In Henan province, a well-preserved foundation from a house more than five millennia old has been uncovered, shedding new light on early Chinese settlement. The discovery is reported by Xinhua, underscoring its significance for understanding ancient housing in the region.
The dwelling appears to have been substantial in size, likely exceeding 130 square meters, with walls built from compacted earth. Li Shiwei, a senior archaeologist with the Henan Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archeology and the lead figure on the excavation, notes that the structure is believed to date from the late Yangshao cultural period. This era marks a key phase in central China, when communities organized themselves around large, permanent buildings and developed distinctive material traditions.
Officials have described the find as the first large Yangshao house unearthed since 1921 within the Yangshao Cultural Village. The wrecked yet intelligible foundations offer researchers a rare glimpse into domestic architecture of the time. The excavation team is hopeful that the evidence will clarify the types, forms, and building methods used within this culture, contributing to a broader picture of daily life and social organization in Neolithic central China. In addition to the house, archaeologists recovered a range of artifacts that illuminate social structure and daily activities. Among these are four defensive trenches and a jade tomahawk, a striking symbol that scholars interpret as representing military power within the community. Detailed analysis indicates the site supported a relatively large population and featured sophisticated defensive planning, suggesting concerns with security and resource management in a growing settlement.
Yangshao culture flourished in central China during the middle to late Neolithic period, spanning roughly from the 5th to the 3rd millennium BCE. Its residents were renowned for skilful work with stone and bone, as well as pottery and the shaping of clay into functional forms. The current discovery adds to the long record of Yangshao accomplishments, including techniques for crafting tools and constructing durable dwellings that could shelter sizable groups of people. As researchers continue to examine the stratigraphy, tool assemblages, and architectural remnants, new details are likely to emerge about how these communities organized labor, stored food, and defended their settlements in a landscape shaped by rivers and evolving agricultural practices.