内蒙古中南部新石器时代石城址初步研究

A Preliminary Study on the Sites of Stone Cities from Neolithic Age in Central and Southern Inner Mongolia

城是原始聚落发展的较高形式,也是文明产生的重要标志之一。近年来,关于中国文明的起源已成为学术界研究的热点,全国各地发现的早期古城址自然也成为了学术界瞩目的研究对象。本世纪70年代末至80年代初,以包头市阿善遗址及凉城县老虎山遗址的发掘为肇端,在内蒙古中南部也发现了新石器时代晚期的石城址。进入90年代,通过大规模考古调查及发掘,这一时期石城址的发现已达十余座。由于这批石城址年代早、地方特点显著。

A higher stage in the evolution of primitive settlement, the city usually marked the birth of civilization. Since the 1970s, a dozen of the sites of early cities were found to thesouth of the Yinshan Mountains, in the hilly country with Baotou and the Hai-Dai area atthe center. The author of this essay works on the characteristics of these cities, and probestheir periodization. He believes that the upper chronological limit of the cities is about 5000year B. P., and the lower limit, 4300 years B. P. Concurrent with the emergence and devel-opment of these cities was a marked progress in economy and drastic change in socialstructure. A crescendo in social and ethnic conflict led to the appearance of stone citieswith a defensive function. As the climate became colder, however, agricultural economycame to fall in the area. The animal husbandry that relaced farming explains the eventualdesolation of these cities.