4,300-year-old lotus-patterned spindle whorl discovered in Henan

(ECNS) -- A ceramic spindle whorl dating back about 4,300 years to the Longshan period has been discovered in Henan Province, the Zhoukou Museum said on Thursday.

The spindle whorl, made of polished black pottery, measures 3.6 cm in diameter and 0.9 cm in thickness, with a hole 0.4 cm in diameter at the center. On the front, four lotus petals are carved around the central hole, with dotted stamens between them.

The artifact was found during the installation of exhibits at the new building of the Pingliangtai Ancient City Site Museum.

It bears a lotus pattern similar to that of a divination-themed black pottery spindle whorl previously found at the same site, and experts from the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology and Shandong University have confirmed that it shows characteristics typical of the Longshan culture.

The find indicates that lotus flowers already grew in the ancient waterways and marshes of the Huaiyang area during the Longshan period, providing evidence of a prehistoric aesthetic appreciation for the lotus and offering valuable material for studying the origins of lotus cultivation and early cultural concepts in the Central Plains

(By Tang Yuxian)