Qingtang Site

Qingtang Site

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

The Qingtang Site is located in the caves of a cluster of isolated limestone peaks in Qingtang Town, Yingde City. It includes four cave sites: Zhuwu Cave, Xianfo Cave, Diaozhu Cave, and Shitouyan Huangyanmen. The site dates from the late Paleolithic Age to the early Neolithic Age. The deposit mainly contains charcoal fragments, burnt bones, and snail shells, along with some animal bones, all belonging to extant species. Human bones have also been discovered in Zhuwu Cave and No. 2 Cave of Huangyanmen. Cultural remains include chipped stone tools, perforated stone tools, ground stone tools, pottery, and more. These can be divided into two phases: The first phase is represented by the remains in Zhuwu Cave, where only chipped stone tools were found. The types and forms of these tools are the same as the pebble-flaked stone tools commonly seen at sites such as Yangchun Dushizai, and carbon-14 dating of snail shells indicates an age of 17,140 years ago, placing it in the late Paleolithic Age. The second phase is represented by No. 2 Cave of Huangyanmen, where the pebble-flaked stone tools are largely the same as in the first phase, but ground cutting tools and pottery also appear. Their forms are similar to those of Phase III culture at Niulandong Cave, dating later than the first phase culture, and thus placed in the early Neolithic Age. In addition, the clay pottery shards with rectangular grid patterns and woven patterns collected from Xianfo Cave and No. 3 Cave of Huangyanmen are believed to be from an even later period.

In 2019, the Qingtang Site was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Qingtang Town: [Geographical Location] Qingtang Town is located to the east of Yingde City, at the junction of Xinfeng and Wengyuan, at 113°20′ east longitude and 24°11′ north latitude. It covers an area of 128 square kilometers, stretching 20 kilometers in length and 18 kilometers in width. It is a hilly basin and serves as a trade and distribution hub for goods among the three bordering counties. The total population of Qingtang is 27,079, of which 21,884 are agricultural residents, accounting for 80.8% of the total, and 5,903 are non-agricultural residents, accounting for 19.2%. There are 10,142 laborers, with 3,000 surplus laborers. Additionally, there are overseas Chinese and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan... More detailed information about Qingtang Town++

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units