Neolithic history lesson seen at Hemudu site
Print Edition
TRAVELERS with a thirst for history would do well to visit the Hemudu site, located in Yuyao County, about a 45-minute drive from Ningbo. The site offers a look at one of China’s earliest Neolithic civilizations.
Archaeologists uncovered the area in 1973. Since then they have excavated and discovered four periods of the Hemudu civilization. Their findings are housed in a well-curated museum, which has both English and Chinese texts and oddly nostalgic videos to explain the culture of the Hemudu. The civilization boasts four main achievements: the domestication of rice, the building of pile dwellings, or homes on stilts, charcoal-tempered pottery and carved ivory artifacts.
Examples of each achievement line the walls and fill the exhibit cases of the museum, accompanied by explanations of their relevance, not just to their own culture but to Ningbo and, even more generally, to Chinese culture as a whole. The Hemudu are presented as an ancient people of progress.
At the same time, as a reminder of the time gone by, the exhibition also contains a few skeletons. Staring at them, it’s hard not to imagine that some day in the distant future, our remains, too, may be on display as historical relics. This feeling of fatalism is dispelled, however, by a Chinese saying printed at the end of the explanation on the wall: “Life is a never-ending song.”
After making your way through the museum, it’s time to see the actual excavation site. It’s only an eight-minute or so walk and well worth the effort. The stilts from actual houses still stand today, albeit splinters of what they once were. The oldest known well in China is also found here.
Walk a bit further and you will come upon some well-done replicas of pile dwellings, complete with statues to give a bit of life to the scene. Most of the structures are just for show. One of them is open to visitors, allowing a glimpse into the communal lifestyle of the Hemudu.
Easily traversable in a couple of hours, the Hemudu site offers an eyewitness history lesson for those with busy schedules. Its rural surroundings also offer a brief respite from the hustle and bustle of city life.
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