Brief introduction of Jiahu site

Jiahu Site is located in Jiahu Village, Beiwudu Town, Wuyang County, central Henan Province. The whole site is irregular and round, with a total area of about 55,000 square meters. During the period of 1983 ~ 1987, Henan Institute of Cultural Relics carried out six excavations here, exposing an area of 2,358.7 square meters, clearing out 45 houses, 9 pottery kilns, 370 ash pits, 249 tombs, 32 urn coffins, dog pits 10, and some ditches and small pits. Unearthed cultural relics are very rich, among which the most striking are carved tortoise shells, bone flutes and rice stalks. Jia Hu bone flute created a miracle in the history of China music; The discovery of the remains of artificially planted rice proves that Huanghuai basin is one of the origins of rice farming. The carved symbols found here are probably the origin of Chinese characters; There are also those tortoise shells buried with them, which reflect the primitive religious beliefs of Jiahu ancestors. The overall height of the culture created by the Lakers far exceeds our imagination. In addition, a number of Oracle bones were unearthed at the roadside of Laoshahe River, 22km north of Wuyang City, Henan Province. According to the determination of carbon 14, the cultural layer here is extremely simple; It is a well-preserved primitive social settlement site equivalent to Peiligang culture period, which is 8000 years ago. Since 1983, Henan Institute of Cultural Relics has conducted six inspections and excavations here, and unearthed thousands of relics of pottery, stone tools, bones, nails and other materials. These engraved Oracle Bone Inscriptions were accidentally discovered by inspectors during recent excavation and cleaning.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions unearthed from the Neolithic site in Jiahu, Wuyang, Henan, is more than 4,000 years earlier than Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Yinxu, Anyang, more than 2,000 years earlier than the earliest Egyptian papyrus document in the world, and more than 2,000 years earlier than the symbols on Yangshao pottery in Banpo and the characters on Wenchan pottery in Dawenkou, Shandong. Most of the newly discovered Oracle Bone Inscriptions symbols were found on the perforated tortoise shell deck buried with the burial objects. This perforated deck is an ornament worn in ancient times and related to human divination. Judging from the shapes of some carved symbols, some of them are similar to Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Anyang Yin Ruins. Judging from this phenomenon, Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Anyang Yin Ruins should be in the same strain. It provides valuable information for exploring the origin of China characters.