Liuduju Site

Liuduju Site

The Liuduju Site is a cultural heritage protection unit of Henan Province.

Era: Paleolithic Age

Address: Mantoushan Village, Zhaheo Township, Bo’ai County

According to the 1960 Bo’ai County Annals: animal and plant fossils were collected, along with caves inhabited by primitive humans and ancient small pits. After two cultural relic surveys and verifications in 1972 and 1984, in June 1996, the People’s Government of Bo’ai County announced it as a county-level cultural heritage protection unit.

Judging from the current stratum conditions here, the area mainly features paleozoic geological formations from the Cambrian, Ordovician, and Carboniferous systems, containing dolomite, marl, and dark gray flint rock. The landforms and karst caves are quite distinctive. This is the upper reaches of the naturally formed Dongshi River. Over years of erosion and weathering, multiple natural caves have formed. There is one larger karst cave, 10 meters deep and 3 meters wide. On the mountainside, there are five caves of varying sizes, with irregular stone walls built along the edges of the cliff faces outside the caves. The larger caves extend over ten meters inward, while the smaller ones are around 2–3 meters deep. Stone tools have been found both inside the caves and on the hillsides. These include dragon bone fossils, stone cores, scrapers, and choppers.

The Paleolithic cultural remains at Liuduju confirm that primitive humans lived here at least 30,000 years ago, filling in some gaps in the understanding of human activity during the Paleolithic period in Jiaozuo. These remains and stone tools provide detailed records of the lives of early humans, pushing back the timeline of human civilization in the Jiaozuo and Bo’ai region by tens of thousands of years. The long duration of human activity here and the richness of the remains are rare throughout the province, making this an important contribution to archaeological research in China. It also serves as valuable educational material for the public on historical materialism and patriotism, and stands as yet another testament to the profound history of the Central Plains and Chinese civilization.

On June 16, 2008, the People’s Government of Henan Province announced it as a fifth batch provincial-level key cultural heritage protection unit.

Information source: Bo’ai County Government

Further reading:

· Fifth Batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units