The key element of this discovery is the Xiongjiaying Dam. Radiocarbon analysis confirmed that it was built around 5100 years ago, making it one of the oldest examples of water engineering in China. The complex includes dams, reservoirs, and channels that were used for flood control and irrigation during dry periods.
According to scientists' calculations, over 200,000 cubic meters of soil were moved to construct the dam. It was previously believed that such large-scale projects could not be carried out without a rigid hierarchy and forced labor under the control of a strong state. This concept, known as "Eastern Despotism," was proposed by German-American sociologist Karl Wittfogel in 1957. Wittfogel argued that managing water resources in Asia required the establishment of a totalitarian bureaucracy.
However, the excavation results at Xiongjiaying suggest that construction was carried out by local communities or chiefdoms, with no signs of centralized management. The governance structure likely relied on cooperation and coordination at the level of local clans rather than decrees from a sole ruler.
The research group noted: "The Chinese dam shows that complex hydraulic systems could be created and function in societies at a pre-state stage." The artifacts discovered indicate that social complexity and engineering skills in ancient China developed along a different trajectory than what 20th-century Western historians proposed.
