| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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This understanding of the Tanshishan site remained almost unchanged until the sixth excavation in 1964–1965 when an area of 513 m2 was excavated. With the discoveries of 32 burials, 59 pits, 2 hearths, and a large number of artifacts, this excavation significantly expanded the cultural inventory of the Tanshishan site. On the basis of the stratigraphy and pottery styles, Zeng Fan, director of the sixth excavation, divided the Tanshishan site into three periods: the Lower, the Middle, and the Upper Tanshishan (FPM, 1976). Zeng contended that the Tanshishan archaeological materials should be named as “Tanshishan Culture,” an archaeological entity that includes all remains of the three layers of the Tanshishan site. Moreover, Zeng also pointed out that most of the shells at Tanshishan were marine shells, indicating that the coastal line was probably not as far as it is today, which is 65 km to the east. This is the first attempt to use archaeological evidence to reconstruct the ancient coastal line. Zeng reported four species of shells, Corbicula sp., Arca sp., Ostrea sp., and Auricula sp., among which three were marine shellfishes. He also reported two C-14 dates of Ostrea sp. from the middle layer (3090 ± 90 B.P, 3005 ± 90 B.P.). The discovery of 29 human skeletons from the cemetery also provided a chance to study the physical characteristics of the Tanshishan people. These skeletons were examined by physical anthropologists Han Kangxin and Zhang Zhenbiao, who observed that the cranial features of the Tanshishan people resemble both the Southern Mongoloids and the East Asiatic Mongoloids, but they are closer to the Southern Asian branch of the Mongoloid race (Han, Zhang, & Zeng, 1976).
During the 1960s and 1970s, Fujian archaeologists also excavated the Zhuangbianshan site (FW, 1961), the Xitou site (FPM, 1980, 1984), and the Dongzhang site (FW, 1965). These three sites all yielded remains similar to those of the Tanshishan site, and they were included as part of the Tanshishan Culture. The two excavations at the Xitou site exposed 1548 m2, making it the second most extensively excavated site in this period in Fujian. The discoveries include 53 burials, 33 shell pits, and a large number of artifacts. The pottery assemblage shares similarities with the Tanshishan site, but also displays difference. Unlike the Upper Layer of the Tanshishan site, there is no yellowish red and painted pottery at the Xitou site, demonstrating that the Xitou Neolithic remains were only contemporary with the Lower and Middle Tanshishan. The second excavation at Xitou produced two TL date on potsherds (4240 ± 190 B.P., 4310 ± 190 B.P.), providing more data for an estimate of the absolute chronology of the Tanshishan Culture.