Fengxia Site

Fengxia Site

The Fengxia Site is a cultural heritage site protected by Liaoning Province.

The Fengxia Site is located in Fengxia Group, Xiaosanjia Village, Dongguanying Township, approximately 16 kilometers north of Beipiao City. To the west lies a seasonal river flowing from northwest to southeast, by the banks of which there is a natural settlement called Fengfutai Gou. The site sits on a flat terrace on the west bank of the river, about 6 meters above the riverbed. After excavation work was completed, the site was backfilled for protection and is now used as farmland by local villagers. The Fengxia Site is located in Fengxia Group, Xiaosanjia Village, Dongguanying Township, approximately 16 kilometers north of Beipiao City. To the west lies a seasonal river flowing from northwest to southeast, by the banks of which there is a natural settlement called Fengfutai Gou. The site sits on a flat terrace on the west bank of the river, about 6 meters above the riverbed. After excavation work was completed, the site was backfilled for protection and is now used as farmland by local villagers.

From April to June 1972, the site was jointly excavated by the Liaoning Provincial Museum, Liaoning University, and other institutions. The site is rectangular, approximately 100 meters long from east to west and 800 meters wide from north to south. The cultural deposits at the site are relatively thick, generally around 3 meters, with the thickest deposits exceeding 6 meters. The site contains ash pits, house foundations, storage pits, stone walls, and fragments of pottery and stone tools. Eighteen house foundations were discovered, including 12 circular single-room structures, 5 rectangular single-room structures, and 1 square double-room structure. The diameters (or length and width) of the house foundations are generally around 2 meters, with the largest reaching 4 meters.

The unearthed artifacts include production tools, daily utensils, and ornaments. Production tools are mainly stone implements, such as polished and sharp axes, shovels, knives, and adzes, used respectively for felling trees, building houses, digging soil for planting, and harvesting grain. There are also stone grinding plates, rollers, and pestles for processing grains, as well as stone balls and arrowheads used for hunting or combat. Bone tools are also numerous, including shovels, awls, needles, arrowheads, and serrated implements.

Daily utensils are mostly made of pottery. Brown pottery mixed with sand is predominant, fired at high temperatures, typically reaching around 1000 degrees Celsius. There is a wide variety of vessel shapes, such as tripods (li), ding (cauldrons), and large jars used for steaming and cooking food, as well as various types of pots, basins, bowls, plates, and dou (bean-shaped vessels).

There are also ornaments and other items. These include one jade plaque, one jade bi (a round, flat piece of jade), six agate beads, ten turquoise beads, two bone beads, nine bone chopsticks, and seven bone flakes.

The unearthed artifacts also include grain crops and animal bones. Carbonized grains are divided into large and small particles. Identification by the Institute of Genetics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences determined that the larger grains are millet (ji) and the smaller ones are foxtail millet (su), which were the main crops cultivated by ancient people. Among the animal bones found, pig bones are the most numerous, followed by sheep and cattle bones. Most of the pig bones are from adult individuals, reflecting the state of domestic animal husbandry at the time.

A child's tomb, believed to be of a child aged only seven or eight, was also discovered in the southern part of the site. The burial goods included a necklace made of seashells and turquoise beads, indicating the existence of clan-based exchanges of goods among members regardless of age or gender at that time.

The site has thick cultural layers and abundant artifacts. During its development, the Fengxia culture type was undergoing a transition from the gradual disintegration of primitive society to the emergence of slave society. Based on the cultural characteristics of the site, it belongs to the Lower Xiajiadian Culture type.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Cultural Heritage Sites Protected by Liaoning Province