Lajia site: Qijia village sealed by earthquake mud, fuels Xia flood debate

September 12, 2026

PeruGeneral

Necropolis/tombs complex1000 - 1500 AD

Source: The Nepal Flood Just Erased History by Michael Button

Site mentioned

📄 Sarcophagi of Carajía 🗺️ More sites in Peru 🌍 Show on the globe

The Lajia archaeological site in Qinghai, China, was a Qijia-culture village near the Yellow River around 1920 BC. Excavations found 25 skeletons in houses amid earthquake cracks — in one home, a woman about 35 was found shielding a child aged three or four. A 2016 paper argued that an upstream landslide dam and outburst flood could be tied to the legendary Great Flood and Xia dynasty origins; a 2017 study instead favored local hillside landslides and debris flows. The debate continues! 🦴

Key facts

The site described is the Lajia archaeological site in Qinghai, China, not the Sarcophagi of Carajía in Amazonas, Peru.
Carajía is a pre-Columbian Chachapoya cliff-sarcophagus site in northern Peru, excavated from 1985, with no established connection to the Qijia culture, the Yellow River or Xia dynasty.
Lajia was a Qijia-culture settlement dating to around 1920 BC. Trial excavations began in 1999, and red clay sealing earthquake-damaged houses and human burials was uncovered from 2000 onward.
Excavators reported 25 skeletons, including adults found shielding young children. One woman was estimated to be about 35 and the child she was sheltering was three or four.
A 2016 study proposed that an earthquake-triggered upstream landslide dam and Yellow River outburst flood might relate to the legendary Great Flood and Xia dynasty. A 2017 study instead favored local hillside landslides and debris flows, noting that the bodies remained clustered. Neither explanation is established.