Xianren Cave

Xianren Cave
Location in China
Location Jiangxi
Region southern China
Coordinates 29°33′N 115°57′E / 29.55°N 115.95°E / 29.55; 115.95
History
Material limestone Karst
Founded 18,000 BP
Abandoned 17,800 BP
Periods Paleolithic China

Xianren Cave is a small cave located in Dayuan Village (大源乡) Wannian County, Jiangxi province, China,[1] and a location for historically important finds of prehistoric pottery shards and rice grains. The name refers to the legendary Chinese Xian "immortal; transcendent; fairy". The cave is 7 metres (23 ft) tall, 11 m (36 ft) wide, and 14 m (46 ft) deep.

Inside the Xianren Cave.
Pottery found in the cave, around 10 thousand years old.

In 2012, according to Science, the earliest pottery found anywhere in the world, dating to 20,000 to 19,000 calendar years before the present, was found at this site.[2][3]

References

  1. "The unusual Xianren Cave (奇特的仙人洞)" (in Chinese). 31 August 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  2. Stanglin, Douglas (2012-06-29). "Pottery found in China cave confirmed as world's oldest". USA Today.
  3. Wu, X; Zhang, C; Goldberg, P; Cohen, D; Pan, Y; Arpin, T; Bar-Yosef, O (June 29, 2012). "Early Pottery at 20,000 Years Ago in Xianrendong Cave, China". Science. 336 (6089): 1696–1700. Bibcode:2012Sci...336.1696W. doi:10.1126/science.1218643. PMID 22745428. Retrieved June 29, 2012.


Coordinates: 29°33′56″N 115°57′31″E / 29.56556°N 115.95861°E / 29.56556; 115.95861


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