Xiawa Site

Xiawa Site

The Xiawa Site is a Shang Dynasty cultural relic site, located about 1,800 meters southwest of Xinshi Village in Xianyuan Township and approximately 49 kilometers from the county seat. Xiawa Mountain rises over 60 meters above the ground surface, stretching from northwest to southeast. To the southeast of the site lies flat and expansive rice paddies, while to the northwest are undulating hills, with the several-zhang-wide Xinshi River running between them. …

The site covers an area of approximately 6,000 square meters and consists of yellow soil. Due to erosion from rainwater, the cultural strata have been severely damaged, with numerous stone tools and pottery fragments exposed on the surface. Stone tools collected during the 1982 cultural relics survey were mostly axes and adzes, all of which were polished stone implements. Among the pottery fragments, identifiable vessel shapes include folded-shoulder concave-bottom jars, shallow-dish bean pots, deep-bellied round-bottom jars, and wide-mouthed zun vessels. Most are sandy yellow pottery, plain-surfaced, with dark brown glaze applied to the outer surface. There are also gray pottery and sandy red pottery, as well as primitive celadon. Pottery fragment decorations include large checkered patterns, small checkered patterns, S-shaped patterns, wave patterns, cord patterns, and additional ridge patterns with comb-dotted impressions, among which large and small checkered patterns are the most common.

Judging from the forms of the collected stone tools and pottery, there are similarities with horse-shaped pottery knives, folded-shoulder jars, and open-mouthed zun vessels of the Erligang type unearthed at the Shang Dynasty site of Wucheng in Qingjiang. The ancestors who lived here relied on the mountain and water, maintaining a lifestyle primarily based on agriculture supplemented by hunting.

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