Lying at the eastern foot of Songshan Mountain along the Shuangji River, part of the Huaihe River system, the Peiligang site in Xinzheng, Henan province, was named one of China's top 10 archaeological discoveries of 2025.
"Holding more than 30,000 years of uninterrupted cultural deposits in a single location, Peiligang vividly documents how prehistoric people evolved from nomadic hunter-gatherers into settled farming communities," says Li Yongqiang, head of the Peiligang site excavation project and a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "Its landmark discoveries fill major gaps in our understanding of China's prehistoric past."
As the type site of Peiligang culture, the ancient settlement offers vital clues to the emergence of early farming civilizations in China's Central Plains.
Paleolithic craftsmanship
Although many Paleolithic and Neolithic sites are scattered across the Central Plains, Peiligang's uninterrupted stratigraphy and complete cultural sequence make it an invaluable reference for studying the transition between the two Stone Ages, according to Li.
Large-scale excavations resumed at Peiligang in 2018. Led jointly by the Institute of Archaeology, CASS, and Zhengzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the project investigates prehistoric settlement patterns and cultural development across the region. In the western section of the site, archaeologists have uncovered a late Paleolithic deposit spanning more than 50,000 square meters and dating from 36,000 to 14,000 years ago. The cultural layer exceeds 8 meters in thickness.
"It marks the first discovery of such a thick late Paleolithic cultural layer in an open-air, non-cave setting on China's plains," says Zhang Jian, deputy director of the Zhengzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.
The earliest phase, dating from 36,000 to 29,000 years ago, featured simple flake stone tools. Between 29,000 and 22,000 years ago, micro-tool technology emerged, marking a major advance in prehistoric toolmaking. These finely crafted tools were used for hunting, cutting, and other daily tasks. From 22,000 to 14,000 years ago, wedge-shaped micro-cores became dominant, representing the mature stage of local stone-tool production, Zhang says.
The discoveries provide clear evidence of the evolution of prehistoric stone-tool technology. A wide range of artifacts documents the emergence and development of toolmaking, establishing a chronological framework for late Paleolithic remains in the Central Plains.
"Archaeologists also uncovered a complete production chain for ostrich eggshell ornaments, including raw materials, semi-finished artifacts and production waste," Zhang says. "Unlike other sites that yielded only scattered decorative objects, Peiligang has been confirmed as a dedicated workshop for producing ostrich eggshell accessories."
The discovery shows that specialized handicrafts existed in the Central Plains more than 20,000 years ago, he adds. "Ancient artisans had mastered sophisticated processing skills and displayed a clear appreciation for aesthetics."
