Hetang Site

Hetang Site

The Hetang Site is a cultural heritage protection unit of Guangdong Province.

The Hetang Site is located at the old market area of Hetang in Lanshi Town, Foshan City. It dates back to the late Neolithic Age to the early Bronze Age. The site covers an area of 10,000 square meters. From 1977 to 1978, 750 square meters were excavated. The second and third layers are cultural strata. The deposits contain a large number of shells. Discoveries include hardened red burnt earth surfaces, hearths, pits, postholes, and burials. A total of 77 burials were excavated. The burials are vertical earthen pits oriented east-west, most without distinct pit walls. Human skeletons were found in supine extended positions, with evidence of intentional tooth extraction during their lifetimes. Adult males were oriented with heads to the west, while adult females had heads to the east. Most burials contained no grave goods. Pottery unearthed includes cauldrons, jars, pots, dou (stemmed bowls), plates, basins, and spinning whorls. Many vessels feature ring feet or round bases, with round concave bases appearing in later phases. Decorative patterns mainly consist of geometric impressed designs, predominantly curvilinear incised patterns, along with other motifs such as grid patterns, vein patterns, thundercloud patterns, S-shaped patterns, raised dots or grids. Some combined patterns of thundercloud with curvilinear or grid motifs have been identified, and some decorations clearly imitate bronze ware. There are also a small number of reddish-brown painted linear or band-like designs. A set of incised symbols has been found on pottery. Stone tools mainly include shouldered adzes and shouldered-notched adzes, as well as arrowheads, chisels, spears, and grinding stones. About 43% of the stone material is fine-grained stone from Xiqiao Mountain. Other artifacts include bone tools, tooth tools, shell tools, and oyster shell tools. Carbon-14 dating of shell samples indicates an age range of 4905 to 5085 years ago, while human bone samples date to approximately 3600 to 3800 years ago. Compared with the analysis of artifact features, the shell sample dates appear significantly earlier, whereas the human bone dates are more consistent with the archaeological context.

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

Shiwan Subdistrict: Located in the southeastern part of Chancheng District, Shiwan Subdistrict lies on the north bank of the Dongping River, a tributary of the Beijiang River. It borders Nanhai District to the east, Shunde District to the south, Zhangcha Subdistrict to the west, and Zumiao Subdistrict to the north. As an important part of Foshan’s urban core, it also hosts the seat of the Chancheng District Committee and District Government. The subdistrict spans an area of 26.62 square kilometers and governs 12 administrative villages and 24 community neighborhood committees, with a permanent population of about 300,000. Shiwan benefits from a well-developed transportation network, with several major city roads that run east-west and north-south, including Jihua Road, Kuiqi Road, Foshan Avenue, and Lingnan Avenue, passing through the area. Shiwan Subdistrict detailed information++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units