What's the secret behind millstones?

Pei Li Gang in Zhengzhou Xinzheng is an unimpressive mound even with a simple appearance. It is 3.5 km long from north to south and 1.5 km wide from east to west. There is a gentle slope in the east, while steep in the west and south.

郑州新郑裴李岗，一个不起眼的土岗，甚至有些憨厚的模样，南北长3.5公里，东西宽1.5公里，东边坡度很缓，西边、南边骤降。

Peiligang Site photo/ Xu Zongfu

△裴李岗遗址 徐宗福 图

“Since 1950, farmers in Xinzheng have dug up millstones and stone rods in strange shapes while leveling the land. They have little idea about cultural relics and keep them at home to use as washing boards. By the winter of 1969, the cultural center had collected more than 20 millstones and stone rods, but it is not clear where and when they were unearthed.” said Du Pingan, curator of the Xinzheng Museum. The discovery of Peiligang site is not a plain sailing, since the mysterious veil of the site was uncovered by many cultural relic workers who were always unyielding in the face of difficulties and perplexities.

“1950年后，新郑的农民们在平整土地时总是挖出形状奇特的石磨盘、石磨棒，对文物没有太多概念的他们，把这些东西留在家里当搓衣板用。到1969年冬，文化馆已经收集了20多件石磨盘、石磨棒，但是并不清楚具体的出土位置和年代。”新郑市博物馆馆长杜平安说，裴李岗遗址的发现不是一帆风顺的，是许许多多文物工作者面对困难困惑始终不服输不退却，才最终揭开它的神秘面纱。

Millstone photo/Xinzheng Museum

△石磨盘 新郑市博物馆供图

In 1973, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage collected cultural relics for an exhibition, and the stone millstone was recommended but eventually returned because the site and aperiod of the excavation were not clearly investigated.

1973年，国家文物局征集文物办展览，石磨盘被推荐进京，最终，因出土地点和时代没有调查清楚被退了回来。

In 1975, in Tanghu Village, about 20 kilometers away from Peiligang village, farmers found some artifacts again in the process of leveling lands. However, no trace of stone millstone was found after excavation.

1975年，距离裴李岗村约20公里远的唐户村，农民平整土地过程中再次发现一些器物，可发掘来发掘去始终没见石磨盘的踪影!

Until 1977, Li Tiedan, a Peiligang villager handed over the stone millstone, which exactly match the traces at the site of the discovery.Peiligang village carried out three large-scale excavations later.

直到1977年，裴李岗村民李铁蛋上交的石磨盘与出土处的印痕完全吻合!随后，裴李岗村进行了三次大规模的发掘。

Hard work pays off finally. Xia Nai, An Zhimin, Su Bingqi and Pei Wenzhong etc,. these archaeologists all became interested in millstones one after another.

功夫不负苦心人，考古大家夏鼐、安志敏、苏秉琦、裴文中先后都对石磨盘产生了浓厚兴趣。

Peiligang Site photo/ Xu Zongfu

△裴李岗遗址 徐宗福 图

In 1980, Xu Shunzhan, a famous archaeologist, proposed that the ancient cultural remains represented by Peiligang Site should be named "Peiligang Culture", which has been widely recognized by the archaeological circle. Since then, Peiligang Culture was recorded in the history of human civilization as a symbol of an era.

1980年，著名考古学家许顺湛提出，以裴李岗遗址为代表的古文化遗存命名为“裴李岗文化”，得到了考古界普遍认同。从此，裴李岗文化作为一个时代的象征，载入了人类文明的史册。

On October 18, 2021, the final result of "100 Archaeological Discoveries in 100 Years" was released. 14 projects in Henan has been selected, ranking first in the country, which confirming Henan's status as a "major province of cultural relics" and " province of archaeology". Among the projects, 3 projects of Zhengzhou city are selected ,which are respectively Xinzheng Peigang Site, Gongyi Shuanghuaishu Site, Shang Dynasty Ruins in Zhengzhou.

2021年10月18日，“百年百大考古发现”终评结果出炉，河南省有14个项目入选，数量位居全国第一，再次印证了河南“文物大省”“考古强省”的地位。其中，郑州市入选的3个项目分别是：新郑裴李岗遗址、巩义双槐树遗址、郑州商城遗址。

The Peiligang Site in Xinzheng shines because it was discovered 2000 years earlier than the Yangshao culture and filled the gap of the early Neolithic culture in China, greatly advancing the history of Chinese agricultural civilization and becoming a shining pearl of the Yellow River civilization.

新郑裴李岗遗址的闪耀，在于它的发现，早了仰韶文化2000年，填补了我国新石器时代早期文化的空缺，把中国农业文明的历史大幅向前推进，成为大河文明一颗璀璨的明珠。

Stone shove unearthed in Peiligang Site photo/ Xu Zongfu

△裴李岗遗址出土的石铲 徐宗福 图

Stone sickle unearthed in Peiligang Site photo/ Xu Zongfu

△裴李岗遗址出土的石镰 徐宗福 图

Peiligang Site photo/ Xu Zongfu

△裴李岗遗址 徐宗福 图

From the unearthed millstone, stone rod, sawtooth sickle and a large number of pottery, people lived on agriculture with fishing and hunting as their complementary in Peiligang Culture 8,000 years ago. Humans left the caves and entered the plains, building houses and forming primitive villages that were relatively settled.

A stone axe for felling, a stone shovel for breaking the soil and sowing seeds, and a sickle for harvesting grain are on displayed here, which shows that agricultural production at that time has broken away from the original state of 'slash-and-burn' and entered the period of hoe farming." "Said Hu Jia, an interpreter at xinzheng Museum.

“从出土的石磨盘、石磨棒、锯齿镰和大量陶器来看，距今8000年前的裴李岗文化时期人们过着以农业为主，渔猎为辅的氏族经济生活。人类离开洞穴，进入平原，建造房屋，形成相对定居的原始村落。这里陈列的有用于砍伐的石斧，用于松土播种的石铲，还有用于收割禾穗的石镰，说明当时的农业生产已脱离了‘刀耕火种’的原始状态，进入了锄耕农业时期。”新郑市博物馆讲解员胡嘉说。