A view of Shangshan Archaeological Park. [Photo/WeChat account: jhfabu]
The torch for the 17th Games of Zhejiang Province will be lit in the Shangshan Archaeological Park in Pujiang county, Jinhua on Aug 8, according to the latest announcement from the games' working committee.
Shangshan culture is early Neolithic culture, located along the lower Yangtze River region. The economy was based on hunting, gathering and fishing, with some exploitation of wild rice.
Shangshan culture was first discovered by Chinese archaeologists after excavating a Neolithic site in Shangshan village, Pujiang county, Jinhua, in November 2000. Since then, a total of 21 relic sites in the province, dating to the culture's early, middle and late stages, have been detected.
The Shangshan sites have been discovered mainly in the upper reaches of the Qiantang River in Zhejiang and its tributaries, as well as in the upper reaches of the province's Lingjiang River. Jinhua is said to account for two-thirds of the sites, with 14 sites in total.
Researchers believe they have found the earliest examples of cultivated rice grains and painted pottery in China at the sites, as well as the ruins of pile dwellings and ground houses that provide evidence of the earliest human settlement in the country.
Shangshan culture is held in high regard by archaeologists as the potential origin of China's agricultural civilization.
