Wild Shop Site

Wild Shop Site

The Wild Shop Site is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Wild Shop Site is located to the south of Wild Shop Village in Yishan Town. It is a prehistoric archaeological site in Shandong Province, representing typical Dawenkou and Longshan cultures of the region, along with remains from the Zhou to Han dynasties.

The terrain of the site slopes from north to south, stretching approximately 1,000 meters from east to west and about 800 meters from north to south, covering a total area of around 800,000 square meters. The ancient cultural deposits are between 0.5 and 1.6 meters thick. From 1971 to 1972, the Shandong Provincial Museum and the Zoucheng Cultural Relics Preservation Office jointly excavated the site, uncovering an area of 1,660 square meters. A double cultural layer of Dawenkou and Longshan cultures was discovered, along with over 100 Dawenkou culture tombs, 17 ash pits, 6 house foundations, and 2 pottery kilns; and 1 Longshan culture house foundation and 6 ash pits. More than 1,000 cultural relics were unearthed. Radiocarbon dating indicated that the site dates back approximately between 4,640 and 6,170 years ago, spanning roughly 1,500 years.

The ancient cultural layers of the Wild Shop Site are divided into four strata, containing a large number of pottery shards, charcoal, and red burned earth. The house foundations include both square and circular shapes, all built as semi-subterranean structures. In some areas, tombs are densely distributed, mostly rectangular vertical earthen pits, including primitive large and medium-sized wooden-chambered tombs with coffins and smaller tombs without coffins. Female single burials dominate, with joint burials accounting for only 10%. Children’s tombs were made using jar coffins. The number of burial objects varies: large and medium-sized tombs generally contain 50 to 80 items, while small tombs have only 1 or 2. There is evidence of burial differentiation based on wealth, indicating an emerging disparity in affluence within the clan. Unearthed artifacts include daily utensils, production tools, and ornaments. Daily utensils are mainly pottery, featuring a wide variety and fine craftsmanship, using techniques such as openwork, incised patterns, and twisted patterns. Painted pottery uses white, ochre, red, and black colors to form net-like, star-shaped, circular, and plant motifs, demonstrating high artistic value. Production tools are finely polished and clean stones. Ornaments are mostly jade items such as hairpins, rings, and pendants.

The social production level and disparities reflected at the Wild Shop Site illustrate different societal phenomena: the early period was still in the late stage of a matrilineal clan society; the middle period saw the rise of patrilineal clan elements, marking a transitional phase from matrilineal to patrilineal clan society; and the late period, with rapid development of productive forces, saw the basic formation and establishment of patrilineal clans.

In December 1977, the Wild Shop Site was designated as a Shandong Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. In 1985, the Cultural Relics Publishing House released the book “Zoucheng Wild Shop,” which was distributed domestically and internationally.

Wild Shop Village: Located 4 kilometers north of the Yishan Town seat, Wild Shop Village in Yishan Town is traversed by National Highway 104. The village covers an area of 0.36 square kilometers, with 3,400 mu of arable land. The village has a population of 2,268, a village leadership team of 5 members, and 46 Party members. The village collective has limited income. Leveraging advantages such as convenient transportation and fertile land, the village has vigorously developed industries such as specialty planting and livestock breeding. In 2012, the per capita income of farmers was 6,710 yuan, with many villagers working outside the village. … Wild Shop Village detailed information++

Further Reading:

· First Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units