Nanhaiyu Site

　　  Nanhaiyu Site (Second Batch of Provincial-Level Protected Sites)

　　  Era: Paleolithic Age

　　  Address: Eastern slope of the mouth of Nanhaiyu Valley, Diantou Village, Maojia Town, 24 kilometers southwest of Yuanqu County

　　  It is currently the only cave site from the early Paleolithic period in Shanxi Province. The site consists of three adjacent locations. The bedrock of the caves is Sinian siliceous limestone, and artifacts and fossils were found in yellowish breccia. The first location contains animal fossils, the second has stone tools and evidence of fire use, and the third has both animal fossils and stone tools. It was discovered in 1957 and partially excavated in 1958. The geological age of the site is believed to be the Middle Pleistocene or slightly later, and the cultural period corresponds to the early Paleolithic Age or slightly later.

　　  Over 20 stone artifacts were unearthed, including artificially flaked quartz flakes and cores; fossils comprise more than 10 types such as teeth of Equus sanmeniensis, hyenas, giant beavers, rhinoceroses, wild goats, deer, and macaques, including teeth and mandibles; stone tool materials include quartz, vein quartz, hornfels, quartzite, flint, and opal. The stone tools were mainly made from flakes, with a few crafted from small stone blocks. Scrapers include single straight-edge and single convex-edge types.

　　  The number of stone artifacts unearthed at the Nanhaiyu Site is not large, but based on existing materials, they may belong to the same cultural type as the late Beijing Man culture.