Archaeologists unearth evidence of 4,500-year-old ancient Chinese cabin and nearby rice paddy
- Experts say the discovery provides ‘well preserved’ evidence to help recreate ancient homes
- The discovery of a nearby rice paddy could be equally, if not more, important
Archaeologists in southwest China revealed last week the discovery of six pieces of carbonised bamboo that they believe was used to build a mud cabin dating back to 4,500 years ago.
Tang Miao, the deputy head of the Baodun project, told state-owned newswire Xinhua that the discovery “directly proves” that the people of the area made walls out of bamboo and mud.
Jade d’Alpoim Guedes, an associate professor in the Department of Archaeology at the University of California, San Diego, said the discovery of the “wattle and daub” provides “a well-preserved example of the architecture of the houses that people used to live in in this area”.
She added: “I don’t know how this particular find changes much of what we already knew about Baodun, but it’s significant to have such a well preserved and reconstructible house that allows archaeologists to fully understand how these were built.”
I think the discovery of associated rice paddies holds significance no less than the discovery of the cabin.
Bamboo-mud cabins are not new to ancient China. Dwellings made out of bamboo strips and mud plaster have been found at archaeology sites belonging to the Liangzhu culture that existed near modern-day Shanghai from between 3400–2250 BC, according to a 2018 research paper published in the Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering.