Potteries unearthed from the Guishan site of the Keqiutou Site group. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

By ZONG Shihan

The Keqiutou Site group, an archaeological cluster going back to the Neolithic Age 6,500-7,300 years ago, was one of China's top 10 archaeological discoveries in 2023. Located on Pingtan Island in southeast China's Fujian province, the cluster includes the Keqiutou, Xiying, Donghuaqiu and Guishan sites.

The pottery unearthed at the sites includes a large number of round-bottomed vessels, such as round-bottomed cauldrons, bowls and jars, and various ceramic bases for the vessels. The vessels and bases together created pots with legs like tripods. However, their advantage was that while tripods cannot be disassembled, they could be, making them more portable. This reflected the survival wisdom of the ancient Chinese.

The pottery has a wide range of patterns, from simple rope and string patterns to intricate shell and dot patterns. Mainly gray, black, grayish yellow, red and brown in color with signs of uneven firing, the pottery shows the aesthetic concepts of ancient Chinese.

It also has many similarities with other potteries unearthed at other sites, such as the Fuguodun and Dapenkeng sites in Taiwan, with comparable wave and shell patterns. This suggests that the ancient people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait had a deep love and reverence for the sea.

The cultural development sequence of the Keqiutou Site group is very clear, encompassing both the local culture represented by the round-bottomed pottery and the Huangguashan and Huangtulun cultures in the Minjiang River of Fujian province. They provide important clues for understanding the prehistoric culture of the southeast coastal areas of China.