Towards Civilization①|Jiahu site, where Chinese civilization starts

Source：dahe.cn Published：2022-11-05 13:02

"We should attach more importance to and put more efforts on archaeological research to carry forward the project of tracing the origins of Chinese civilization," stressed Chinese President Xi Jinping during his recent inspection tour to Anyang city, Henan province. Henan, cradle of the Chinese nation and civilization, is not only the birthplace of modern Chinese archaeology, but also the core area for tracing the origins of Chinese civilization. Together with the Development and Reform Commission of Henan Province and the Administration of Cultural Heritage of Henan Province, we are launching the "Towards Civilization" bilingual series featuring 13 key archaeological sites in Henan to help you catch a glimpse of wonderful Henan and brilliant Chinese civilization. Here is the 1st episode of the series: Jiahu site, where Chinese civilization starts.

近日，习近平总书记考察了殷墟遗址，提出考古工作要继续重视和加强，继续深化中华文明探源工程。河南是中华民族和中华文明的重要发祥地，中国现代考古学从河南起步，中华文明探源从河南开始。即日起，大河网联合省发展改革委、省文物局推出《追寻文明的足迹》系列报道，一起走进厚重河南。今日推出第一期：《贾湖遗址：中华文明的星火从这里点燃》。

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Located in Jiahu village of Luohe city, Central China's Henan province, Jiahu site, once a Neolithic settlement some 7,500 to 9,000 years ago, covers an area of 55 thousand square meters, where abundant well-preserved cultural remains have been unearthed. The unearthed relics surpass its counterparts of the same period in China separately in number, variety, craftsmanship and cultural connotation. Jiahu witnessed the first cultural peak of East Asia in the past tens of thousands of years. Although sharing the same value with the ancient cultures fostered by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in West Asia during the same period, Jiahu has been taken as the brightest star.

贾湖遗址位于河南省漯河市舞阳县北舞渡镇贾湖村，核心保护区面积5.5万平方米，是一处规模较大、保存完整、文化积淀极为丰厚的新石器时代前期聚落遗址。距今9000—7500年，出土文物数量之多，品类之盛，制作之美，内涵之丰富，为全国其它同时期遗存所罕见，是东亚地区万年以来第一座历史丰碑和文化高峰，与同时期西亚两河流域的远古文化相映生辉，是当时最耀眼的文化明星。

A bone flute with 2 sound holes. [Photo provided to dahe.cn]

Since 1983, over 6,000 cultural relics have been discovered successively, including pottery wares, stone implements, bone tools, horns, teeth, etc., after 8 rounds of archaeological excavations in about 3,000-square-meter site. Here China's earliest musical instrument with 7 sound holes, tripod-shaped wares, turquoise ornaments and domestically-cultivated soybeans were unearthed as well as China's one of the earliest forms of writing and one of the earliest wines. Jiahu is proved to be one of the birthplaces of the earliest animal domestication, fish breeding, rice planting, textile industry, primitive religion and divination in ancient China, therefore it has registered in both China's 100 major archaeological discoveries of the 20th century and China's 100 major archaeological discoveries in the past century.

从1983年至今，历经8次考古发掘，发掘面积3000多平方米，出土陶、石、骨、角、牙等各类文物6000余件。研究成果丰硕，发现有最早的七声音阶乐器、最早的鼎形器、最早的绿松石装饰物、最早的栽培大豆、最早的文字雏形之一、最早的酒之一，属于最早的一批家畜驯养、渔类养殖、稻作农业、纺织业、原始宗教与卜筮起源地。被确认为20世纪全国100项重大考古发现之一，成功入选全国百年百大考古发现。（编译/赵汉青播音/杨佳欣视频/何蒙贺审校/李文竞）

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