Luojiajiao site

Luojiajiao site

Luojiajiao site is located 2 kilometers northeast of Shimen Town, Tongxiang City, Zhejiang Province. The Luojiajiao natural village in Lixing village is about 400 meters long from east to west and 300 meters wide from south to north, covering a total area of 120000 square meters. It was discovered in 1956. In 1979 and 1980, the provincial cultural relics administration committee organized an archaeological team to excavate the Luojiajiao natural village, covering an area of 1338 square meters. The cultural layer is 20-350 cm thick, with four cultural layers, including 794 pieces of stone, bone, wood and pottery.

Luojiajiao site was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit by the provincial people's Government in March 1963. In 2001, the State Council listed Luojiajiao as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Luojiajiao site was selected as the second batch of provincial archaeological sites Park in Zhejiang Province in June 2018.

Historical evolution

Luojiajiao site is located 2 kilometers northeast of Shimen Town, Tongxiang City.

In 1956, local farmers dug up a large number of animal bones, pottery and carved pig tusks in paddy fields. According to the investigation by the provincial cultural relics department, it is found that this is the largest Neolithic site in Zhejiang so far. The total area of the site is 120000 square meters.

Unearthed identification

In 1979, in order to cooperate with the construction of irrigation and water conservancy, the provincial cultural relics management committee organized an archaeological team to excavate the Luojiajiao site. The excavation covers an area of 1338 square meters. The cultural layer is 20-350 cm thick and overlaps four cultural layers.

According to the carbon-14 measurement, the fourth cultural layer is 6905 ± 155 years ago, belonging to the Majiabang cultural type, which was in the period of matriarchal clan commune in the primitive society of our country. A total of 794 pieces of complete or recoverable stone, bone, wood and pottery were found. There are 794 complete or recoverable stone, bone and wood pottery unearthed. The rice in the third and fourth layers is identified as the earliest cultivated indica and japonica rice.

In the fourth floor, there are many remains of mortise and tenon, tongue and groove and so on. (Tongxiang county annals P1135)

Cultural relics

Stone tools include stone axes, stone axes, and stone spinning wheels. Pottery includes cauldrons, pots, pans, bowls, beans, tripods, bowls, pots, and spinning wheels. Bone vessels include bonnets and bone whistles. There are a small number of exquisite white pottery in the pottery pieces, which are no less than those of Shang Dynasty. Some white pottery pieces have Aconitum patterns, and there are sculptured male pottery figures. Among them, there are two pieces of wooden wares in the shape of mud dragging plate and the remaining wooden oars, as well as a number of square mortise riveted building components.

The four pieces of white pottery unearthed from the Luojiajiao site are particularly noticeable among the pottery of Majiabang culture. White pottery is the ancestor of porcelain. According to today's scientific analysis, the main raw material for making white pottery is kaolin. Kaolin has low iron content and high aluminum content. Compared with red and gray pottery, it can withstand high temperature. After firing, it has white appearance and is hard and durable. People's understanding and use of kaolin has laid a foundation for the invention and development of porcelain in the future.

The white pottery of Majiabang culture is 1500 years earlier than that of Dawenkou and Longshan culture. From the point of view of production technology and baking method, pottery production is generally made by hand, with the gradual development of clay bar plate construction and wheel plate spinning. The evolution of baking method is even longer. The earliest is the original bonfire type, where the prepared pottery slabs are stacked together and surrounded by firewood fire. However, the temperature is not high, so it is difficult to bake large vessels. Later, it developed into stove type and gradually formed pottery kiln.

The production process of Luojiajiao white pottery should be round, otherwise it would not be so smooth and uniform. Baking method may be stove type, because campfire type can not reach more than 1000 degrees. It can be seen that the level of productivity of the "Majiabang people" is much higher than that of other tribes at the same time.

Textile objects

Many pottery spinning wheels were also found at Luojiajiao site, which were proved by experts to be tools used by "Majiabang people" for weaving.

Three pieces of carbonized textile fragments unearthed from caoxiashan have distinct warp and weft. Through scientific analysis, the raw material of this kind of fabric is wild pueraria, and the rib weave with blooming weft thread shows that the weaving technology at that time had a considerable level.

As one of the earliest fabric specimens found in China, it is proved that Majiabang people are no longer naked, wearing animal skin and leaves, but wearing clothes.

Rice culture

The 156 grains of rice unearthed from the third and fourth layers of the Luojiajiao site have attracted the world's attention. They have been scientifically identified as cultivated indica and Japonica Rice 7040 ± 150 years ago.

During the excavation of Luojiajiao site in Tongxiang County in 1979 and 1980, carbonized grain remains were found in the third and fourth cultural layers. 156 specimens were available for identification, including 101 indica rice and 55 japonica rice, which were slightly smaller than those found in Hemudu site.

The results show that the silicates of rice motor cells are found in five pieces of pottery from the second, third and fourth cultural layers. The shape analysis results show that the silicates of rice in Luojiajiao site are a kind of small silicates with smaller longitudinal and transverse length and larger shape coefficient; The discriminant value of the four shape characteristic parameters of silicates is also smaller, which is more similar to that of modern cultivated indica rice subspecies. However, there is a multi peak phenomenon in the distribution map of silicates. According to the shape analysis of silicates, the cultivated rice in Luojiajiao site and its surrounding areas may be some populations with the diversity of indica subspecies and mixed with japonica subspecies.

Rice remains

Many rice remains were also found in the third and fourth cultural layers of the six explorations of Luojiajiao site. The results showed that indica rice accounted for 64.74-76.46%, and Japonica Rice accounted for 35.26-23.54%. Both of them were mainly indica rice, while japonica rice was less, and there were some intermediate transition types, indicating that they were a heterozygous population. According to C 14 dating, the age of the fourth cultural layer of Hemudu site is 4780 ± 90 B.C., and that of Luojiajiao site is 5190 ± 45 B.C., about 7000 years ago, which is the earliest rice remains in the world at that time.

Great significance

Among the relics found in layer 3-1 of Luojiajiao, there are pottery net pendant and other fishing tools, which proves that Majiabang culture has reached a considerable level in livestock raising and fishing methods. The rice discovered in Luojiajiao site is the earliest among the rice remains discovered in Majiabang culture, more than 300 years earlier than that in Hemudu site.

The cultural connotation of the site is the remains of majiahong culture.

Layout structure

Archaeological excavation found 53 ash pits, wooden structures with mortise and tenon, a large number of animal remains and rice and other natural remains. 800 pieces of earth, stone, bone, wood, pottery and other relics were unearthed. A small amount of exquisite white pottery was found in the pottery pieces, no less than that of the Shang Dynasty. A number of typical utensils, such as wide basin and multi angle plate, trumpet shaped round foot beans and small net pendant, were also found. Their cultural features are obviously different from the Hemudu culture on the South Bank of Qiantang River. The 156 grains of rice unearthed in the third and fourth layers are identified as indica and Japonica Rice Cultivated 7040 years ago, making Jiaxing one of the earliest rice cultivation sites in China and one of the earliest rice cultivation sites in the world.

The discovery and excavation of the site provide important material materials for Neolithic archaeological research in Taihu Lake Basin.

Cultural relics protection

In March 1963, the provincial people's government listed it as a key cultural relics protection unit at the provincial level. In 2001, the State Council listed Luojiajiao as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Address: Luojiajiao village, Shimen Town, Tongxiang City, Jiaxing City

Longitude: 120.466824

Latitude: 30.616487

Ticket information: free.

Chinese PinYin : Luo Jia Jiao Yi Zhi