Zhukaigou Site

Zhukaigou Site

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

The Zhukaigou Site is located in Zhukaigou Village, Nalinta Township, Yijinhuoluo Banner (Altan Xire Town), eastern Ordos City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Covering an area of approximately 500,000 square meters, the site contains cultural remains from the late Longshan period to the early Shang Dynasty.

From 1984 to 1997, archaeologists conducted four excavations in this area, and in 1988, the site was officially named the "Zhukaigou Culture." The total excavation area reached about 4,000 square meters, uncovering 83 housing foundations, 207 ash pits (or storage pits), 329 tombs, and 19 urn burials from different periods. Among the artifacts were approximately 510 restorable pottery pieces, 270 stone tools, over 420 bone implements, and more than 50 bronze items.

A large number of animal bones unearthed at the Zhukaigou Site—including those of pigs, cattle, and sheep—indicate the presence of a well-developed animal husbandry industry. The discovery of numerous pottery drinking vessels such as ? (a type of vessel), small square cups, round cups, and triangular cups proves that brewing was already quite advanced. This suggests that the primitive agricultural production supporting both livestock farming and the brewing industry was thriving.

In addition, the Zhukaigou cultural site yielded a large quantity and wide variety of pottery utensils used for cooking, eating, drinking, storing, and serving. These items feature complex and varied shapes and demonstrate exquisite craftsmanship, indicating that specialized pottery-making had reached a significant scale. The advanced pottery firing techniques naturally laid a solid foundation and created favorable conditions for the subsequent rise of bronze smelting and casting.

Archaeological findings show that from the middle period of the Zhukaigou Culture onward, bronze ornaments and small tools such as earrings, rings, armlets, bangles, needles, and awls began to appear. By the late period, bronze weapons and tools such as ge (dagger-axes), short swords, knives, arrowheads, and armor plates also emerged, demonstrating the existence of bronze casting technology.

The main relics at the Zhukaigou Site span a period of about 800 years. The discovery and confirmation of the Zhukaigou Culture have greatly advanced research on the prehistoric history of central and southern Inner Mongolia and the history of ancient northern ethnic groups in China. The culture of China’s northern nomadic peoples, represented by the "Ordos Bronzes," gradually developed on the foundation of the Zhukaigou Culture. The Zhukaigou Culture provides the most valuable insights into the origins and development of pastoral economies in northern China.

In May 2006, the Zhukaigou Site was designated as part of the sixth group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units