湖南澧县梦溪八十垱新石器时代早期遗址发掘简报

Excavation of an Early Neolithic Site at Bashidang, Mengxi, Lixian, Hunan

在本期的“史前城址与聚落考古”栏目中,刊布了《湖南澧县梦溪八十垱新石器时期早期遗址发掘简报》,该遗址时代距今7540～7100年。遗址周围有围沟和围墙,说明早在7500年前我国长江中游就出现了有沟有墙的原始聚落。

Somewhere between 7540 and 7100 years from the present according to radiocarbon dating, the site seems to belong to the Pengtoushan culture because of a morphological similarity of pottery between them and some traits suggesting at its later appearance than the Pengtoushan site. In 1993 and 1994,archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of Hunan Province had done two seasons of excavation,which led,most importantly, to the discovery of a moat and wall surrounding the site. It seems that the moat appeared before the renovated wall,although the possibility of simultaneity also exists. The discovery of the Bashidang site, in providing evidence for the hypothesis about the appearance of an embryonic moated and walled settlement in the middle valleys of the Yangtze River as early as 7500 years ago,sheds much light on the origin of ancient civilization as well as cities in that area.