Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Majiayao culture
The Majiayao culture is a name given by to a group of Neolithic communities who lived primarily in the upper Yellow River region in Gansu and Qinghai, China. The culture existed from 3100 BC to 2700 BC. The earliest discoveries of copper and bronze objects in China occur at Majiayao sites.
Majiabang culture
The Majiabang culture was a Neolithic culture that existed at the mouth of the Yangtze River, primarily around the area and north of Hangzhou Bay in China. The culture was spread throughout southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang from around 5000 BC to 3000 BC. Initially, archaeologists had considered the Majiabang sites and sites in northern Jiangsu to be part of the same culture, naming it the ''Qingliangang culture''. Archaeologists later realized that the northern Jiangsu sites were of the Dawenkou culture and renamed the southern Jiangsu sites as the Majiabang culture. The Majiabang culture coexisted with the Hemudu culture for over a thousand years as two separate and distinct cultures, with cultural transmissions between the two cultures.
Majiabang people cultivated rice. At Caoxieshan, a site of the Majiabang culture, archaeologists excavated . However, remains excavated from Majiabang archaeological sites indicated that people had domesticated pigs. In addition, the remain of and roe deer have been found, showing that people were not totally reliant on agricultural production. Archaeological sites also bear evidence that Majiabang people produced jade ornaments.
Majiabang people cultivated rice. At Caoxieshan, a site of the Majiabang culture, archaeologists excavated . However, remains excavated from Majiabang archaeological sites indicated that people had domesticated pigs. In addition, the remain of and roe deer have been found, showing that people were not totally reliant on agricultural production. Archaeological sites also bear evidence that Majiabang people produced jade ornaments.
Longshan culture
Longshan culture was a late Neolithic culture in China, centered on the central and lower Yellow River and dated from about 3000 BC to 2000 BC. Longshan culture is named after Longshan of eastern Jinan in Shandong Province, the first find and excavated site of this culture.
The distinctive feature of Longshan culture was the high level of skill in , including the use of pottery wheels. Longshan culture was noted for its highly polished black pottery . This type of thin-walled and polished black pottery has also been discovered in the Yangzi River valley and as far as the southeastern coast of China proper. It is a clear indication that neolithic agricultural sub-groups of the greater Longshan Culture had spread out across China proper.
Life during the Longshan culture marked a transition to the establishment of , as rammed earth walls and moats began to appear; the site at Taosi is the largest walled Longshan settlement. Rice cultivation was clearly established by that time. Small-scale production of silk by raising and domesticating ''bombyx mori'' in early sericulture was also known.
A variety of geographic regions of China are involved among the various sub-periods of the Longshan civilisation, particularly for the Late Longshan period. For example middle reaches of the Jing River and Wei River evince settlement known as the Shaanxi Longshan. The Wei River valley would participate in key historic events in China as the North Silk Road developed in that same area.
The distinctive feature of Longshan culture was the high level of skill in , including the use of pottery wheels. Longshan culture was noted for its highly polished black pottery . This type of thin-walled and polished black pottery has also been discovered in the Yangzi River valley and as far as the southeastern coast of China proper. It is a clear indication that neolithic agricultural sub-groups of the greater Longshan Culture had spread out across China proper.
Life during the Longshan culture marked a transition to the establishment of , as rammed earth walls and moats began to appear; the site at Taosi is the largest walled Longshan settlement. Rice cultivation was clearly established by that time. Small-scale production of silk by raising and domesticating ''bombyx mori'' in early sericulture was also known.
A variety of geographic regions of China are involved among the various sub-periods of the Longshan civilisation, particularly for the Late Longshan period. For example middle reaches of the Jing River and Wei River evince settlement known as the Shaanxi Longshan. The Wei River valley would participate in key historic events in China as the North Silk Road developed in that same area.
List of Neolithic cultures of China
This is a list of Neolithic cultures of China that have been discovered by archaeologists. They are sorted in chronological order from the earliest founding to the latest arnd are followed by a schematic visualization of these cultures.
These cultures are brought together schematically for the period 7,000 to 1,500 BCE. Neolithic cultures remain unmarked and Bronze Age cultures are marked with *. There are many differences in opinion by dating these cultures, so the dates chosen here are tentative:
For this schematic outline of its neolithic cultures China has been divided into the following nine parts:
#Northeast China: Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning.
#Northwest China : Gansu, Qinghai and western part of Shaanxi.
#North-central China : Shanxi, Hebei, western part of Henan and eastern part of Shaanxi. This is called the North China Plain, until recently seen as where Chinese civilization originated from and spread out along the country.
#Eastern China : Shandong, Anhui, northern part of Jiangsu and eastern part Henan.
#East-south-eastern China : Zhejiang and biggest part of Jiangsu.
#South-central China : Hubei and northern part of Hunan.
#Sichuan and upper Yangtze.
#Southeast China: Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, southern part of Hunan, lower Red River in the northern part of Vietnam and the island of Taiwan.
#Southwest China: Yunnan and Guizhou.
