Neolithic Site at Balu Slope

Neolithic Site at Balu Slope

The Neolithic Site at Balu Slope is a cultural tourism attraction.

The site is located to the north of the Nongwa Village Committee in Nongwa Yao Ethnic Township, nearly 1 kilometer from the committee office.

The site is located at the end of the natural extension of Balu Slope and runs in a north–south direction. To the east, the Tuoniang River flows from the northwest to the east, and to the south, there is a gully. The site is situated on the second terrace, about 20 meters above the surface of the Tuoniang River, covering an area of approximately 1,500 square meters.

For a long time, the area has been a major site where locals extracted soil to make bricks and tiles. Most of the riverside section has been excavated. In 1970, the Bagui–Nabi Highway was built along the eastern foot of the slope where the site is located. In April 1987, during a cultural relics survey conducted by the county museum, Neolithic stone tools were discovered in the soil excavation pits.

In October 1988, the Cultural Relics Team of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Museum conducted a cultural relics survey in the inundation area of the Bailin Hydropower Station. They excavated four 2×2-meter test pits at the eastern, southwestern, and northwestern parts of the site, spaced 15 to 25 meters apart. A total of 13 struck stone tools (including points, choppers, stone axes, and flakes) and 5 ground stone tools (including adzes, stone axes, whetstones, and perforated stones) were collected. These stone tools were all processed from sandstone pebbles.

This site is currently one of the larger discovered Neolithic sites in western Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Its discovery provides very important material for the study of the Neolithic period in southern Guangxi, especially for resolving the issue of continuity from Paleolithic to Neolithic in the Youjiang Basin of Baise.