Karuo site

Karuo site is a national key cultural relic protection unit. It is a Neolithic site in the upper reaches of Lancang River in China. It is located in karuo village, Tibet Autonomous Region. It was excavated from 1978 to 1979. The site is divided into early and late periods. 28 building sites were found. Among them, the round bottomed house, after restoration, is a kind of cone-shaped shed building made of indoor columns and peripheral inclined columns. There are also vertical wall semi cavern type and ground type buildings. In the late half cavern style houses, stone walls were built on the four walls of caverns, and some houses were built on the upper floor, showing the local characteristics of buildings and the progress of construction technology. In addition, the remains of round stone platform and stone enclosure possibly related to primitive religion were found. The tools are mainly made of large-scale stone tools, including microliths and ground stone tools, and there are abundant bone artifacts. The most distinctive feature of pottery is that it is decorated with geometric patterns. The remains of crops and livestock pigs were found. At that time, millet farming was the main economic life, supplemented by regular hunting. It is generally named karuo culture. There are more than 20 house relics unearthed here, as well as many stone production tools, grains and animal bones used by ancient people. They are of great value to the study of the early history of Tibet. They are worth visiting, but the transportation is inconvenient. The karuo site was discovered in 1977. In the summer of 1978, the site was officially excavated, covering an area of 230 square meters. In 1979, the site was excavated for the second time, covering an area of 1570 square meters. The total area of the two excavations is 1800 square meters. The original area of the site is about 10000 square meters. Except for being destroyed in the early stage, the main parts of the site have been exposed. The karuo site is located 12 kilometers south of Changdu, Tibet, on the triangular secondary platform near karuo to the west of Lancang River, with an altitude of 3100 meters. It is the highest Neolithic site in China. A total of 28 house sites, including 7968 stone tools, 366 bone tools, more than 20000 pottery pieces, 50 ornaments, corn and animal bones, were excavated. The Kazhe site was identified by radiocarbon dating four or five thousand years ago. The primitive culture it represents has a strong local color. First of all, in terms of production tools, the site presents all the characteristics of the Neolithic age, but there are still striking stone tools, microlithic tools and ground stone tools coexisting, with striking stone tools accounting for the majority. Secondly, in terms of pottery, the pottery is made by hand with sand. The decorative patterns are mainly engraved patterns, pyramidal patterns and additional stacked patterns. The shape of the utensils is based on the combination of pot, basin and bowl, all of which are small flat bottomed utensils. Thirdly, in terms of construction, a large number of stones are used as raw materials, such as stone houses, stone roads, stone platforms, stone enclosures and so on. These characteristics of the karuo site indicate that the karuo culture is a representative Neolithic culture on the Tibetan Plateau. In the past, the Paleolithic found in sure, Shenzha, zhab and Huoer of Pulan, etc., the microlithic found in Naqu, Shenzha, Shuanghu, bange, nilamu and Nitu, and the Neolithic culture found in Linzhi, Motuo, Lhasa, Zada, Naidong and xiaoenda, etc., are similar to the karuo culture, which seems to have some connections In other words, it is influenced by Karoo culture. Karuo culture is not an isolated primitive culture on the Tibetan Plateau, but is more or less related to the primitive culture in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River. Some stone tools were found in the loess deposits of Yalong River and Dadu River in the East, and Majiayao, banshanmachang and other cultures between 4000 and 5000 years ago existed in Gansu and Qinghai in the north. There seems to be a close ancient cultural exchange between Kaku and the two neighboring areas. In terms of making stone tools, the plate-shaped hammers of Kazhe culture can be found in the sites of sibatan, Yongjing dahezhuang and Jiuquan Xiahe qingmachang in Gansu Province. The cutter can be found in luohantang, qijiaping and other Majiayao cultural sites near Lanzhou. Microliths and ground stone tools are also found in Neolithic cultural sites in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. As for the round and square half cave houses, treated red burnt earth walls and living surfaces in the early karuo culture, they belong to the cultural traditions and living forms of Majiayao in Gansu, Qinghai and other places. Corn found at karuo site is a traditional crop in the Yellow River Basin, which is drought resistant and rarely planted in the south. The corn of karuo culture probably came from the spread of Majia Li culture. The excavation of the karuo site is of epoch-making significance for the study of the primitive culture of Tibet and provides detailed information for the origin of Tibetans. It shows that the people of the Qiang family who went down from Hehuang to the south only formed a part of the Tibetan ancestors, but also a part of the later integration. In fact, as early as the Paleolithic age, there are data from the excavation of the zhukaruo site, a primitive human settlement in Tibet, which shows that human beings have lived and multiplied here since ancient times on the Tibetan Plateau, opening up this vast land.

