Yanshanzhai site: Shedding light on the Neolithic history of Guangdong

Yanshanzhai site in Yingde, Guangdong province is the largest and most complex central settlement site from the Neolithic to the Xia and Shang dynasties (c.21st century-11th century BC) in the Lingnan region.

The most significant discovery at this site is the late Neolithic cemetery in Yanbei, which showcases the largest and most well-defined layout cemetery of Shixia Culture. With 93 tombs and over 1200 burial objects, including jade wares, stone artifacts and pottery, this discovery sheds light on institutionalized funeral rituals and the divisions between social strata, offering crucial insights into the confirmable earliest complex society in the origin of Chinese civilization in the Lingnan region.