Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Chengziya
36°44′8.88″N 117°21′14.94″E / 36.7358000°N 117.3541500°E
Chengziya, also spelled Chengziyai, is a Chinese archaeological site and the location of the first discovery of the Neolithic Longshan culture in 1928. The discovery of the Longshan culture at Chengziya was a significant step towards understanding the origins of Chinese civilization. To date, Chengziya is the second largest known prehistorical settlement after Shimao. The site is located in Shandong province, about 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the east of the provincial capital Jinan. It is protected and made accessible by the Chengziya Ruins Museum (Chinese: 城子崖遗址博物馆; pinyin: Chéngzǐyá Yízhǐ Bówùguǎn).
Chengziya is located about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) west of Longshan Town (Chinese: 龙山镇; pinyin: Lóngshān Zhèn) under the administration of Zhangqiu City and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of the provincial capital of Jinan. The site is located immediately to the north of provincial road S102 and less than 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) to the south of the Dragon Lake. Other landmarks in the area are Dongping Mausoleum (less than 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the east) and the ruins of the old city wall.
The ancient settlement of Chengziya was constructed around 2600 BC and was located on a tableland near the old Guanlu and Wuyuan rivers. The name Chengziya, literally "city cliff" refers to this location and the wall that encloses the settlement. The Wuyan River flows in the north–south direction to the west of the settlement. The Chengziya settlement had rectangular layout (400 by 500 meters (1,300 by 1,600 ft)) with edges oriented along the north–south and east–west directions. While the western, southern, and eastern walls are straight, the northern wall juts outward following the terrain. The settlement hence covered an area of about 200,000 square meters and was enclosed by a hangtu (rammed earth) wall that stood about 7 metres (23 ft) tall, was 10 metres (33 ft) wide at the base and tapered off to a width 5 metres (16 ft) at the top. The technique for erecting the walls from pounded earth was a new innovation at the time. Successive layers ranging between 12 and 14 centimetres (5.5 in) in thickness were each compacted before the next layer was added. On the outside of the walls was a deep moat that was fed by water from a nearby river. As there are no major walls inside the settlement, the layout conforms to the style of a "platform city" (Chinese: 台城; pinyin: tái chéng).
Chenziya is at the center of a cluster of more than 40 sites belonging to the Longshan Culture. These sites come in three size classes: sites covering from a few thousand up to 10,000 square meters are thought to belong to the ju (Chinese: 居; pinyin: jū; lit. 'settlements') referred to in ancient documents. Larger sites up to 50,000 square meters are believed to be yi (central towns) and finally Chengziya itself has been identified as a du (Chinese: 都; pinyin: dū, capital). Based on thick deposits found at the site (from 3–4 up to 5–6 meters deep), the population of the Chengziya has been estimated to be in the tens of thousands.
After the decline of the Longshan culture, the Chengziya site was occupied by two more walled settlements. One belonging to the Yueshi culture (1900–1500 BC) and the other dated to the time of the Zhou dynasty (1100–256 BC).
The site was discovered in 1928 by the archaeologist Wu Jinding (Chinese: 吴金鼎; pinyin: Wú Jīndǐng, 1901–1948) It was the first discovery of relics from the Longshan Culture which was named for the nearby Longshan (simplified Chinese: 龙山; traditional Chinese: 龍山; pinyin: Lóng Shān, literally "Dragon Hill") and the village of the same name. The first excavations on the site were carried out in the years 1930 and 1931. This was the first time that such field research was carried out exclusively by Chinese archaeologists using modern methods. Additional excavations were carried out in 1990 by the Archaeological Institute of Shandong Province on the southern side of the provincial road.
The cultural layer of the site is divided into upper and lower layers. The cultural accumulation is about 3 meters. The upper layer is the cultural remains of several different periods from the Zhou Dynasty to the Han Dynasty; the lower cultural layer is the first discovery of a Neolithic cultural relic with polished black pottery as the main feature, including part of the Yueshi cultural relic. In fact, it is a site containing three different periods of Longshan culture, Yueshi culture and Zhou Dynasty.
