Linshu County has a long history and profound cultural heritage. Located 3 kilometers northwest of the county seat, the Beigoutou Ancient Site in Beigoutou Village, Zhengshan Town, is an ancient cultural site that spans from the Longshan Culture to the Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties.
Beigoutou Site
The stone axes, chisels, perforated stone shovels, spinning stone weights, and stone arrowheads unearthed at the Beigoutou Ancient Site are no longer primitive stone tools in terms of manufacturing and design. They indicate that the people here transitioned from the Paleolithic period to the Neolithic period. The unearthed pottery such as white pottery lids, gray pottery tripods, black pottery pots, and high-handle perforated eggshell black pottery cups prove that our ancestors had attained a high level of pottery-making technology. The majority of the pottery consists of sand clay with a black exterior and fine clay with a glossy black surface. The thin walls and smooth surface cannot be achieved through simple hand kneading; it requires the use of a potter’s wheel. The shape of the tripods changed from narrow-mouthed to basin-shaped, making it easier to put in or take out items. The bottoms of the tripods were flattened for quick heating. The lids evolved into elongated bags with thick necks. Particularly, the high-handle perforated eggshell black pottery cups were exquisite works of craftsmanship, demonstrating highly advanced production techniques at that time.
High-handle perforated eggshell black pottery cup unearthed at the Beigoutou Site
The discovered stone tools and pottery are found in the same stratigraphic layer, indicating that they are products of the same historical period. Based on this, archaeologists have identified the Beigoutou Ancient Site as a cultural relic from the Neolithic period and an important part of the Longshan Culture.
The discovery and investigation of the Beigoutou Site have pushed the history of human activities in Linshu County back to the Neolithic period, which is a significant historical discovery. The unearthed cultural relics reflect the political, economic, cultural, and artistic achievements of ancient Chinese laboring people, providing valuable material evidence for the study of ancient Chinese history, especially the customs and traditions of the Dongyi region. On December 23, 1977, the Beigoutou Longshan Culture Site was designated as a provincial-level key cultural heritage conservation unit, with a monument erected to protect the site. (Linshu County Media Center)
