Xihoudu culture
| Paleolithic cultures of China | |
| Paleolithic | |
| Xihoudu culture | 1270,000 BP |
| Ordos culture | 50,000-35,000 BP |
| Xiachuan culture | 24,000-16,000 BP |
| Xiaonanhai culture | 22650-21650 BP |
| Tongliang culture | 24450 ± 850 BP |
| Maomaodong culture | 14600 ± 1200 BP |
| Fulin culture | |
| Kehe culture | |
| Dingsishan culture | |
| Gezidong culture | |
| Miaohoushan culture | |
| Donggutuo culture | |
| Xiaochangliang culture | |
| Shilongtou culture | |
| Shuicheng culture | |
| Shuidonggou culture | |
| Yanbulaq culture | |
| Mesolithic | |
The Xihoudu culture ( Chinese 西 侯 度 文化 , Pinyin Xīhóudù wénhuà , W.-G. Hsi-hou-tu wen-hua , English Xihoudu Culture / Hsi-hou-tu Culture ) is an early Paleolithic culture in northern China . The first site, the village of Xihoudu in Ruicheng County in the Chinese province of Shanxi , gave this culture its name. The Xihoudu site is one of the most significant treasures of the Chinese national cultural heritage. It was discovered in 1960 and excavated in 1961–1962.
Finds and dating
The Xihoudu culture provides the earliest known Paleolithic relics in China to date. 32 stone artifacts and animal fossils of around 20 different species were excavated . The finds belong to the geological age of the Early Pleistocene and, according to paleomagnetic investigations of the sediments, are said to be 1.27 million years old. Since the stone artifacts have rolled away, they could have been relocated and thus come from an older layer.
The stone-made artifacts are mainly made of quartzite . There usually are core devices (English: core stone tool ), reductions (English: flake stone tool ) and some intentionell retouched pieces. Three different methods were used to tee off: striking with a pointed stone, smashing and splitting sharp-edged discs. To stone tools , there are three types of choppers , scrapers and a large hand ax .
Animal fossils include carp , softshell turtle and ostrich , as well as Trogontherium , Stegodon , Coelodonta antiquitatis shansius , Eucladocerus boulei . Among the animal fossils are some black-gray discolored deer antlers, horse teeth and animal ribs. Chemical tests have confirmed that this discoloration is due to the effects of fire. According to many Chinese scholars, these are the earliest historical evidence of the use of fire by man.
Monument protection
The site has been on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China (3-182) since 1988 .
See also
literature
- Kwang-chih Chang: The Archeology of Ancient China. Fourth Edition. Revised and Enlarged. New Haven / London 1986.
- Cihai [sea of words]. Shanghai cishu chubanshe, Shanghai 1999, ISBN 7-5326-0839-5 .
- Robin Dennell : The Palaeolithic Settlement of Asia. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge / New York / Melbourne 2009.
- Jia Lanpo, Wang Jian: Xihoudu – Shanxi Gengxinshi zaoqi gu wenhua yizhi [Xihoudu - site of an ancient culture from the early Pleistocene in Shanxi Province]. Wenwu chubanshe, Beijing 1978. ( 贾兰坡 、 王建 ： 西 侯 度 - 山西 更新世 早期 古 文化 遗址 )
- GG Pope, JE Cronin: The Asian Hominidae . In: Journal of Human Evolution 13, 1984, pp. 377-396 .
- Zhongguo da baike quanshu : Kaoguxue . Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe, Beijing 1986.