Pengtoushan culture

archaeology

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July 19, 2026

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The Pengtoushan culture, dating from approximately 9500 to 8100 bp (before present), represents one of the earliest known agricultural communities in China, particularly in the Yangtze River basin. This culture is characterized by its early cultivation of rice, with domesticated rice remains found at sites like Bashidang and Pengtoushan itself. These sites, covering about 3 hectares each, also show evidence of early defensive walls and ditches. The Pengtoushan culture is significant for its contribution to the understanding of early rice domestication, with the rice found at Bashidang exhibiting variation and not fitting into the later subspecies of Oryza sativa japonica and O. sativa indica.1

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origins of agriculture
Early history
…what Chinese archaeologists call the Pengtoushan culture, whose radiocarbon dates cluster from 9500 to 8100 bp. The sites each cover about 3 hectares (7.5 acres). Bashidang has some of the earliest defensive walls and ditches found in China.
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…what Chinese archaeologists call the Pengtoushan culture, whose radiocarbon dates cluster from 9500 to 8100 bp. The sites each cover about 3 hectares (7.5 acres). Bashidang has some of the earliest defensive walls and ditches found in China.
Read More