Discovery sheds light on early agriculture(3)

A pottery vessel discovered at the Xiatang site. (Photo provided to China Daily)

Notably, clay mixed with rice husks was applied to strengthen some of the pottery items.

The pottery pieces are typically stored in groups within various pits. "Pottery ware pits are a significant feature of Shangshan culture, although their functions remain unknown," Zhong says.

In one of these 50 pits, there's a large pottery pot containing 15 smaller pieces of ware. The pot, which stands 46 centimeters tall and has a wall thickness of 1.6 cm, and whose mouth has a diameter of 46 cm, the belly 40 cm and base 20 cm, is the largest of its kind discovered at Shangshan cultural sites. Archaeologists speculate that the pot may have been used for cellaring, sacrificial or burial purposes.

Moreover, the three high-level tombs were each buried with more than 20 pottery items, indicating the emergence of social stratification around 8,500 years ago, according to Zhong.