Taosi

Taosi is a major late Neolithic archaeological site in Xiangfen County, Shanxi province, China, associated with the late Longshan cultural horizon and dated roughly to c. 2300912 1900 BCE. It is one of the better-studied prehistoric urban sites in northern China and is important for studies of early state formation and social stratification.

Excavations have uncovered the remains of a large rammed-earth walled settlement with internal residential quarters and craft-production areas, an extensive cemetery with multiple high-status tombs, and a semicircular platform structure that some archaeologists interpret as an astronomical or ritual installation. Finds include pottery, bone and early metal remains that indicate complex social organisation in the late Neolithic.

Fieldwork and research at Taosi have been carried out since the late 20th century by Chinese archaeological teams, producing stratigraphic sequences and radiocarbon dates that underpin the site’s chronology and interpretation as an emergent urban centre in the loess plateau region.

The site lies in Xiangfen County on the loess plateau of Shanxi province; the surrounding landscape is typical cultivated loess with river valleys and terraces, and the site is accessible from regional roads serving the county and nearby cities.

• Chronology: Radiocarbon and typological dates place the main occupation in the late Longshan period, broadly c. 2300912 1900 BCE.

What to See #

• Walled settlement: The rammed-earth remains of a late Neolithic walled settlement featuring defensive walls, residential districts and craft workshops interpreted as evidence of early urban organisation.
• Burial complex: A large cemetery area containing multiple burial complexes and high-status tombs that display social differentiation within the community.
• Ritual/observational platform: A semicircular rammed-earth platform interpreted by excavators as a possible astronomical or ritual structure, often described in literature as an observatory or ceremonial platform.