Jiangzhai facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jiangzhai |
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| Native name Chinese: 姜寨遗址 |
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A scale model of Jiangzhai in the National Museum of China, Beijing.
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| Location | Lintong District, Xi'an, China |
Jiangzhai (Chinese: 姜寨; pinyin: Jiāngzhài) is a very old village site in China. It was home to people from the Yangshao culture, specifically the Banpo phase. This culture lived a long, long time ago during the Neolithic period, also known as the New Stone Age. Jiangzhai is special because it's where some of the oldest copper items in China were found! It is located in the east of Xi'an city.
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Unearthing the Past at Jiangzhai
The Jiangzhai site is found on the east bank of the Lin River. This is in Lintong District, which is part of Xi'an in Shaanxi Province. It's only about 15 kilometers (9 miles) east of another famous site, Banpo. It's also about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the center of Xi'an.
How Old is Jiangzhai?
Archaeologists dug up the Jiangzhai site between 1972 and 1979. They found that this prehistoric village is about 6,700 years old! It shows remains from five different periods of the Neolithic Yangshao culture. These include the Hanpo, Shijia, Miaodigou, Xiwangcun, and KeShanZhuang II types. It's the biggest and most complete Neolithic village found so far in the Yellow River basin.
What Did Archaeologists Find?
About 16,580 square meters (178,465 square feet) of the site have been dug up. This led to the discovery of 600 tombs and 10,000 interesting objects. Most of these were everyday tools like pottery and bone utensils. But the most exciting find was some brass artifacts. These are the oldest copper items ever found in China! The whole village site is thought to be about 50,000 square meters (538,195 square feet) in total. It once had about 100 homes.
The Mystery of Ancient Copper
The brass found at Jiangzhai is the oldest type of arsenical copper ever discovered. It dates back to between 4700 and 4000 BC. However, the brass found here has many impurities. Even though the pieces look like they were made into objects, we don't know what they were used for.
Was Copper Made on Purpose?
Because of the impurities and the fact that later cultures didn't continue making brass in the same way, archaeologists think something interesting. They believe the people of Jiangzhai might have made brass by accident. It was likely not a planned or regular way of making metal.
Protecting This Important Site
In 1996, the Chinese government recognized the Jiangzhai site as a very important cultural relic. It was named one of the national key cultural relics protection sites. As of September 2013, efforts were being made to protect the site better. Modern buildings that were on top of the ancient village were being removed.
See also
- Chalcolithic (Copper age)
