Jiangjiashan Site

Jiangjiashan Site

The Jiangjiashan Site is a cultural heritage protection unit of Zhejiang Province.

The Jiangjiashan Site is located at Jiangjiashan in Changxing County, with an explored area of about 10,000 square meters. Approximately 2,500 square meters of the site have been excavated, yielding over 1,000 artifacts including pottery, stone tools, jade objects, wooden ware, bamboo ware, and bone implements.

Recently, a Neolithic cultural site was discovered in Changxing County, Zhejiang Province. After nine months of salvage archaeological excavation, experts unearthed several artifacts that fill gaps in domestic archaeological records.

Archaeological experts from Zhejiang Province and Changxing County have confirmed that the Jiangjiashan Site is a highly significant ancient cultural site on the southwestern shore of Taihu Lake during the Neolithic Age. Human activity remains span from the late Majiabang Culture, Songze Culture, and Liangzhu Culture—dating back over 6,000 years—to the Majiabang Culture and nearly 4,000-year-old Maqiao Culture.

Among the unearthed relics at the Jiangjiashan Site, the circular stone tool from the Majiabang Culture and the double-hook line engraved emblem on the pottery spinning whorl from the Songze Culture were found in China for the first time. The intact wooden plowshare and stone axe handle reflect the true appearance of farming tools used at the time. The mortise-and-tenon structured wooden components from stilt-style buildings have greatly enriched research materials on the Majiabang Culture. The site also yielded a large number of relatively well-preserved human skeletons, which is rare in the humid, acidic soil conditions typical of Zhejiang and even the broader Jiangnan region. This provides valuable insights into the local population and burial customs of the time.

On March 24, 2005, staff from the Changxing County Cultural Relics Protection Management Office noticed red burned earth—a sign of ancient fire use—while traveling through the Jiangjiashan roadbed of a highway. They collected pottery fragments and stone tools from the Majiabang, Songze, Maqiao, Shang, and Zhou periods at the site. The next day, experts from the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Archaeology were dispatched to conduct further investigations and preliminarily determined a plan for salvage archaeological excavation.

On April 4 of the same year, with approval from the National Cultural Heritage Administration, salvage archaeological excavation work quickly commenced. Over 20 archaeologists from the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Nanjing Museum Institute of Archaeology, Liangzhu Culture Museum, as well as anthropology experts from Shanghai participated. Currently, the first phase of field archaeology has largely concluded, and the cultural relics department will continue further excavation of the site.

Extended Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units