它，是江南文明的曙光

7000年前，杭州灣南岸的宁（波）绍（兴）平原诞生了河姆渡文化，留下了目前所能发现的浙江大地上最早的人类活动的痕迹。河姆渡文化以稻谷遗物、木建筑遗迹、动植物遗骸以及土陶上那残缺的图案等实物，佐证它是长江流域中华文明的发祥地，是江南绵延不断的文明的早春，是浙江沧海桑田的文化史的起源。

本期视点从文化、考古、传承等角度，探视河姆渡文化对宁波、对浙江、对长江流域的中华文明乃至对世界文明的贡献与影响。

The Hemudu Culture took shape in present-day Ningbo-Shaoxing Plain south of the Hangzhou Bay 7，000 years ago， leaving us the traces of the earliest known human activities in Zhejiang. Ample evidences such as remains of rice grains， woodwork， animals and plants unearthed from the sites of Hemudu testify convincingly that Hemudu sites combine to be a cradle of Chinese civilization in the Yangtze River basin， the first dawning moment of a civilization that has prospered since then， and the departure point of the history of culture of Zhejiang.

A series of articles in this issue of Cultural Dialogue explores the impacts the Hemudu Culture had on Ningbo， Zhejiang， the Chinese civilization in the Yangtze River region and the outside world in terms of culture， agriculture and far-reaching benefits and influences.