Shiyu ancient site

Shiyu ancient site is a Paleolithic human site. In addition to a large number of small stone tools and animal fossils, hundreds of carved animal pieces and a weapon of early human life, Shi Xuan, have been unearthed. The site is about 28000 years old.

Shiyu ancient site

Located at the foot of heituo mountain, 15 kilometers northwest of Shuozhou City, Shiyu ancient site is a Paleolithic human site, which was discovered by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1963. Now it is a key cultural relic protection unit at the provincial level.

In addition to a large number of small stone tools and animal fossils, hundreds of carved animal pieces and a weapon of early human life, Shi Xuan, were also found in the ancient Shiyu site.

Shiyu ancient site

In addition to the discovery of a large number of small stone tools and animal fossils, hundreds of carved animal pieces and a weapon of early human life, Shi Xuan, have also been unearthed here.

This site is about 28000 years old. Among the more than 20000 pieces of broken bones smashed artificially, hundreds of them have clear straight paths. Experts speculate from the carved traces of animal bones that before the invention of writing, it was probably the earliest counting symbol used by human beings. On the section of the Shiyu site, we can see two ash layers in the cultural layer. In the ash layer below, a piece of bone with more complex images was unearthed. The carved trace of the bone piece is very clear and easy to identify. It is obviously a conscious bone carving of Zhiyu people. A drilling ornament made of graphite was unearthed from the Shiyu site, which shows that the people of Shiyu have made great progress and have been able to use high-tech stone tools. In addition, a stone arrowhead was also found here, which is an unprecedented weapon for human beings, proving that human beings had invented bow and arrow at that time. All the unearthed relics tell us that when the people of Zhiyu lived here, the mountains were covered with dense forests, the hills were covered with shrubs, the plain was rich with grass, and the river was full of fish. At that time, there were antelope, wild horse, wild boar, deer, ostrich and so on living in the area of Shiyu. Shiyu people hunt wild horses most, so they are also called "horse hunters". A human occipital bone fossil was also found in the Shiyu site. Based on the analysis of the characteristics of the occipital bone fossil, it is inferred that the Shiyu people were earlier than the shandingdong people, but later than the Dingcun people in Shanxi Province, with a history of at least 100000 years. This shows that our ancestors began to work more than 100000 years ago. Life and reproduction in Shuozhou this vast land. Shiyu culture belongs to the late Paleolithic culture in North China. It is the first site of Zhoukoudian, the Xujiayao site and the Shiyu site, which represent the development of the Paleolithic culture in North China. It is the basis of the Neolithic microlithic culture in North China. The discovery of the Shiyu site provides valuable scientific data for the archaeological cause in China and important clues for the study of the origin and development of the Paleolithic age in Asia and America.

Shanxi late Paleolithic culture is one of the most representative microlithic cultures in China. It is a group of sites composed of nearly 20 sites, scattered in the edge of the Intermountain basin at the eastern foot of the main peak of Zhongtiao Mountain. It is named "Xiachuan culture" because it is most abundant near Xiachuan in Qinshui county. According to C14 dating, it is about 23000-16000 years ago. In addition to the Xiachuan site, there are also the Xueguan site (on the right bank of Xinshui River, Xueguan village, Puxian county), the Shizitan site (on the Bank of Qingshui River, Jixian County) found in 1964 on the East Bank of the Yellow River at the West foot of Luliang, and dozens of sites in Pianguan county and its adjacent areas of Jungar and Qingshui River in Inner Mongolia. They are roughly the same age, about 13550 ± 150 years old. The cultural features are basically the same. The processing technology and shape style of stone tools are more or less similar to Xiachuan culture. However, the typical tools unearthed from them are various pointed utensils and scrapers, which shows that humans at that time had mastered the skills of dressing and sewing animal skins to keep out the cold. The most valuable thing is that two rock paintings were found in Shizitan site, which are the earliest in Shanxi. They are all painted with ochre red hematite powder. One is a picture of naked women, and the other is a picture of hunting and fighting or dancing. This discovery shows that human beings at that time had already reflected the requirements of life in the form of pictures, and had a rich life of spiritual civilization.

Address: at the foot of Black Camel Mountain, 15 kilometers northwest of Shuozhou City

Longitude: 112.432825

Latitude: 39.331595