Recent excavations in China’s Shandong Province have brought to light a massive Longshan Culture industrial site dedicated to high-end jade production. Archaeologists uncovered a specialized workshop containing the earliest known evidence of rotary drills used for precision stone cutting, dating back approximately 4,000 years. The find includes thousands of jade fragments and finished ritual ornaments, such as bi disks and cong tubes.
The site also yielded a collection of sandstone abrasives and copper-based drilling tips, indicating a level of technological sophistication previously unseen in the late Neolithic period. Experts believe this hub supplied elite jade goods to the emerging urban centers across the Yellow River Valley, playing a crucial role in the social stratification and economic integration of early Chinese civilization.