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.