Ancient Cultural Site of Doujudui

Ancient Cultural Site of Doujudui

The Ancient Cultural Site of Doujudui is a cultural heritage protection unit of Shandong Province.

Doujudui is a cultural relic site dating from the Neolithic Age to the Shang Dynasty. It is located northeast of Yanglou Administrative Village, Luquan Town, Dongming County. In 1992, it was designated as part of the second batch of provincial-level cultural heritage protection units by the People’s Government of Shandong Province.

During the Qing Dynasty, a small temple was built on the site, hence it was also known as the Ancestral Burial Ground of Douzhuang. The site was discovered in 1963, and trial excavations were organized by the Heze Regional Cultural Relics Work Team in 1976. Probing revealed that the site measures 95.2 meters from north to south and 85 meters from east to west, covering an area of 8,092 square meters. The remaining mound is 76 meters long from north to south and 52 meters wide from east to west. The mound is elliptical in shape, slightly higher than the surrounding ground, and is generally well-preserved. Artifacts unearthed from the Neolithic Age are predominantly gray pottery, with a certain amount of red and black pottery. The surfaces feature cord and basket patterns, and the items include pottery jars, chisel-shaped tripod feet, stone sickles, vessel lids, cauldrons, lei vessels, and pottery spinning whorls. From the Shang Dynasty, there are coarse sandy cord-marked bag-shaped li tripod feet, fine sandy red pottery jars, fine sandy gray pottery fu vessels, yan steamers, jars, basins, zun wine vessels, and clay gray pottery vats. Artifacts from the Han Dynasty include fine sandy cord-marked pottery fragments.

Dongming is located at the border between Henan and Shandong. The shapes, decorations, and styles of the excavated artifacts show influences from the Longshan culture of both provinces. There are cord and grid patterns similar to those found in the Shang Dynasty relics of Xiaotun, Anyang, Henan, as well as vessel shapes resembling the folded-shoulder, straight-bellied types unearthed from the Qingjudui site in Liangshan. The artifacts possess a distinctive local style, providing valuable physical material for studying the Longshan culture of Shandong and Henan.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Protection Units of Shandong Province