Jintan Sanxing Village Neolithic Site

　　　The Sanxing Village site is situated in Sanxing Village, Xigang, Jintan City. It was first discovered and recognized as an important Neolithic site during the provincial cultural relics survey in 1985. From 1993 to May 1998, the Nanjing Museum, in collaboration with the Jintan Cultural Relics Management Committee, conducted six consecutive years of rescue excavations at the Sanxing Village site. A total area of 640 square meters was unearthed, revealing 1,001 Neolithic burials, 55 ash pits, 4 house foundations, and over 4,000 cultural relics of various types. Carbon-14 dating and archaeological research indicate that the Sanxing Village site dates back approximately 6,500 to 5,500 years. It holds significant importance for in-depth studies on the cultural types and origins of civilization in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River during the Neolithic period, and has added new data to regional Neolithic studies and physical anthropology research in China.

　　　　The current total area of the Sanxing Village site is 100,000 square meters. It is one of the best-preserved and largest Neolithic cultural sites in southern Jiangsu. The site currently presents as a low, round mound, standing 0.50 to 1.50 meters above the surrounding ground. Nearby, there are rivers of varying sizes, forming a dense water network with well-developed waterway transportation. The cultural deposit layers are 2.5 to 6 meters thick and can be divided into five strata. Layers ② to ④ contain a large number of burials, which are densely distributed with rich superimposed relationships—an extremely rare phenomenon in the lower Yangtze region. Layer ④ consists of a widespread layer of snail shells, covering almost the entire burial ground, with a thickness of 1.2 to 1.5 meters. These snail shells are domestic waste left behind after consumption at the time. Below Layer ⑤, house foundations and ash pits have been found, but no burials. These are the remains of the earliest human activities at the site. The house foundations consist of densely distributed circular postholes, with hearths and other features inside. Neat, circular ash pits are found nearby. Based on the dense distribution of postholes, it is inferred that the houses were stilt-style constructions.

　　　　The ash pits are mostly located near the house foundations. Most are circular with straight walls and flat bottoms, while a few are rectangular or irregularly shaped. The fill soil in the pits is loose, containing pottery fragments. After flotation and washing, a relatively large number of carbonized rice grains were found. Preliminary identification confirms they are all cultivated rice, closely resembling modern japonica rice in shape, though slightly narrower and smaller. This has significant implications for studying the origins of rice cultivation and agricultural civilization.

　　　　The 1,001 excavated Neolithic burials from different periods are well-preserved, featuring complex and diverse superimposed and disturbed relationships. They are densely distributed and show certain patterns. The orientation of the burials is consistent, all facing northeast, with only a very small number of exceptions. Rectangular vertical earthen pit tombs make up a certain proportion, while many others either lack clear pits or their pit structures are indistinguishable. The burial style is predominantly single supine burials with extended limbs, along with prone burials, flexed lateral burials, double burials, and other methods. The number of grave goods varies, generally around 5–6 items, with some having more than 10 or even 20, while a portion of the graves contain no grave goods at all. Grave goods mainly consist of pottery, along with a small number of stone tools, jade artifacts, and bone, horn, tooth, and shell objects. Among the grave goods, sand-tempered pottery tripods are often placed on top of the head, seemingly following a set custom, while other pottery and grave goods are typically placed around the abdomen and pelvis. Jade artifacts are found near the ears, chest, and wrists, likely related to items worn or used during life. Most of the human bones unearthed from the graves are well-preserved. According to incomplete statistics, there are over 1,200 individuals, including more than 200 complete skulls. The bone specimens are hard in texture, which is quite rare among contemporary sites in the lower Yangtze region.

　　　　The unearthed artifacts mainly include pottery, stone tools, jade artifacts, and bone, horn, tooth, and shell objects. Among these, bone, horn, tooth, and shell artifacts are found in relatively large quantities and are exquisitely crafted. Some bone tools feature fine drilling or polishing, showcasing distinct local characteristics. Common bone tools include knives, awls, spoons, rings, hairpins, needles and needle tubes, spatulas, and engraved plate-like implements. Bone knives are made by trimming and grinding animal limb bones, with sharp cutting edges and smooth handles drilled with holes for threading. Hairpins come in conical and flat arc shapes, with pin heads in hemispherical or wide flat styles. The flat arc-shaped hairpins feature neatly symmetrical circle patterns on their heads, fully polished—unique finds in China. Engraved bone tubes (likely sewing kits) are relatively numerous. Made by cutting animal limb bones, they are tubular and open at both ends, with inner and outer walls scraped, smoothed, and polished. Some tubes also feature finely engraved geometric patterns. Surprisingly, bone needles have been found inside some tubes, similar in size to modern iron needles, hence these bone tubes can be called “bone needle tubes.” Engraved plate-like bone implements are even finer works among bone tools and are unique finds in China. These consist of four pieces, stacked in two layers on the left side of the chest of the tomb’s occupant. Each layer contains two pieces, with intricate patterns engraved on both sides of each piece. The patterns between the pieces show internal connections and symmetrical relationships, indicating that these four pieces form a set. Analysis of the patterns suggests a possible connection to primitive shamanism, religion, or divination, making them highly valuable for studying the spiritual life of people at the time. Other finds include a significant number of deer antler boot-shaped tools, deer antler awls, ivory hairpins, ivory columnar objects, and shell bead necklaces. Among them, the ivory hairpins are exquisitely crafted and fully polished, representing the earliest known ivory ornaments in China. Deer antler boot-shaped tools are common in the Majiabang Culture of the lower Yangtze region and are frequently found in tombs at the Weidun site. A relatively large number—approximately over a hundred—have been unearthed in this excavation. Their abundance is unparalleled in contemporary primitive cultures. Their use was long unclear, but the large number found in the Sanxing Village cemetery provides reliable evidence for determining their function. These boot-shaped tools are often found in pairs on the soles of the deceased, with hook tips pointing upward. The symmetrical holes on the shaping tools were for securing with ties, and they are often accompanied by bone shuttles and net sinkers—tools for weaving nets and fishing—suggesting their association with net-making and fishing as auxiliary tools.

