The oldest ancient human site found in Liaodong Peninsula is Jinniushan site in Yingkou area, which belongs to the early Paleolithic culture about 280,000 years ago. Human bone fossils and hand-made stone tools were found in Jinniushan site. Although its age is later than Yuanmou people in Yunnan province 1.7 million years ago and Beijingers' 500,000 years ago, it is the earliest ancient human site found in the northeast of China so far, which proves that ancient humans lived in Liaodong Peninsula in the early Paleolithic period when humans evolved from Homo erectus to early Homo sapiens. Other ancient human sites found in Liaodong area are: Miaohoushan site in Benxi area today, which belongs to the early Paleolithic culture 240 thousand years ago; The Xianren Cave site in Haicheng today belongs to the late Paleolithic culture about 20,000 ~ 40,000 years ago. The Qianyang site in Dandong today belongs to the late Paleolithic culture 18000 years ago. No site of the early Paleolithic Age was found in Dalian, but a site of ancient humans in the late Paleolithic Age was developed in Gulongshan, wafangdian city 198 1 years ago. Gulongshan site is the oldest ancient human site found in Dalian. Hand-made stone tools and a large number of animal bones were found in caves where primitive people lived, and there were traces of artificial fire. There are horse bones, deer bones, mammoth bones, brown bear bones, wild boar bones, sheep bones, etc. Among them, there are an amazing number of horse bones, including six or seven thousand horse teeth alone, so Gulongshan people are also called "horse hunters", which proves that in the late Paleolithic period 17000 years ago, there were ancient people in southern Liaoning where Dalian was located.
The discovery of Jinniu Mountain, Xianren Cave, Miaohou Mountain, Qianyang Mountain and Gulong Mountain proves that ancient humans flourished in Liaodong and southern Liaoning in the Paleolithic period. As far as its living environment and stone tools are concerned, it has great consistency and inheritance with the Zhoukoudian site in Beijing 500 thousand years ago. Many scholars believe that they are an ancient indigenous race formed by the migration of Chinese apes to southeast China, which is close to the sea and has a suitable climate.
The original source began with Gulongshan people.
Culture is innate, and the original meaning of culture is humanization and humanization. With people, culture began to exist. Although primitive culture is the original culture, it fundamentally distinguishes between human beings and animals, thus becoming the origin and original source of human culture. Therefore, according to the current findings, the original source of Dalian culture began with Gulongshan people 17000 years ago, and Dalian ancient culture originated in the late Paleolithic period.
The culture of a country, a nation and a region is a long historical process from germination to formation. The development of Gulongshan site in Wafangdian proves that Dalian's ancient culture originated in Paleolithic Age. However, the information provided by the Gulongshan site is very limited, only providing a very simple starting point and physical evidence of the budding period. How the ancestors who lived in this land were handed down from generation to generation, how the ancient culture evolved after germination, and which ancient race and culture the ancestors belonged to in this period all need our in-depth and meticulous research.
Existing data and archaeological discoveries prove that Dalian ancient culture, which originated in ancient times, has also experienced a relatively long historical period, starting from the early Neolithic Age more than 7,000 years ago and finally forming in the late Neolithic Age and the Bronze Age 3,000 years ago, which lasted about 4,000 years.
The ancestors of the Chinese nation entered the Neolithic Age about 12000 years ago. According to archaeological findings, Dalian entered the Neolithic Age earlier, and it is a relatively developed area of Neolithic culture in Northeast China. As early as six or seven thousand years ago, the ancestors of Dalian had already walked out of the cave and approached the sea. They cleverly discovered this treasure trove of geomantic omen along the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea, which is warm in winter and cool in summer, rich in seafood and suitable for survival, and began to settle down with fishing and hunting as the main body of farming.
The Neolithic sites found in Dalian are mostly distributed along the coast of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea and coastal islands, among which the Xiaozhushan site on Guanglu Island in Changhai County is the most typical. It is a complete accumulation of ancient relics from 7000 to 3000 years ago, with a clear age hierarchy, showing the life track of the ancients for thousands of years like a continuous picture scroll, thus becoming the historical staging coordinates of Dalian's prehistoric period, which is called "the place where the first wisp of smoke rises" by archaeologists.