Hub AI
Chengziya AI simulator
(@Chengziya_simulator)
Chengziya
36°44′8.88″N 117°21′14.94″E / 36.7358000°N 117.3541500°E
Chengziya, also spelled Chengziyai, is a Chinese archaeological site and the location of the first discovery of the Neolithic Longshan culture in 1928. The discovery of the Longshan culture at Chengziya was a significant step towards understanding the origins of Chinese civilization. To date, Chengziya is the second largest known prehistorical settlement after Shimao. The site is located in Shandong province, about 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the east of the provincial capital Jinan. It is protected and made accessible by the Chengziya Ruins Museum (Chinese: 城子崖遗址博物馆; pinyin: Chéngzǐyá Yízhǐ Bówùguǎn).
Chengziya is located about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) west of Longshan Town (Chinese: 龙山镇; pinyin: Lóngshān Zhèn) under the administration of Zhangqiu City and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of the provincial capital of Jinan. The site is located immediately to the north of provincial road S102 and less than 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) to the south of the Dragon Lake. Other landmarks in the area are Dongping Mausoleum (less than 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the east) and the ruins of the old city wall.
The ancient settlement of Chengziya was constructed around 2600 BC and was located on a tableland near the old Guanlu and Wuyuan rivers. The name Chengziya, literally "city cliff" refers to this location and the wall that encloses the settlement. The Wuyan River flows in the north–south direction to the west of the settlement. The Chengziya settlement had rectangular layout (400 by 500 meters (1,300 by 1,600 ft)) with edges oriented along the north–south and east–west directions. While the western, southern, and eastern walls are straight, the northern wall juts outward following the terrain. The settlement hence covered an area of about 200,000 square meters and was enclosed by a hangtu (rammed earth) wall that stood about 7 metres (23 ft) tall, was 10 metres (33 ft) wide at the base and tapered off to a width 5 metres (16 ft) at the top. The technique for erecting the walls from pounded earth was a new innovation at the time. Successive layers ranging between 12 and 14 centimetres (5.5 in) in thickness were each compacted before the next layer was added. On the outside of the walls was a deep moat that was fed by water from a nearby river. As there are no major walls inside the settlement, the layout conforms to the style of a "platform city" (Chinese: 台城; pinyin: tái chéng).
Chenziya is at the center of a cluster of more than 40 sites belonging to the Longshan Culture. These sites come in three size classes: sites covering from a few thousand up to 10,000 square meters are thought to belong to the ju (Chinese: 居; pinyin: jū; lit. 'settlements') referred to in ancient documents. Larger sites up to 50,000 square meters are believed to be yi (central towns) and finally Chengziya itself has been identified as a du (Chinese: 都; pinyin: dū, capital). Based on thick deposits found at the site (from 3–4 up to 5–6 meters deep), the population of the Chengziya has been estimated to be in the tens of thousands.
After the decline of the Longshan culture, the Chengziya site was occupied by two more walled settlements. One belonging to the Yueshi culture (1900–1500 BC) and the other dated to the time of the Zhou dynasty (1100–256 BC).
The site was discovered in 1928 by the archaeologist Wu Jinding (Chinese: 吴金鼎; pinyin: Wú Jīndǐng, 1901–1948) It was the first discovery of relics from the Longshan Culture which was named for the nearby Longshan (simplified Chinese: 龙山; traditional Chinese: 龍山; pinyin: Lóng Shān, literally "Dragon Hill") and the village of the same name. The first excavations on the site were carried out in the years 1930 and 1931. This was the first time that such field research was carried out exclusively by Chinese archaeologists using modern methods. Additional excavations were carried out in 1990 by the Archaeological Institute of Shandong Province on the southern side of the provincial road.
The cultural layer of the site is divided into upper and lower layers. The cultural accumulation is about 3 meters. The upper layer is the cultural remains of several different periods from the Zhou Dynasty to the Han Dynasty; the lower cultural layer is the first discovery of a Neolithic cultural relic with polished black pottery as the main feature, including part of the Yueshi cultural relic. In fact, it is a site containing three different periods of Longshan culture, Yueshi culture and Zhou Dynasty.