Xianren Cave Early Pottery Horizon
Upper Palaeolithic to Iron Age (30000 BCE–500 CE)·Multi-period rock art·🇨🇳 Jiangxi, Xianren Cave, China
About
About Xianren Cave Early Pottery Horizon
Xianren Cave Early Pottery Horizon in Jiangxi, Xianren Cave, China is a Upper Palaeolithic to Iron Age (30000 BCE–500 CE) rock art attributed to Multi-period rock art. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal panel 12 m long × 3 m high and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 28.7400N 117.1780E controls access to Jiangxi resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey rock art for Jiangxi, Xianren Cave, illustrating Multi-period rock art construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Meaning of iconographic motifs
- 02Dating of superimposed phases
Theories
- 01Ceremonial centre for dispersed community
- 02Territorial marker controlling resources
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 15000 BCE–500 CE
- Period
- Upper Palaeolithic to Iron Age (30000 BCE–500 CE)
- Culture
- Multi-period rock art
- Purpose
- Rock art sanctuary and ritual landscape with petroglyphs/pictographs
- Rediscovered
- 1997 survey
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 15000 BCE–500 CE
Initial construction of Xianren Cave Early Pottery Horizon main structure
c. 1937
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically
1997–2012
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Xianren Cave Early Pottery Horizon) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
28.7400° N · 117.1780° E · 339 m · 3 mapped features
Xianren Cave Early Pottery Horizon — Main Structure
panelPrincipal rock art — Panel 12 m long × 3 m high with diagnostic masonry/panel
28.7408° N · 117.1789° EXianren Cave Early Pottery Horizon — Ancillary Complex
complexAncillary settlement debris and ceramics surrounding main feature
28.7390° N · 117.1773° EXianren Cave Early Pottery Horizon — Peripheral Feature
outlierPeripheral feature with petroglyph panel extension
28.7415° N · 117.1792° E