Pingyuan Village Historical Site

( chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2012-05-23

  Print Mail Large Medium  Small 0

The site is at the eastern foot of Xiaoji Mountian. In July 1959, an exposed primitive cultural layer was discovered on the two banks of a newly dug watercourse at Pingyuan village. Many ancient relics were collected from the two banks, including a grey pottery three-legged tray and ring-legged gui (food container) with a string pattern, sandy pottery ding (tripod) with conical legs, and pottery pieces with zigzag pattern, rope pattern, screen pattern and impressed patterns.

In 1979, Neolithic relics were found near Xiaoji Mountain twice. A thick cultural layer was found 60 cm below the ground surface, and 15 pottery and stone articles were unearthed. The pottery articles include jars, tripods and cups, with a simple surface, decorated with rope pattern and incised patterns.

By color, the pottery is divided into red pottery, grey pottery and sandwich black pottery. The shapes are simple and the workmanship is exquisite. There is a sandwich black pottery cup with a flat bottom and straight and contracted mouth.

Its body is only 1 centimeter thin. It is a rare masterpiece among the cultural relics unearthed from the Neolithic historical sites in Shanghai. The stone articles mainly include axe, knife, plow, sickle, arrowhead and other farming tools. They all have the traces of use. The stone sickles have sharp edges.

Two stone plows in obviously different size are triangular and have edges on both sides, with three holes in the middle for tying ropes. The bigger stone plow is about 40cm long, which is rare among the unearthed stone plows. According to the appraisal on the rectangular polished perforated axe, the thick-handled grey pottery dou with a hollow pattern, cockscomb-eared jar, altar with impressed and incised mesh pattern and other relics, the earliest of them were made about 5,000 years ago.

This historical site should belong to the Songze Culture and Liangzhu Culture. In 1977, the historical site in Pingyuan village was announced as a heritage site under the protection of Shanghai.

Copyright © China Daily All Rights Reserved, Constructed by China Daily
Official Website of the Sheshan National Tourist Resort, Shanghai