The Longshan culture site at Ximengzhuang, Tengzhou, Shandong

A small, walled settlement spanning the early through mid-Longshan culture was discovered at Ximengzhuang site, Tengzhou City, Shandong Province. The development of the settlement encompasses two periods: a square enclosure in the early period and a circular enclosure in the late period. Houses inside the enclosure might have been laid out in rows from south to north during the early period; late period houses can be divided into three phases. All houses were laid out along the circular enclosure, which could be used as a special space for storage. Cultural remains after the abandonment of the walled settlement date to the mid-Longshan culture. The Ximengzhuang site is the first small Longshan culture settlement to have been revealed in its entirety in China, with a clear trajectory of development and distinguishing characteristics as regards periodization. The Ximengzhuang site may have been a military outpost.

Longshan Culture Issues: Taosi and Cosmology

Archaeological research regarding cosmology at Taosi site in Shanxi, China, has led to the identification of the concept of a “central state” in the middle Yellow River Valley that may be recorded in terms of space and time, ca. 2000 bce. The tools used to make this identification include a gnomon shadow template as well as a megalithic observatory for a positional calendar. The inhabitants in this region conceived a form of Taiji Dualism in speculating on the formation of earth and heaven, and then developed a spatial paradigm for urban planning. They invented as well the concept of earth as center and in turn formulated the concept of Five Quarters cosmology as a political landscape.