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Majiayao Site

Majiayao Site is located at the mouth of Mayu Gully south of Majiayao Village, Lintao County in Gansu Province.

The site is one of the most famous finds of the late Neolithic Age in the upper reaches of the Yellow River on the west bank of the Yao River. The first excavation at the site was carried out in 1924.

The site is about 280 meters wide from south to north and 350 meters long from east to west, with a Balang Gully running through the middle. It has a rich cultural deposit 0.3 to 0.5 meters thick. Houses at the site are either square or round in shape with a half-pit structure. Public burial areas surround the houses.

The mostly orange-colored pottery excavated at the site was well developed, with inside and outside edges coated with colored paint. The discovered items were adorned with black patterns, including waves, concentric rings, overlapping triangles and eddies. The pottery made by mixing sandy soil was decorated with rope-like patterns. Finely polished stoneware unearthed at the site included shovels, knives, sickles and millstones, along with plates and shovel-shaped pieces.

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