Hemudu Site 河姆渡遗址

About Hemudu Site

Excavations exposed posts and building elements associated with raised longhouses, together with tools and evidence of cultivated rice. The museum and reconstructed excavation areas make those discoveries easier to read in their original landscape. Compare the building evidence with the material used in daily work rather than focusing only on the site’s age; a reconstruction explains the finds without being an original standing house.

Discovered in the summer of 1973, the settlement contains four superimposed cultural layers dating between 5000 and 3000 BC. Animal remains show that pigs and dogs were domesticated, while hunting and gathering also contributed to food supplies. Pollen analysis indicates a warmer, wetter environment in the earliest phase, followed by increasing dryness and later cooling.

Wooden components retain marks left by stone woodworking tools. Axes cut and felled timber, adzes smoothed surfaces, and stone or bone chisels cut mortises. Numerous mortise-and-tenon joints were recovered from the earlier cultural layers. A well from a later phase contained a square timber support structure within an outer circle of posts, interpreted as a possible well shelter.

What to look for

• Post-built longhouse evidence and reconstruction show how buildings were raised above the ground.
• Cultivated rice remains, tools and dark pottery reveal the settlement’s farming and material culture.

The surrounding area

A coastal city chapter centered on maritime food, Tianyi Pavilion and Moon Lake.

Location & getting there

Getting to Hemudu Site

Approach the Hemudu Site Museum at Lushansi Village in Hemudu town, Yuyao, on the northern bank of the Yao River.