Luojiajiao Site

Luojiajiao Site

The Luojiajiao Site is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Luojiajiao Site is located in Luojiajiao Village, Shimen Town, Tongxiang City, Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. It is the largest Neolithic site discovered in Zhejiang Province to date, dating back approximately 7,000 years.

The cultural remains of the site belong to the Majiabang culture. Archaeological excavations have discovered 53 ash pits, as well as wooden architectural components with mortise-and-tenon joints, a large number of animal remains, and natural remains such as rice grains. A total of 800 artifacts made of stone, bone, wood, and pottery were unearthed, including a small number of exquisite white pottery shards that are no less refined than those from the Shang Dynasty. A group of typical artifacts was also found, such as wide-rimmed basins, multi-rimmed plates, flared-footed beans, and small net sinkers. The cultural characteristics are distinctly different from those of the Hemudu culture on the southern bank of the Qiantang River. Among the 156 rice grains unearthed from the third and fourth layers, scientific identification has confirmed them to be cultivated indica and japonica rice dating back 7,040 years, making the Jiaxing area one of the earliest known sites of rice cultivation in China and among the earliest in the world.

The discovery and excavation of this site have provided important physical materials for the study of the Neolithic period in the Taihu Lake Basin. (National Cultural Heritage Administration)

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Provincial-Level Archaeological Site Parks in Zhejiang Province

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units