The Source of the Hemudu Culture and Environmental Change during the Early-Middle Holocene: New Evidence from the Jingtoushan Site, Yuyao, East China

Summary

The source of the Hemudu Culture has remained a key issue for more than 40 years. Recently, the coring survey at the Jingtoushan site has provided a chance to promote our understanding of this issue. Its cultural deposits are deeper than those of any other prehistoric site along the coastline of East China. It is overlain by Late Holocene marine deposits of 6 meters deep. Twenty radiocarbon dates, along with the particular depth of midden deposits and pottery sherds, indicate that the site dates to 8,000 BP, much earlier than most shell middens that have been uncovered in China. It is considered to be related to the source of the Hemudu Culture. The preservation and richness of organic materials are extraordinary. This site has great potential for understanding environment changes and sea level rise in the coastal area of East China since 10,000 years ago, as well as the interactions between human societies and environment.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22305