Xixiahou Site

　　    Located 9 kilometers southeast of Qufu City and 150 meters west of Xixiahou Village. After its discovery in 1957, provincial and county cultural relics departments conducted several clean-up operations. In 1962, the Shandong team of the Archaeological Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences carried out further investigation and excavation. The site covers an area of 300m x 400m, with the cultural layer located just beneath the plow soil, about 1.5 meters thick. Over 600 pieces of pottery, stone tools, and other artifacts were unearthed. Among the 11 excavated tombs, burial objects of similar types were arranged in large, medium, and small sizes, most notably ding (tripod cauldrons), smaller ding, and dou (food vessels). This site represents a development stage that links the middle and late periods of the Dawenkou Culture from the Neolithic Age. In May 2013, it was designated as part of the seventh batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level by the State Council.