Xiaonanhai Cave Site

Xiaonanhai Cave Site

The Xiaonanhai Cave Site is a protected cultural heritage site of Henan Province.

Xiaonanhai Cave Site Paleolithic Age Anyang County

The Xiaonanhai Cave Site is located at the eastern foot of Beilou Ding Mountain, 25 kilometers southwest of Anyang County. The cave entrance faces east, with a width of 2 to 3 meters, a height of 2.5 to 3 meters, and a depth of about 50 meters. It is a karst cave. The site was discovered in March 1960 during the construction of the Xiaonanhai Reservoir. In the same year, the first trial excavation was conducted under the direction of An Zhimin from the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. A second excavation took place in 1978. The cultural layer accumulation reaches a thickness of 6 meters and can be divided into five strata. According to carbon-14 dating, the lower cultural layer of the cave dates back approximately 25,000 years, while the upper layer dates to around 13,000 years ago, spanning a period of over 10,000 years. Geologically, it belongs to the Late Pleistocene epoch.

This site represents the first discovery of late Paleolithic cultural remains within Henan Province and provides valuable material for the study of the Stone Age in the Central Plains region. The unearthed stone tools exhibit distinct cultural characteristics, differing markedly from other Paleolithic sites in China. They represent the cultural features of a specific era and region, and were named the "Xiaonanhai Culture" by Guo Moruo. In 1963, it was designated as a Key Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of Henan Province.

Further Reading:

· First Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Henan Province