Radiocarbon dating confirmed that the dam was built around 5100 years ago, making it one of the earliest examples of water engineering in China. The complex includes dams, channels, and reservoirs created for flood protection and irrigation during dry seasons.
According to archaeologists, constructing the dam required moving more than 200,000 cubic meters of soil. It was previously believed that such large-scale projects were impossible without a strict hierarchy and forced labor under the control of a powerful state apparatus. This concept, known as "Eastern despotism," was proposed by sociologist Karl Wittfogel in 1957, who argued that managing water resources in Asia necessitated the creation of a totalitarian bureaucracy.
However, the excavation results in Xiongjiaying indicate that the construction could have been carried out by local communities or tribes without signs of centralized authority. Management was likely organized based on cooperation and coordination among local clans rather than directives from a single ruler.
The research group states: "The Chinese dam demonstrates that complex hydraulic structures could be created and effectively utilized by societies at a pre-state level of development." The artifacts found suggest that social complexity and engineering skills in ancient China developed along a model different from those proposed by Western historical science in the 20th century.
