Beixin Site

　　The Beixin Site is situated on the southern bank of the ancient Xue River, at the northern end of Beixin Village, southeast of Guanqiao Town, covering an area of about 50,000 square meters. It was first discovered during the 1964 provincial cultural relics survey, and from the winter of 1978 to the spring of 1979, it was excavated by the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Over 2,000 cultural relics, including pottery and stone tools, were unearthed. Scientific analysis indicates that this site dates back approximately 7,300 to 8,400 years, making it the earliest Neolithic site discovered in China’s Huang-Huai region. Due to the unique cultural characteristics reflected by this archaeological site, it has been officially named the Beixin Culture by the state and was announced to the world and included in national textbooks in 1982. In 1992, the Beixin Site was designated as a Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the Shandong Provincial People's Government.

　　During the Beixin period, the economy was primarily agricultural. The site has yielded a complete set of farming tools and millet grains. These include stone shovels for tilling the land, deer antler hoes, pointed horn implements for sowing, shell sickles for harvesting, and stone grinding plates and rollers for threshing—all of which provide valuable insights into the agricultural practices of the time. Additionally, the unearthed pottery reveals relatively primitive craftsmanship. There are two types of pottery: sandy clay pottery and fine clay pottery, with decorative patterns such as appliqué ridges, incised lines, and fingernail imprints. The emergence of primitive handicrafts can also be traced back to the Beixin period. The discovery of pig skull fossils resembling domesticated pigs at the site has rewritten the history of pig domestication in China.

　　The excavation of the Beixin Site and the naming of the “Beixin Culture” represent a major discovery in the Neolithic period within the Haidai cultural zone. It marks the origin of the later Dawenkou Culture in Shandong and represents a significant step forward in the prehistoric archaeology of the region, holding great historical importance.