Archaeological site of the Mid Paleolithic Age

Location: Xiangfen County, Shanxi Province

Period: 120,000-100,000 BP

Excavated in 1954

Significance: It has offered significant material objects for the study of cultural remains of the Mid Paleolithic Age in China.

 Introduction

The famous "Dingcun Man" of the Stone Age used to live here. In the autumn of 1954 a large scale excavation was conducted in Dingcun Site. Over 2,000 artifacts belonging to the Dingcun Man were unearthed in the Site, including human and animal fossils, as well as stone tools. Studies made on the Dingcun Culture show that in the middle of the Paleolithic Age about a hundred thousand years ago, the Dingcun Men were already actively engaged in hunting and gathering seeds and other eatables from wild plants and primitive tribes were formed on such a basis. 

Heavy angular pointed implement: tool (up-left, length 17 cm); Heavy angular pointed implement: tool (up-right, length 17 cm); Human fossil teeth: (bottom)

 Dingcun Dwellings

In the vicinity of the site are scattered over 40 well-preserved dwellings, built in the traditional style of the Ming and Qing dynasties between the 17th and 19th centuries. All the dwellings in the village are laid out in a quadrangle pattern facing south, and consist of main halls, flanks, archways, ceremonial archways, memorial archways, viewing towers and embroidery workshops. The total area is 480,000 square meters. The oldest houses were built in 1593, during the Ming Dynasty, and the most recent, during the Republic of China (1912-1949).

Generally, the buildings are arranged in three groups, that is, the north courtyard, middle courtyard and south courtyard, arranged in a compact and symmetrical way. The layout of the courtyards, placement of doors, slope of roofs, and ornaments and carvings on doors and windows vary from the Ming to the Qing dynasties. Each dwelling is exquisitely decorated with ancient architectural carvings of flowers, animals and theatrical figures. Woodcuts and stone carvings are rich in content and intricate in design. Materials like brick, wood and stone make the buildings not only beautiful but also practical and highly resistant to earth tremors.