Detailed explanation of Xiaozhushan culture
The lower culture of Xiaozhushan is about 7000 years ago and belongs to the early Neolithic culture. There are many sites in the same period of Dalian and Zhu Xiao Mountain, such as Shangmashi (lower layer) on Dachangshan Island, Shabaozi on Zhangzi Island, Beitun on Zhuanghe Black Island, Shitun on Biliuhe River in Pulandian, Wangjiatun on Lushun Beihai, etc. The basic characteristics of this period's culture are the transition from Paleolithic to Neolithic, and the houses have also changed from caves to semi-caves in Fiona Fang. In addition to a large number of shells abandoned by humans after eating, there are animal bones, stone tools, pottery, bone utensils and jade. The unearthed stone tools are still mainly made, such as sharp tools, scrapers and stone net pendants. Grinding stone tools include stone axe, stone knife, stone hoe, stone mill and stone grinding rod used for grain processing. Unearthed pottery has a thick embryo, few types, decorative mat patterns and zigzag patterns, jade articles are found in husbands, and animal bones have deer bones and a small amount. The information revealed by these discoveries shows that the ancestors of Dalian have learned farming and lived a settled life of fishing, hunting and farming.
The middle-level culture of Xiaozhushan is about 5,000 years ago. At the same time, there are guo jia cun in Lushun (lower level), Wang Jiacun in Beihai (lower level), Wujiacun in Guanglu Island in Changhai County (upper level) and Wutun in the north of Zhuanghe Black Island (upper level). The culture of this period has developed greatly compared with the previous period. First, the production tools are constantly developing, the number of stone tools made is decreasing, and the number of polished stone tools is increasing. Second, the variety of agricultural production tools is increasing, and a considerable number of pig bones have been found, indicating that the proportion of agricultural production has increased and livestock breeding has begun to spread; Third, the variety of pottery has increased, and the production technology has made new progress. Although most of them are hand-made, wheel-making technology has emerged, and the decorative patterns of pottery have developed from simple relief patterns in the early days to complex lines. Fourthly, during this period, Dalian had a close relationship with Shandong Peninsula across the sea and began to accept the influence of Shandong Peninsula culture. Because the ancients at that time had learned shipbuilding and mastered navigation technology, an ancient waterway had been formed between Dalian and Shandong Peninsula. The pottery unearthed from the lower floor of guo jia cun in Lushun looks like a pot-shaped tripod, which is similar to the similar artifacts in Zijingshan Mountain in Penglai, Shandong Province, Baishi Village in Yantai and Beizhuang in Daheishan Island in Changdao County. Straight cylindrical cans and carved jade articles imported from Liaodong Peninsula were also found in the above sites in Shandong Peninsula. Especially in the ruins of Dalian in this period, the earliest painted pottery with red and black colors and pottery as the cultural symbol of Dawenkou were found, indicating that Dalian culture began to accept the influence of Dawenkou culture, and a cultural source from south to north began to flood into Dalian, which made the local indigenous culture undergo new changes and began to show differences with other parts of Northeast China.
The upper culture of Xiaozhushan is about 4000 years ago and belongs to the late Neolithic culture. At the same time, the sites include Tangsan Village, Changxing Island, Wafangdian, guo jia cun, Lushun (upper level), Jishi Tomb of Laotieshan, Jishi Tomb of Siping Mountain in Ganjingzi District, and Shangmashi, Dachangshan Island, Changhai County (middle level). The characteristics of this period are as follows: first, there are many sites, which shows that the ancients have lived in Dalian for a long time and the population is increasing; Second, the houses are relatively dense and the tombs are large, indicating that clan tribes have been formed at that time; Third, the unearthed stone tools are basically ground, and few stone tools have been beaten. Moreover, pits for storing grain, carbonized millet and a large number of pig bones have been found, indicating that agriculture was the main economic type at that time, with surplus grain stored and livestock raising quite common. Fourth, the discovery of large fishing gear and large fish bones shows that there was a relatively developed fishery at that time, which had developed from offshore fishing to deep-sea fishing; Fifth, boat-shaped pottery was also found in Lushun guo jia cun (upper level), which was similar to modern wooden boats, indicating that there were advanced shipbuilding technology and navigation technology at that time; Sixth, many pottery similar to Shandong Longshan culture were found in these sites, especially the exquisitely crafted eggshell black pottery created by Shandong Longshan culture. The production technology of eggshell black pottery is superb, and the placenta is thin, only 1mm ~ 2mm. It sparkles and makes a metallic sound when struck. It is the most exquisite pottery in ancient China created by Shandong Longshan culture, and many experts think it can be compared with the most exquisite porcelain in Song Dynasty. These findings show that by the end of the Neolithic Age, Dalian's economy and culture had developed greatly, forming a pattern of giving priority to agriculture and paying equal attention to agriculture and fishing, with relatively developed pottery, fishing and navigation industries, which became an important channel for cultural exchanges between the north and the south of China. Due to the increasing influence of the ancient culture of Shandong Peninsula, it is different from the ancient ethnic groups in Northeast China who still maintain hunting and nomadic customs, and it is also different from the Xinle site in Shenyang, which is dominated by agriculture.