Siwa Site

　　    The Siwa Site is situated in Yaxia Village, Yaxia Township, 20 kilometers north of Lintao County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province, on the west bank of the Tao River. It covers an extensive area, stretching 1,500 meters from north to south and 800 meters from east to west. This site is the namesake of the "Siwa Culture." Siwa Culture is a typical representation of ancient cultures in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and it is renowned for its excavated pottery.

　　    The Siwa Culture dates back to approximately the 14th to 11th centuries BCE and was primarily distributed in areas of Gansu Province east of Lanzhou, extending to the Qianshui and Jinghe river basins in Shaanxi Province. Settlements of its inhabitants had reached a considerable scale. The economy was mainly agricultural, supplemented by animal husbandry. Most tombs were earthen pit graves shaped like inverted square funnels, with coffins or coffins and outer coffins as burial containers. In addition to single burials, there were also joint and cremation burials. Grave goods included pottery, bronze ware, ornaments, and the bones of horses, cattle, and sheep. A small number of tombs contained human sacrifices and chariots and horses buried as funerary objects, indicating that the society had entered the slave era. The saddle-mouthed jar is the most distinctive type of pottery. Bronze items included ge daggers, spears, arrowheads, knives, and bells. Regarding the ethnic affiliation of the Siwa Culture, some believe it belonged to the Di-Qiang peoples, while others suggest it was linked to the Rong-Di tribes.

　　    In May 2006, the Siwa Site was approved by the State Council to be included in the list of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level.