Archaeological breakthrough helps trace origins, formation of Wu and Yue cultures

Archaeological excavations at the Tangbei Site in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, have uncovered well-preserved remains from the Maqiao Culture and the post-Maqiao Culture, providing a nearly complete sequence of Bronze Age cultural development in the eastern Taihu Lake region and filling a key chronological gap, according to findings presented at a recent expert review meeting.

First discovered in 1959 and officially named in 1978, the Maqiao Culture is the earliest Bronze Age culture discovered in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Post-Maqiao Culture succeeded the Maqiao Culture and preceded the Wu and Yue cultures, the ancient states in and near Suzhou. Together with sites such as the Shecheng Site in Wuxi and the Bishan Site in Huzhou, the Tangbei Site forms a core cluster of late Shang Dynasty (c.1600BC-1046BC) to early Zhou Dynasty (1046BC-256BC) archaeological sites around Taihu Lake, according to the Guangming Daily.

At the Tangbei Site in Suzhou, the remains of the post-Maqiao Culture found on the northern terrace of the excavation area are the most distinctive. Excavations have unearthed many relics, including pottery, stone tools, bone implements, and bronze wares, as well as features such as ash pits, wells, and fired-earth remains. These findings help reconstruct patterns of life and production in the Taihu Lake region from the late Shang Dynasty to the early Zhou Dynasty, according to JSChina.com.cn.

In the northern part of the site, a basic settlement structure dating to the post-Maqiao Culture is characterized by platforms and moats. The area contains living features such as ash pits, wells, and fired-earth deposits, along with one tomb and two suspected kiln remains. A significant number of ceramic and bronze artifacts were also recovered.

"Located in the Guoxiang subdistrict, Wuzhong district, Suzhou, the Tangbei Site covers a total area of approximately 230,000 square meters. It was first discovered in 2022 during a pre-construction archaeological survey conducted by the Suzhou Institute of Archaeology," Che Yafeng with Archaeology Department at the Suzhou Institute of Archaeology, told the Global Times.

According to Che, from 2023 to 2025, a joint archaeological team composed of the Suzhou Institute of Archaeology, the Archaeological Research Center of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, and other institutions conducted three rounds of proactive excavations at the Tangbei Site. Within a 2,800-square-meter excavation area, the team uncovered three pre-Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC) settlement clusters.

"The Tangbei Site's remains from the late Shang to the early and middle Western Zhou periods es-sentially reflect the cultural features of the post-Maqiao Culture and serve as a representative site of that period," said Che.

Che noted that although no high-grade architectural remains have yet been found, the Tangbei Site shows a clearer stratigraphic sequence and a more complete assemblage of artifacts compared with other post-Maqiao Culture sites.

According to Xu Lianggao, a research fellow at the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and executive deputy director of the Shang and Zhou Archaeology Committee of the Chinese Archaeological Society, studying the Tangbei Site within a broader temporal and spatial framework helps reveal the developmental trajectory of the Shang Dynasty in the Taihu Lake region. This, he emphasized, holds great significance for understanding how southeastern China was integrated into the unified and diverse framework of Chinese civilization, according to JSChina.com.cn.