The spring archaeological field investigation of the Hongshan culture, which began in February this year, has recently concluded. Archaeologists have unveiled 89 Hongshan culture sites in the middle reaches of the Daling River in Chaoyang City.

The field investigation began in mid-February and lasted for two and a half months. During this period, archaeologists have conducted careful and detailed fieldwork of Hongshan culture in the middle reaches of the Daling River, namely in Longcheng District and Chaoyang County, Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province.

The investigation covered seven towns and villages, including Beigoumen Village and Jiajiadian State-owned Farm in Chaoyang County, with an area of 1,600 square kilometers. During the two-and-a-half-month investigation, archaeologists discovered a total of 339 sites from the pre-Qin period, of which nearly 70 percent were new discoveries. Among the pre-Qin sites, 99 were from the Hongshan culture period, of which 10 were original discoveries and the remaining 89 were new discoveries. Of the 89 newly discovered sites, the settlement sites where the Hongshan ancestors lived accounted for nearly 80 percent of this total.

The spring investigation is part of the special archaeological investigation of the Hongshan culture in Liaoning Province, which is a sub-project of the Study on Civilization of the Hongshan Society. The project has been approved by the National Cultural Heritage Administration and formally incorporated into the major project Archaeological China. Up to now, this is the only Neolithic research project in the Northeast region that is approved by the National Cultural Heritage Administration as part of the major project.

It is introduced that the investigation plays a significant role in the excavation and research of Hongshan culture represented by the Niuheliang site, and the restoration of Chinese prehistory. It will also provide basic information for series of archaeological work in the future to clarify the mechanism, path and characteristics of the social complexity of the Hongshan culture, the historical process of the birth and early development of civilizations, and Hongshan culture’s important position in the origin and development of the Chinese civilization.

The Hongshan culture is an important archaeological culture along the south and north sides of the Yanshan Mountains and the Great Wall in northern China, and is a shining star of Chinese civilization. The archaeological work of the Hongshan culture is of great significance to the understanding and demonstration of the diversity and unity of the Chinese civilization, and the enrichment and improvement of the theories of the origin of Chinese civilization.