Gao Shan Site

Gao Shan Site

Gao Shan Site is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Shanxi Province.

Gao Shan Site

Gao Shan Site (First Batch of Provincial-Level Protected Sites)

Era: Neolithic Age

Location: On a terrace about 1 km west of Gao Shan Town, approximately 30 km west of Datong City

The site was discovered in May 1950 by Mr. Li Xingxue from the Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. In late July of the same year, Pei Wenzhong and Chen Mengjia from the Cultural Relics Survey Team of Northern Shanxi, under the Ministry of Culture, conducted a follow-up survey here. The Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology carried out further investigations in September 1977 and March 1983. The site dates back to the late Neolithic Age.

The terrace where the site is located is formed by sandy yellow soil deposits, sloping from west to east, and stands about 15 meters above the riverbed. To the west of the terrace is the Mengjiawan River, to the north is the Wuzhou River Valley, and to the south is National Highway 109. Due to years of erosion by the river, a significant portion of the terrace has been worn away, and the site has accordingly been damaged, now appearing as broken mounds. On the northernmost section of the terrace, there is a relatively high concentration of stone flakes and pottery shards, especially stone flakes, suggesting it may have been a primary area of human activity.

The microliths found at the Gao Shan Site are characteristic of a typical microlithic culture. The site is rich in artifacts with a diverse range of types. These include common types found at microlithic sites in China, such as microblades, conical cores, round scrapers, and arrowheads, as well as some rarer types, such as flat trapezoidal wedge-shaped cores and long flake tools with ridged cores. Notably, ridged microlithic cores make up a certain proportion of the findings at the Gao Shan Site, representing one of its distinctive features. Pottery fragments are relatively scarce, mostly gray-black in color, hard in texture, with low sand content, mostly fine-grained. The decorative patterns include wavy lines, cord marks, and comb marks.

Gao Shan Town: A town under the jurisdiction of the Nanshan District of Datong City. Established as the Gao Shan People's Commune in 1958 and upgraded to a town in 1984. Located in the northwest of the district, 30 km from the district government. It covers an area of 72.4 square kilometers with a population of 5,000. National Highway 109 passes through the town. The town administers ten village committees: Gao Shan, Duanjiaxiaocun, Luojiaxinyao, Nanxincun, Nanxinzhuang, Xiaoyao Tou, Zhangjiawan, Ertai, Shangwangu, and Yejiacun. The main agricultural products are corn, millet, and potatoes. ... More details about Gao Shan Town ++

Further Reading:

· First Batch of Provincial-Level Protected Sites in Shanxi Province