clay-based red pottery, followed by gray and black pottery, with a small number of geometric-patterned hard pottery pieces decorated with cord marks, checkerboard patterns, and string patterns. Artifacts unearthed include stone axes, adzes, knives, sickles, pottery dou (food vessels), basins, bowls, model pottery, pottery pads, pottery paddles, spinning whorls, bronze arrowheads, and bronze knives. The pottery mainly consists of large flat-bottomed vessels and handled li (tripod cauldrons), as well as a significant number of pottery spinning whorls. Stone tools prominently feature knives, sickles, arrowheads, and spears. Burials were found beneath layers of ash-colored soil, while children were interred in small rectangular pits under the living surfaces, indicating a certain degree of established burial practices.