Jiahu is an important archaeological site dated to the early Neolithic period, Peiligang tradition (7000-5800 BC), divided into three periods. It is located about 22 kilometers north of Wuyang, in southwestern Henan Province, China, on the east slopes of Fuliu Mountain. The site's importance lies in its established early data and dates for pig domestication, rice domestication, musical instruments, fermented beverages and writing.
Jiahu is an oval-shaped settlement of approximately 5.5 hectares, of which only a small percentage has been excavated. It was a sedentary comunity located near a swamp. Evidence of carbonized rice grains and phytoliths indicate that the residents of Jiahu relied primarily on domesticated rice (Oryza sativa japonica), supplemented with animal domestication, hunting and fishing. Broomcorn millet is implied by isotope analysis, but has not as yet found archaeologically. Jiahu's rice (9000 years bp) is among the earliest evidence for rice to date.
- Read more about rice domestication at Jiahu and elsewhere
- Read more about broomcorn millet
To date, 45 house features have been identified at Jiahu, most of which are small, between 4-10 meters square. Most houses were semi-subterranean (meaning, partially dug into the ground) single rooms, although some houses had had additional rooms added on later. Ash pits and storage cellars were also identified, as were nine pottery kilns.
Artifacts at Jiahu
Numerous tools of bone, stone, and pottery were identified at Jiahu. Tools include spades, sickles and knives Some bone objects and turtle shells are engraved, leading researchers to suggest the beginning of written language at Jiahu.
Flutes made from the bones of red-crowned cranes were discovered, some which can still be played. They represent the oldest playable musical instruments yet discovered; and they have different numbers of holes, representing different five-, six- and seven-note musical scales.
- Read more about the invention of flutes
Domesticated animals identified at Jiahu include dogs, cattle and pigs; wild animals included rabbit, deer, and roe deer, fish, shellfish and Yangtzi crocodile.
- Read more about pig domestication
Evidence of an early fermented beverage combining rice, honey, hawthorn fruit and/or grape was found as residues embedded in the walls of several pottery vessels at Jiahu dated ~9000 years ago.
- Read more about the Wine at Jiahu
Cemeteries at Jiahu
Over three hundred burials representing 500 individuals have been identified at the site. Most of the burials are earthen pits; infants were buried in jars. As is common with Neolithic communities, the burials were in a set aside cemetery, although many burials over-lapped, so they were probably not marked. Burial goods were discovered in most of the graves, consisting of utilitarian tools; a few contained considerable material wealth, suggesting differential social status.
Jiahu Archaeology
Jiahu was excavated between 1983 and 1987, by the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.
Sources and Further Information
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to the Neolithic, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Cucchi T, Hulme-Beaman A, Yuan J, and Dobney K. 2011. Early Neolithic pig domestication at Jiahu, Henan Province, China: clues from molar shape analyses using geometric morphometric approaches. Journal of Archaeological Science 38(1):11-22.
Hu Y, Ambrose SH, and Wang C. 2006. Stable isotopic analysis of human bones from Jiahu site, Henan, China: implications for the transition to agriculture. Journal of Archaeological Science 33:1319-1330.
Li X, Harbottle G, Zhang J, and Wang C. 2003. The earliest writing? Sign use in the seventh millennium BC at Jiahu, Henan Province, China. Antiquity 77(295):31-43.
Liu L, Lee G-A, Jiang L, and Zhang J. 2007. Evidence for the early beginning (c. 9000 cal. BP) of rice domestication in China: a response. The Holocene 17(8):1059-1068.
McGovern PE, Zhang J, Tang J, Zhang Z, Hall GR, Moreau RA, Nuñez A, Butrym ED, Richards MP, Wang C-s et al. 2004. Fermented Beverages of Pre- and Proto-Historic China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101(51):17593-17598.
Smith BL, and Lee YK. 2008. Mortuary Treatment, Pathology, and Social Relations of the Jiahu Community. Asian Perspectives 47(2):242-298.
Yang X-Y, Kadereit A, Wagner GA, Wagner I, and Zhang J-Z. 2005. TL and IRSL dating of Jiahu relics and sediments: clue of 7th millennium BC civilization in central China. Journal of Archaeological Science 32(7):1045-1051.
