The Neolithic Qujialing Site in Jingmen, Hubei

Abstract From 2021 to 2023, the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, in collaboration with other institutions, conducted extensive excavations at the Qujialing site. A large structure, F38, was uncovered on the southern hillock, and two water management systems were identified at Xiongjiashan and Zhengfan. A substantial assemblage of characteristic Qujialing culture pottery was unearthed, including ding cauldrons, guan jars, pen basins, zeng steamers, gang vats, hu jars, bo bowls, dou stem bowls, wide-mouthed bei cups, ring-footed bei cups, cylindrical vessels, phallus-shaped objects, and spindle whorls. These remains primarily date to the late phase of the early Qujialing culture. The discoveries provide new material for clarifying the site’s structural layout and advancing the study of prehistoric civilization in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.