Chengtoushan

Chengtoushan (Chinese: 城頭山; pinyin: Chéngtóushān) was a Neolithic settlement located on the northwestern edge of Dongting Lake in Lixian County, Changde, Hunan, China.

The site contains the earliest dated rice field in China (dating from 4500 to 3000 BC). The settlement spanned three separate cultures: the Daxi culture, the Qujialing culture and the Shijiahe culture. The site was abandoned around the middle period of the Shijiahe culture.

Chengtoushan was a round settlement surrounded by a moat and rammed earth wall, which was first built during the Daxi culture. The remains of human sacrifices were discovered under the foundation of the wall. The remains of a gravel road, a river bridge and a river-control gate were also discovered at Chengtoushan.

Chengtoushan is possibly on of the oldest walled sites in China: with the walls and moat built around 4 000 BCE, it existed for two millennia. The rice paddy dated about 6 500 BCE is considered to be one of the oldest in the world.

References

• Allan, Sarah (ed.), The Formation of Chinese Civilization: An Archaeological Perspective, ISBN 0-300-09382-9
• Higham, Charles, The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia, ISBN 0-521-56505-7
• Stark, Miriam T. (ed.), Archaeology of Asia, 2006, ISBN 1-4051-0213-6