Karuo site

Karuo site is located in karuo village, about 12 kilometers southeast of karuo District, Changdu City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwest China. It is a late Neolithic cultural site. It covers an area of about 10000 square meters, dating from 4000 to 5000 years ago, and is named karuo culture.

Karuo site was discovered in 1977. In 1978, 1979 and 2002, the site was excavated three times, covering an area of 3040 square meters. It is recognized as one of the three major primitive cultural sites in Tibet. In 1996, karuo site was listed as the fourth batch of national key cultural relics protection units. There are more than 20 house relics unearthed here, as well as many stone production tools, grains and animal bones, which are of great value to the study of the early history of Tibet. It is worth visiting, but the transportation is inconvenient.

Historical evolution

The karuo site was discovered in 1977 by workers of Changdu cement plant during construction. In the summer of 1978, the Cultural Administration Commission of Tibet Autonomous Region carried out the first trial excavation, covering an area of 230 square meters. From May to August 1979, the Cultural Administration Commission of the autonomous region invited comrades from the National Institute of archaeology, the History Department of Sichuan University and the Yunnan Provincial Museum to form an archaeological team to excavate the karuo site for the second time, covering an area of 1570 square meters. A total area of 1800 square meters was excavated in the two excavations, and 28 house sites, 7968 stone tools, 366 bone tools, more than 20000 pottery pieces, 50 ornaments, corn and animal bones were excavated. The original site is about 10000 square meters. Except for the early destruction, the main parts of the site have been exposed.

In 2007, the Bureau of cultural relics of the autonomous region commissioned the Beijing Institute of ancient architecture to carry out the overall planning of the karuo site, and identified it as a heritage park, with a total investment of 120 million yuan. According to the plan, the project includes karuo site exhibition area, Tibetan folk custom experience area, Cultural Heritage Expo Park and other projects.

Cultural relics

Karuo site has a large area, well preserved and rich remains. There are house sites, roads, stone walls, stone platforms, stone enclosures, ash pits and other relics. The unearthed objects include stone tools, pottery, bone ware, ornaments, etc., and carbonized corn and animal bones are also found.

Karuo site is a national key cultural relic protection unit. It is a Neolithic site in the upper reaches of Lancang River in China. It is located in karuo village, Tibet Autonomous Region. It was excavated from 1978 to 1979. The site is divided into early and late periods. 28 building sites were found.

Among them, the round bottomed house, after restoration, is a kind of cone-shaped shed building made of indoor columns and peripheral inclined columns. There are also vertical wall semi cavern type and ground type buildings.

In the late half cavern style houses, stone walls were built on the four walls of caverns, and some houses were built on the upper floor, showing the local characteristics of buildings and the progress of construction technology. In addition, the remains of round stone platform and stone enclosure possibly related to primitive religion were found. The tools are mainly made of large-scale stone tools, including microliths and ground stone tools, and there are abundant bone artifacts. The most distinctive feature of pottery is that it is decorated with geometric patterns. The remains of crops and livestock pigs were found.

At that time, millet farming was the main economic life, supplemented by regular hunting.

Site architecture

Houses and buildings at Karoo site. According to the preliminary analysis, it can be divided into two types. The first type is wood structure of grass mud wall building. Building a wall with grass and mud can enhance its firmness and prevent cracks. The living surface is leveled with soil, and then tamped or baked to make it strong and durable. There is a stone stove in the middle of the house. There are column holes evenly distributed inside and around the house. The second type is half cavern type pebble wall building, with regular and hard living surface. The walls were built with stones against cave barriers, and the cracks were smeared with yellow mud. Most of them were square. Judging from the layout of the villages, there were certain rules in the areas where people lived at that time. The house remains seem to have broken the overlapping relationship, which is more complex and can be divided into three periods, lasting for at least 500 years.

In addition to houses, stone pavements, stone wall buildings and pits were also found in the original village layout, indicating that the residents were trying to improve their living conditions.

A large number of millet and grain ash were also unearthed from the karuo site, which indicates that there was primitive farming in Tibet as early as 4000 years ago. At the same time, it has been known that millet with good adaptability and strong resistance should be planted. According to archaeologists, millet has been planted in China for more than 7000 years. The millet and grain ash unearthed here are basically the same as those in the pits of Banpo site in Xi'an. It seems that the ancestors of karuo site took agriculture as their main source of life at that time, and hunting and gathering were indispensable auxiliary means.

unearthed relic

Chinese PinYin : Ka Ruo Yi Zhi