Protected Sites: Dayao Site

Dayao Site is located near Dayao Village in the northeast of Hohehot Municipality, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Lying in the highlands in front of Daqing Mountain, the site comprises two stoneware workshops -- one from the early Paleolithic Age and the other from the late Paleolithic Age. The Inner Mongolia Museum team carried out the first excavation at the site in 1976, and the second followed in October 1978.

Many large flint stones were unearthed in the early Paleolithic workshop, where pieces of chipped stone gallets, broken fragments and stone blocks were scattered around the site. There are some stone gallets typical of the age and a few well-shaped stone implements.

At the late Paleolithic site are many typical gallets and stone kernels, and a few stone implements, most of which are semi-manufactured or left over. The stone implements are simply designed and only a few varieties include chopping, sharp-pointed and scraping tools. Among the most common scraping tools, the tortoise-back-shaped ones are the most particular: they have a thick back shaped like that of a tortoise. These tools, typical of the age, can be used for skinning, slicing meat and processing leather.

The discovery of the Dayao Site provides important, concrete materials for the study of the stone-manufacturing process and crafts from the Paleolithic Age in China.