Meishan Site

Meishan Site

The Meishan Site is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Period: Neolithic Age to Xia Dynasty

The site is located on the terrace of the west bank of the Xier River within Meishan Park in Ruzhou City, Henan Province. The entire site stands upright, about 4 meters higher than the surrounding area, with a diameter of 220 meters from east to west and 230 meters from north to south. The cultural layer is about 4 meters thick. The terrain is higher in the north and lower in the south. Bag-shaped and open ash pits are commonly found on the exposed cliffs, with distinct cultural stratification, and the surface also features a large number of pottery shards from the Longshan, Erlitou, Shang, Western Zhou, and Han dynasties, as well as relics such as snail shells and deer antlers. Due to long-term habitation by ancient humans, the mountain’s strata appear blackish-gray, which is why it is called “Meishan” (Coal Mountain). The absolute age of the site is the Xia Dynasty, approximately 4,500 years ago, and its cultural classification is the late Meishan type of the Longshan Culture from the Neolithic Age. It is of great importance for researching the activity range of the Xia Dynasty people.

The late Meishan phases I and II are situated above two layers corresponding to Erlitou phases I and II. Artifacts from all periods mainly consist of stone, pottery, and some bone tools used in production. Stone axes are mostly columnar with only the blades polished; stone sickles are crescent-shaped and fully polished; stone chisels are fully polished with single-edged blades; stone knives are flat and square, often with perforations. Rare items such as jade ge (dagger-axe) and jade spades have also been found. Daily utensils can be divided into cooking and storage vessels, all made of black pottery with high firing temperatures, thin walls, and delicate, neat shapes. They were made using fast-wheel techniques and come in two types: clay-bodied and sand-tempered. Decorations mainly feature stamped stripes and checkered patterns. Vessel shapes include small-mouthed, high-necked jars, jar-shaped ding (tripods), chicken-crest-eared ding, open-mouthed steamers, ring-footed plates, gu (wine vessels), and single-handled jars. A large number of bone arrowheads, awls, hairpins, and pottery spinning whorls have also been discovered. In 1983, it was listed among the first batch of county-level Key Cultural Relics Protection Units. In 1986, it was listed as a Henan Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. In 2013, it was included in the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units