A metropolis of stone
On the edge of the Ordos Desert, the Shimao site occupies 400 hectares, making it the largest known Neolithic walled city in China. For decades, its stone fortifications were mistaken for a section of the Great Wall of China. Systematic excavations since 2011 revealed a complex urban center that existed from approximately 2300 BCE to 1800 BCE. Its discovery challenges the traditional understanding that Chinese civilization developed solely in the Central Plains, showing a complex society flourished on the northern periphery 500 years earlier than previously thought.
The city's core is a 70-meter-high, 11-stepped pyramid built on a modified loess hill. This structure, with a base area of 24 hectares, was the residence for Shimao's ruling elite and housed palaces, craft workshops, and a large water reservoir. The entire city was defended by a system of inner and outer stone walls, unlike the rammed-earth constructions common elsewhere at the time. These walls average 2.5 meters thick and are reinforced with gates, watchtowers, and defensive bastions.
Rituals, jade, and power
The archaeology of Shimao points to a society with highly structured ritual practices. Six pits at the eastern gate contained around 80 decapitated human skulls, evidence of large-scale human sacrifice. Initial analysis suggested the victims were mostly young women, but recent DNA analysis confirmed that nine out of ten were male, likely sacrificed during the city's construction. This differs from sacrifices found in elite cemeteries within the city, where sacrificed individuals accompanying high-status burials were predominantly female.
Thousands of artifacts have been recovered, including ceramics, bone tools, and stone carvings. Jade objects are particularly common and were found embedded within the city walls, possibly for spiritual protection. The presence of certain jade scepters, known as zhang, suggests Shimao may be where this symbol of political and religious power originated before spreading across China. Thin, curved bones found at the site are considered the earliest known evidence of the jaw harp. The city was abandoned around 1800 BCE, likely due to a rapid climate shift toward cooler and drier conditions.