In the Shanxi Province near the Yellow River, archaeologists have discovered a vast offering pit containing thousands of carbonized millet cakes. Dating to the Longshan culture, this site provides the earliest physical evidence for a coordinated state-sponsored festival dedicated to agricultural bounty. The cakes were found arranged in a circular pattern around a central wooden pillar that likely represented the "Goddess of Grain."
The sheer scale of the find—estimated at over 5,000 individual cakes—suggests that people from distant settlements traveled to this central location to contribute their harvest to a communal feast. This ritual practice is believed to be the precursor to the traditional Chongyang Festival, highlighting a continuous 4,000-year history of celebrating the harvest through specific food offerings and spiritual veneration of the earth's fertility.