Archaeologists have uncovered a sophisticated 5,000-year-old Yangshao culture urban center at Nanzuo in Gansu, covering 6 million square meters. A 690 m² palace building sits at the heart of what appears to be the earliest central axis layout in ancient Chinese settlement planning, flanked by nine symmetrical rammed earth terraces. The site reveals the earliest bricks, adobe, and lime plaster in China — evidence of specialized labor and social stratification. A 74 cm painted clay jar and turquoise artifacts suggest long-distance exchange networks were already thriving.
5,000-year-old urban center discovered at Nanzuo Site with earliest central axis
ChinaExcavationBreakthrough
Site mentioned
Key facts
- Nanzuo Site in Gansu dates to approximately 5,100 to 4,700 years ago
- Recognized as prime type site for Yangshao culture
- Covers around 6 million square meters with multi-layered settlement structure
- Palace-style building covers 690 square meters forming earliest central axis of capital settlement in ancient China
- Nine symmetrical rammed earth terraces surround the palace, one standing nearly 3 meters above ground
- Discovery of earliest bricks, adobe, and lime plaster demonstrates specialized labor and social stratification
- 74 cm tall painted clay jar and turquoise indicate advanced craftsmanship and long-distance exchange
- Carbonized rice evidence shows agricultural development
- Red-dyed stone and bone arrows found, possibly origin of later dynastic practice
Sources
Nanzuo Site_Baiduwikibaike.baidu.com
The Nanzuo Site was discovered during a survey in 1957.From 1984 to 1996, the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and Peking ...
Painting technique of red post-firing painted pottery from the Nanzuo ...nature.com
This study offers a comprehensive examination of the painting techniques employed on POFP pottery sherds from the Neolithic site of Nanzuo (circa 3100–2700 BC)
Gansu ruins shed light on ancient civilization - Chinadaily.com.cnchinadaily.com.cn
The Nanzuo site, dating back 4,600 to 5,200 years, was found in 1958, and previous excavations were undertaken at the site in the 1980s and ...
Foundations of a civilization - China Dailychinadailyhk.com
The Nanzuo site, located in Nanzuo village, on the Dongzhi plateau in Qingyang city, Northwest China's Gansu province, was first found in a ...
'Welcome to Nanzuo!'silkroadexpo.gogansu.com
The Nanzuo site in Qingyang city, Gansu province, is a large settlement site of the Yangshao Culture, providing solid materials for research ...
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