Discovery of 5,500-year-old structure in central China offers insights into ancient ‘Painted-pottery Culture’

The building was part of the Yangshao people, who may have been the first people in China to subsist on agriculture

The culture is famous for its stunning pottery that has astounded scientists for a century

2-MIN READ2-MIN

While it does not look like much, this pentagonal shape is believed to be a 5,500-year-old structure of an ancient Chinese civilisation. Photo: Taiyuan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

Published: 12:00pm, 20 Nov 2021

Archaeologists in central China announced last week the discovery of a 5,500-year-old structure that they believe was used by a neolithic culture at the forefront of ancient Chinese pottery.

The structure, which lies in Taiyuan in Shanxi province, was shaped like a pentagon and was excavated between May and June 2021. It was discovered during the construction process of a school in the city.

Pei Jingrong, who led the excavation, told mainland media that the building is about 32 sq m and was found alongside evidence of columns, extensive pottery and an old stove pit and flue. The site also contained six tombs from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties.

An unearthed red pottery bowl from the Yangshao culture relic site in central China. Photo: Taiyuan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

While the use of the structure is still unknown, Pei said the discovery would create “strong academic value to the research of Neolithic and prehistoric cultures in the Taiyuan basin”.

The site is believed to have belonged to the Yangshao culture, a Neolithic society that lived along the middle sections of the Yellow River from around 5,000 to 3,000BC.