A bird's-eye view of the Dongshan site. [Photo/Tide News]

The Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology has unveiled the latest archaeological findings from the Dongshan site in Huzhou, identifying it as an early settlement of the Majiabang culture, dating back approximately 7,000 years.

Lasting from 5000 to 3900 BC, the Majiabang culture was a Neolithic culture that thrived in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China.

The Dongshan site is not only the earliest known Neolithic site in Huzhou but also one of the most significant Majiabang cultural relics discovered in the Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou Plain in over 40 years, following the Luojiajiao site in Jiaxing's Tongxiang county-level city.

Located in Shijiaqiao village, Wuxing district, the Dongshan site was first excavated by archaeologists in 2024, with approval from the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

The excavation revealed over 600 features, including pits, ditches, and wells, and uncovered more than 1,500 artifacts, such as pottery, stone, bone, and jade objects.

Radiocarbon dating of the earliest relics at the Dongshan site places them between 7,158 and 6,954 years ago.

Remains of charred rice, water chestnuts, and animal bones suggest early rice farming coexisted with other practices.

The site's unique pottery indicates a distinct cultural identity within the broader Majiabang system.

This suggests a clearly defined, continuously developing Majiabang cultural settlement in the foothill areas along the East Tiaoxi River, according to Chen Yutao, a researcher at the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.