The Dawenkou Site is a famous Neolithic site in the lower reaches of the Yellow River in China. Shandong provincial museum carried out an excavation in 1959. The Dawenkou Culture was named after the site in 1964. The site dated back to 3500-2500 BC, with its burial ground being relic of the paternal clan society.

The site has an area of 820,000 square meters, with an excavated area of 5,400 square meters. 133 tombs and 1 pottery kiln were unearthed at the site. Tombs were all rectangular earth pits, with 14 wooden outer coffins discovered. There were many objects buried in the tombs, mainly wares made of red, colored, gray, black and white pottery. Representative chinaware included tripod caldron, standing cup, pot, jar, cup, wine vessel, bottle, and helmet-shape vessel as well as many sacrificial objects including jade shovel, finely carved ivory comb, and bone-enchased tube inlayed with turquoise. The delicate objects represented the superb handicraft that had already reached a high level.

Taking the teeth of river deer as sacrificial object was then a prevalent custom, so most of the bodies had deer teeth and hook-shape tooth products in their hands. Tortoise shells were also found in the tombs. Pig bones in different numbers were unearthed in the 43 tombs, and 14 bones were found in one of these tombs. Scholars believed that pig head was regarded as a representative of private property. This indicates that the gap between rich and poor was obvious and the system of private ownership had emerged at that time.

During the last 30 years, over 200 Dawenkou Culture sites have been excavated in the north of Jiangsu and Shandong. The Dawenkou Culture dated back to 4300BC and developed into Shandong Longshan Culture in 2500 BC. The discovery of the Dawenkou Culture as the precursor of the Longshan Culture proved that Shandong and north Jiangsu formed systemic culture of its own with Dawenkou and Longshan cultures as the base.