Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – On the 4th, reporters learned from the Hubei Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism that an early Neolithic site has been discovered for the first time in the core area of the Jianghan Plain, representing the earliest Neolithic remains found in Hubei to date. The site yielded stone tools, pottery, and rare, well-preserved natural crystal.
The Linniaotai site is located in Group 1, Sanding Village, Zhangjin Town, Qianjiang City, Hubei Province. The site measures approximately 470 meters from north to south and 320 meters from east to west. From June to September 2025, to facilitate related infrastructure projects, the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, in conjunction with the School of History and Culture of Hubei University and the Qianjiang City Museum, conducted a rescue excavation of the site.
Liu Hui, the person in charge of the archaeological site and a professor at the School of History and Culture of Hubei University, explained that based on the characteristics of the pottery unearthed at the site, it belongs to the Pengtoushan culture of the Neolithic period, predating the Chengbeixi culture in western Hubei, and is the only early to middle Neolithic site discovered in the core area of the Jianghan Plain north of the Yangtze River and east of Jingzhou.
The pottery fragments unearthed at this excavation have distinct characteristics, primarily reddish-brown pottery with a small amount of grayish-brown pottery. The vast majority of the pottery is decorated. The shapes are mainly various jars and pots, with a small number of basins, supports, large flat-bottomed plates, and spindle whorls. Among them, the long-necked, handle-wearing, deep-bellied jars, small-mouthed, high-necked jars, and saddle-shaped supports are particularly typical, most similar to pottery unearthed at the Bashitang site in Lixian County, Hunan Province.
"This indicates that during the northward development of the Pengtoushan culture in Lixian County, Hunan Province, it not only developed into the Chengbeixi culture in western Hubei via Songzi in the northwest, but also simultaneously crossed the Yangtze River in the northeast, developing towards the core area of the Jianghan Plain," said Liu Hui. This is of great significance for understanding the origins of the local culture of the Jianghan Plain and the cultural exchange and integration between regions. At the same time, the three-legged bowls and other three-legged vessels discovered at the site should originate from the Jiahu culture of the Central Plains, indicating that there were already close contacts and cultural exchanges between the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the Central Plains culture in the early Neolithic period, 8500 years ago.
In addition, a rare and well-preserved natural crystal artifact was unearthed at the site, making it the earliest crystal ornament discovered in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River to date.
Liu Hui stated that the Linniaotai site is located on an ancient terrace running northwest to southeast from Shayang to Shashi to Qianjiang and Jiangling, surrounded by lakes or marshes. This proves that in the early Neolithic period, 8,500 years ago, the ancient terraces in the core area of the Jianghan Plain were relatively suitable for human habitation. This discovery is of great significance for understanding the geological and geomorphological evolution of the Jianghan Plain and for conducting environmental archaeological research. (End)
