The Shuangdun site museum in east China’s Anhui Province has recently reopened to the public after an extensive upgrade, offering a rare glimpse into the lives of Neolithic communities from more than 7,000 years ago.
"These symbols etched on the bottoms of these bowls are like a ’diary’ of the Shuangdun people’s daily lives," said Shao Libo, a staff member of Bengbu’s Shuangdun national archaeological site park, pointing to pottery bowls on display in the museum.
Neolithic pottery inscribed with symbols is displayed at the Bengbu’s Shuangdun national archaeological site park in east China’s Anhui Province. (Photo/Fu Tiancheng)
The markings on everyday objects quietly record the production activities and routines of ancient inhabitants, Shao explained.
Located in Shuangdun village, Huaishang district, Bengbu city, Anhui Province, the Shuangdun national archaeological site park dates back roughly 7,300 years and is hailed as the "light of the Huaihe River civilization."
Since its excavation, the site has yielded a wealth of valuable artifacts made of pottery, stone, shell, bone, and horn, as well as a multitude of inscribed symbols, providing invaluable insights into prehistoric life in the Huaihe River basin and the origins of Chinese characters.
In June 2025, the site was officially designated as a national archaeological site park.
The upgraded Shuangdun site museum, as an important part of the national archaeological site park, now presents a concentrated selection of the park’s significant finds, ranging from symbol-inscribed pottery to early farming tools, each offering a tangible link to the distant past.
Among more than 600 symbols unearthed at the site, researchers have identified both pictographs—depicting fish, pigs, deer, and houses—and geometric signs, including crosses, triangles, grids, and markings resembling counting symbols.
"These symbols serve as a window into people’s daily life back then," Shao explained. "For example, the ’pig’ symbol changes in shape, with a smaller head and larger belly. It suggests that Shuangdun people might have begun domesticating pigs."
Photo shows symbols engraved on the pottery wares unearthed at the Shuangdun archaeological site in Shuangdun village, Huaishang district, Bengbu city, east China’s Anhui Province. (Photo courtesy of the Shuangdun national archaeological site park)
Other discoveries, including carbonized rice remains—both wild and cultivated varieties—as well as fish bones, shells, and net sinkers, point to the development of early agriculture and the importance of fishing and hunting in the local economy.
To protect these invaluable traces of civilization, the park’s core area is covered by an 8,000-square-meter protective canopy.
"We follow a principle of minimal intervention," Shao said, noting that reversible techniques are used for conservation, with daily monitoring relying mainly on manual inspection and hydrological monitoring.
An interactive experience hall has been established to help visitors better understand the symbols.
Middle school student Pu Zhou found a cross-grid pattern on a pottery bowl, and thought the symbol looks a lot like the Chinese character "井" (well). He then asked a docent with the museum to verify his conjecture, and learned that it may represent a water pit or cave, showing how ancient people recorded aspects of daily life.
"The combinations and sequences of these symbols reveal a certain level of system," Shao noted. "Similar symbols have been found at contemporaneous sites in the Huaihe River basin, such as the Houjiazhai archaeological site, indicating shared recognition and usage across the area."
These common features, together with the similarities in pottery forms to the Neolithic cultures of the country’s Peiligang and Dawenkou archaeological sites, outline a cross-regional exchange network dating back 7,000 years.
原文地址：http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0828/c90000-20358900.html