Unique style
In addition to the more widely known Liangzhu Culture, Hangzhou is also the place of origin of the much earlier Kuahuqiao Culture - a Neolithic Age culture that once thrived in its suburban Xiaoshan district.
Although it is lesser known than Liangzhu, Kuahuqiao Culture is no less and probably even more significant than the former.
The discovery of the Kuahuqiao relic site actually pushes the history of civilization in Hangzhou to 8,000 years ago, much earlier than the Liangzhu Culture.
Located in Xianghu Village in Xiaoshan District in the outskirts of Hangzhou, the Kuahuqiao relic site was first formally discovered in 1990, which led to the unearthing of large quantities of cultural relics such as sophisticated painted pottery, unglazed pottery, stoneware and jade artifacts.
A second excavation was carried out in 2001, with more relics discovered.
Kuahuqiao Culture, which was regarded as one of the top 10 most important archeological discoveries in China in 2001, is also an unresolved mystery that still enthralls and puzzles archeologists.
While there were many wooden, stone and pottery utensils unearthed from the site, there were no tripods and stones with drilling holes, indicating that hunting may have been the main lifeline of the Kuahuqiao people.
"This means the site has got the characteristics of a very early age," said Yan Wenming, a Peking University professor and researcher at the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
"The culture of Kuahuqiao is very unique," said Yan. "It can hardly be compared to any other ancient cultures discovered in the province, and we found it difficult to put it into the cultural chronology within our knowledge," he added.
By Zheng Lifei
Editor: Liu Rong
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