✨ At Niuheliang (Hongshan culture, ~5,500–5,000 years ago), seven fired-earth pits on Platform No. 7 mirror the Big Dipper constellation. Lead archaeologist Jia Xiaoling argues this reveals sophisticated astronomy and timekeeping. The site also features solstice-aligned concentric platforms and a famous jade goddess temple.
Niuheliang site features fire pits arranged like the Big Dipper 5,800 years ago
Key facts
- Niuheliang site in Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province, northeast China
- Site belongs to the Neolithic Hongshan culture
- Site first discovered in 1981; more than 60 archaeological sites have been identified within its protected area
- Nine large platforms cover over 100,000 square metres, suggesting a ceremonial complex built rapidly around 5,800 years ago
- Seven pits of fired earth arranged within Platform No. 7 closely resemble the Big Dipper/Plow/Ursa Major stars
- Only these seven pits were found on the platform, modelled on the cosmos in the northern part of the structure
- Lead archaeologist Jia Xiaoling argues the Hongshan people had a sophisticated grasp of astronomy and timekeeping
- Niuheliang is also home to the goddess temple, considered the earliest known holy temple in China, and a head sculpture thought to depict a Hongshan goddess
- Second area of the site has three concentric circular platforms, largest about 22 m across, believed to correspond to the winter solstice, equinoxes, and summer solstice
- Artifacts include jade dragons, jade phoenixes, cloud-shaped pendants, and figures, hinting at an early jade-based ritual system
Site mentioned
Sources
globaltimes.cn
Linked in video description
info.zcu.cz
Linked in video description
Niuheliangen.wikipedia.org
Discovered in 1983, the Niuheliang site belongs to the Hongshan culture (4700–2900 BC). It includes evidence of religion, such as a temple, an altar and a ...
Insights from Niuheliang siteenglish.cssn.cn
The Niuheliang site represents the most flourishing period of the Hongshan Culture, a Neolithic civilization that emerged around 6,500 years ...
Early China | The Niuheliang site - DeepChinadeepchina.substack.com
The Niuheliang site, located in the central part of the Hongshan Culture Area, was the holy land and political center of the Hongshan Culture.
Sites of Hongshan Culture: The Niuheliang Archaeological ...whc.unesco.org
Dating back to 5,500-5,000 years ago, it was a sanctuary where ancestors of the Hongshan people were buried and sacrifices were offered to ancestors, Heaven and ...
Hongshan chiefly communities in Neolithic northeastern Chinapmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
by CE Peterson · 2010 · Cited by 70 — The Hongshan societies of northeastern China are among East Asia's earliest complex societies. They have been known largely from elaborate burials with carved ...
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