Ancient granaries dating back over 6,000 years unearthed in central China’s Henan

Archaeologists have recently unearthed a cluster of 16 ancient granaries that traced back to the mid-late period of the Yangshao culture, a Neolithic culture dating back 5,000 to 7,000 years ago that originated along the middle reaches of the Yellow River.

The discovery was made at the Huangshan ruins in the city of Nanyang, of central China’s Henan Province, and provides evidence to prosperous trade during the period, as well as key materials for exploring the social conditions and the evolution of civilization during the Yangshao culture.

Foundations of ancient granaries have been unearthed at the Huangshan ruins in Nanyang city, central China’s Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/courtesy of the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology)

The foundations of the 16 granaries are round or oval, with an outer diameter of between 2.3 meters and 3 meters and an inner diameter of about 2 meters. The granaries comprise of foundations, walls and moisture-proof layers.

The foundations of of an ancient granary have been unearthed at the Huangshan ruins in Nanyang city, central China’s Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/courtesy of the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology)

The granaries were found surrounding ruins of houses, as well as jade and stone workshops which date back to the same period, according to Ma Juncai, a researcher with the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology.

The granaries are built close to one another and have similar structures and sizes, as well as substantial storage capacity which are representative features of granaries in ancient times, Ma added.

Crop seeds have also been discovered at the Huangshan ruins. “Grass seeds are rarely discovered at the ruins, which indicates that perhaps the site was not a place for agricultural production and the sources of food for locals came from somewhere else or through trade,” Ma said.

Carbonized plant seeds have been unearthed at the Huangshan ruins in Nanyang city, central China’s Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/courtesy of the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology)

To date jade workshops, high level tombs, wharves and granaries have been discovered at the Huangshan ruins, with the total excavation area has reaching 2,700 square meters.

The Huangshan ruins in Nanyang city, central China’s Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/courtesy of the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology))