Shenzhongji Ruins

Shenzhongji Ruins

The Shenzhongji Ruins are a Shandong Provincial cultural heritage protection unit.

Shenzhongji is a village site dating from the Neolithic Age to the Zhou Dynasty. It is located at the eastern end of Shenzhongji Administrative Village, Pu Lianji Town, Cao County. In 1992, it was designated as part of the second batch of provincial-level cultural heritage protection units by the Shandong Provincial People's Government.

In 1957, the site was discovered during a regional cultural relics survey in Heze. In 1973, the Heze Regional Cultural Relics Team carried out a second survey of the site. Artifacts unearthed include flat stone shovels with a single hole and double-sided drilling, fully polished bodies, and blades showing signs of use; exquisitely polished stone sickles slightly curved in shape; bone chisels and bone spoons with clear signs of use; sharp and well-made bone darts, bone awls, and bone arrowheads; pottery items such as basins, bowls, jars, tripods, pots, steamers, cups, urns, and lids that exhibit standardized shapes; as well as a large number of other cultural relics such as oracle bones, bone hairpins, perforated bone fragments, and pottery rings. This is one of the most representative settlement sites in Heze City, possessing significant historical value, scientific research importance, and unique local cultural and artistic worth. The large quantity of fish bones, snail shells, clam shells, small amounts of animal bones, as well as remains of steps, possible postholes, and hearths found at the site provide crucial clues for further understanding the socio-economic conditions, historical background, and house-building techniques of the time. The unearthed Longshan Culture pottery not only displays typical features of Longshan Culture but also exhibits certain characteristics of Henan Longshan Culture, representing another type of cultural remnant that bridges the two. Its discovery offers important evidence for studying the economic life and cultural content of the Longshan Culture period in southwestern Shandong. The findings of Dawenkou Culture artifacts, in the vertical timeline, demonstrate that the Longshan Culture in southwestern Shandong evolved from the Dawenkou Culture and transitioned into the Yueshi Culture. Horizontally, they show that the Longshan Culture in this region was influenced by Henan Longshan Culture, forming a distinct set of Longshan Culture traits separate from the other two.

Source: Heze Municipal Local Chronicles Office

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units