Maogang Site

Maogang Site

The Maogang Site is a protected cultural heritage site of Guangdong Province.

The Maogang Site is located at the foot of the northern and southern slopes of Maogang Mountain in Maogang Village, Jinli Town, Gaoyao City. It dates back to the early Bronze Age. The site covers an area of over 20,000 square meters. It was excavated in 1978. The cultural layer is about 1 meter thick. The deposits contain a large number of shells and animal remains, including oysters, clams, snails, as well as pigs, cattle, deer, sheep, elephants, hedgehogs, grass carp, turtles, and crocodiles. Some of the animals were already domesticated. Human skeletal remains from two individuals were also found. The site revealed stilt-style wooden structures in three groups, all rectangular in plan, with vertical wooden posts arranged in left and right rows spaced 1.7 meters apart. Group A retains 14 wooden posts—6 on the left and 8 on the right—with varying post spacing between 0.7 and 1.4 meters, and the distance between the two rows ranging from 1.64 to 1.7 meters. Many posts feature mortise holes, with round wooden tenons fitted through them, forming beams and living surfaces. The floors or roofs were covered with tree bark or thatch. The unearthed pottery is mainly earthenware, including vessels such as cauldrons, dou (bean-shaped vessels), plates, bowls, jars, pedestals, and spinning whorls. Decorative patterns include cord marks, checkered patterns, double-line checkered patterns, vein patterns, wave patterns, nipple (turtle-shell) patterns, and meander patterns with thunder motifs. Stone tools comprise axes, adzes, chisels, arrowheads, balls, huangs (jade ornaments), rings, cores, and ge (dagger-axes). Bone artifacts include awls, shuttles, arrowheads, rings, and jade rings. There are also fragments of woven grass products and seeds or pits of wild jujube, ginkgo, and olives. Carbon-14 dating of charcoal wood suggests an age of 4070 to 4290 years ago, though this may be slightly early. Based on the characteristics of the cultural relics, the site likely dates to around 3500 years ago.

In June 1989, the People's Government of Guangdong Province designated it as a cultural heritage protection unit.

Maogang Village: The Maogang Village Committee is located in the southwestern part of Jinli Town, along the Shuangjin Highway, approximately 44 kilometers from the urban area of Gaoyao City and about 3 kilometers from the town center. The village covers an area of 5.68 square kilometers and comprises 11 villager groups, with a total population of 2,410. In recent years, Maogang Village has vigorously implemented adjustments to its agricultural industrial structure, actively introduced high-efficiency and specialty agriculture, and increased collective village income. Currently, the village has gradually shifted from single rice cultivation to a diversified development model including vegetable and flower planting, as well as aquaculture. … More details about Maogang Village ++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units