　　　　Pottery is the most abundantly unearthed artifact, characterized by strong local features. The pottery is fired at high temperatures, resulting in hard textures, small and delicate forms, regular shapes, and a distinctive funerary style. The pottery is mainly composed of clay red and gray pottery, along with sand-tempered red and gray pottery, as well as clay red-coated painted pottery. Common vessel shapes include cauldrons, tripods, dou (bean-shaped vessels), jars, basins, cups, plates, zun (wine vessels), spinning whorls, pellets, and pottery pigs. Among them, tripods are found in large numbers and can be categorized into cauldron-shaped, jar-shaped, and basin-shaped tripods. One particular tripod with human-foot-shaped jar is especially unique. Dou-type vessels are rare but refined, with many surfaces polished. The dou-shaped dou is a unique find in China. A group of handled vessels has one notable feature: they are all reverse-handed. Ring-footed pottery often features regular perforations on the foot, usually arranged in three or four equally spaced groups. One pottery dou, composed of a bowl and base joined with a cylindrical tenon-and-mortise structure in the middle, is a unique find in China. The engraved cloud-and-thunder-pattern painted pottery dou is a masterpiece among masterpieces, representing the earliest known evidence of cloud-and-thunder patterns in China. The patterns are engraved on the outer wall of the bowl, arranged in four equally spaced groups. One corresponding group has the painted coating scraped off to create a symmetrical layout, identical to the cloud-and-thunder patterns commonly seen on Shang and Zhou dynasty bronze ware. This has great value for studying the origins of Chinese cultural civilization and the development from primitive to bronze civilizations. Other rare pottery treasures include ring-footed perforated zun, bird-shaped ewers, and polished colorful zun, reflecting the highly developed pottery-making skills of the Sanxing Village primitive culture. Two pottery items have been found with molded emblem patterns on their bases, providing material for the study of the origins of writing.

　　　　Jade artifacts are relatively few in number. Most are ornaments, commonly including jade bi, jade huang, jade boats, and jade bead necklaces. Many show clear signs of sliced cutting, which is valuable for further research into ancient jade craftsmanship. One jade bi is particularly large, with a diameter of 9 centimeters—the largest found in China to date.

　　　　Stone tools are small, regularly shaped, and smoothly polished. Main types include adzes, perforated axes, seven-hole knives, three-hole knives, hoes, chisels, grinding stones, and stone yue (battle-axes). Two seven-hole stone knives have been found. One was damaged and later re-polished, matching exactly those found at the Nanjing Beiyinyangying site. These are the easternmost examples of seven-hole stone knives found to date. Two stone yue have also been unearthed, with identical structures. Each yue consists of four parts: bone yue decorations and handle-end decorations, a wooden handle, and a ring-blade part—all intact with no signs of use and fully polished. This indicates they were not simple tools but ritual objects. The bone yue decorations and handle ornaments are intricately carved, further highlighting their ceremonial nature. The two stone yue also show no signs of use, featuring luxurious decorations, confirming their status as ritual objects. This pushes back the dating of yue by over a thousand years, providing significant value for understanding the origin and development of yue.

　　　　Through the archaeological excavation of the Sanxing Village site and preliminary research, it can be summarized that the area had a large population, developed primitive agriculture, and engaged in animal husbandry, fishing, and hunting. Covering an area of over 100,000 square meters, the Sanxing Village site includes a cemetery of 20,000 square meters. Within the 20,000-square-meter cemetery, the excavated 640 square meters alone revealed over 1,000 burials. The rich cultural content is unprecedented in the lower Yangtze region to date and may be considered one of the major archaeological discoveries in Jiangsu and the lower Yangtze region in recent years.