Surveying ancient sites in Shandong, China Our Sino-American team began its systematic, regional survey in the Rizhao area of southeastern Shandong in 1995. This area is famous for a site called Liangchengzhen, which was first excavated in 1936. Archaeologists recovered exquisite jade items and pottery vessels and dated this late prehistoric settlement to the Longshan period, c. 2600-2000 B.C., as well as several later periods. During the Longshan era in northern China, towns developed, and social stratification increased. We wanted to assess the size of the site and to determine how it related in size and location to other contemporary settlements in the Rizhao area.