*Chang Kwang-chih, ''The Archaeology of Ancient China'', Yale University Press: New Haven, 1986 , ISBN 0-300-03784-8.
*Loewe, Michael en Edward L. Shaughnessy , ''The Cambridge History of Ancient China. From the Origins of Civilization to 221 B.C.'', Cambridge University Press: Cambridge 1999, ISBN 0-521-47030-7.
*Higham, Charles, ''The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia'', Cambridge University Press: Cambridge 1996, ISBN 0-521-49660-8.
*Li Liu,''The Chinese Neolithic. Trajectories to Early States'', Cambridge University Press: Cambridge 2004, ISBN 0-521-81184-8.
*Maisels, Charles Keith, ''Early Civilizations of the Old World. The Formative Histories of Egypt, The Levant, Mesopotamia, India and China'', Routledge: Londen 1999, ISBN 0-415-10976-0.
*Scarre, Chris , ''The Human Past. World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies'', Thames & Hudson: Londen 2005, ISBN 0-500-28531-4.
::chapter 7, Higham, Charles, 'East Asian Agriculture and Its Impact', p.234-264.
::chapter 15,Higham, Charles, 'Complex Societies of East and Southeast Asia', p.552-594
List of Neolithic cultures of China
Schematic outline
These cultures are brought together schematically for the period 7,000 to 1,500 BCE. Neolithic cultures remain unmarked and Bronze Age cultures are marked with *. There are many differences in opinion by dating these cultures, so the dates chosen here are tentative:
For this schematic outline of its neolithic cultures China has been divided into the following nine parts:
#Northeast China: Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning.
#Northwest China : Gansu, Qinghai and western part of Shaanxi.
#North-central China : Shanxi, Hebei, western part of Henan and eastern part of Shaanxi. This is called the North China Plain, until recently seen as where Chinese civilization originated from and spread out along the country.
#Eastern China : Shandong, Anhui, northern part of Jiangsu and eastern part Henan.
#East-south-eastern China : Zhejiang and biggest part of Jiangsu.
#South-central China : Hubei and northern part of Hunan.
#Sichuan and upper Yangtze.
#Southeast China: Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, southern part of Hunan, lower Red River in the northern part of Vietnam and the island of Taiwan.
#Southwest China: Yunnan and Guizhou.
Literature
*Chang Kwang-chih, ''The Archaeology of Ancient China'', Yale University Press: New Haven, 1986 , ISBN 0-300-03784-8.
*Loewe, Michael en Edward L. Shaughnessy , ''The Cambridge History of Ancient China. From the Origins of Civilization to 221 B.C.'', Cambridge University Press: Cambridge 1999, ISBN 0-521-47030-7.
*Higham, Charles, ''The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia'', Cambridge University Press: Cambridge 1996, ISBN 0-521-49660-8.
*Li Liu,''The Chinese Neolithic. Trajectories to Early States'', Cambridge University Press: Cambridge 2004, ISBN 0-521-81184-8.
*Maisels, Charles Keith, ''Early Civilizations of the Old World. The Formative Histories of Egypt, The Levant, Mesopotamia, India and China'', Routledge: Londen 1999, ISBN 0-415-10976-0.
*Scarre, Chris , ''The Human Past. World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies'', Thames & Hudson: Londen 2005, ISBN 0-500-28531-4.
::chapter 7, Higham, Charles, 'East Asian Agriculture and Its Impact', p.234-264.
::chapter 15,Higham, Charles, 'Complex Societies of East and Southeast Asia', p.552-594
Jiahu
Jiahu was the site of a Neolithic Yellow River settlement based in the central plains of ancient China, modern Wuyang, Henan Province. Archaeologists consider the site to be one of the earliest examples of the Peiligang culture. Settled from 7000 to 5800 BC, the site was later flooded and abandoned. The settlement at Jiahu was surrounded by a moat and covered an area of 55,000 square metres. Discovered by Zhu Zhi in 1962, extensive excavation of the site did not occur until much later. Most of the site has still not yet been excavated.
Archaeologists have divided Jiahu into three distinct phases. The oldest phase ranges from 7000 to 6600 BC. The middle phase ranges from 6600 to 6200 BC. The last phase ranges from 6200 to 5800 BC. The last two phases correspond to the Peiligang culture, while the earliest phase is unique to Jiahu.
The inhabitants of Jiahu cultivated foxtail millet and rice. While millet cultivation is common among the Peiligang culture, rice cultivation at Jiahu is unique. Jiahu rice cultivation is one of the earliest found, and the most northerly found at such an early stage in history.
Over 300 burials have been unearthed at Jiahu, accompanied by burial offerings. Burial objects range from pottery to tortoise shells. One of the most significant offerings discovered were playable tonal . The flutes were made from Red-crowned Crane wing bones. The oldest phase at Jiahu only contains two flutes, which are tetratonic and pentatonic. The middle phase at Jiahu contains several flutes, including an interesting pair of hexatonic flutes. One of the flutes was broken, and the other flute seems to be a replica of the first flute. The second flute shows evidence of adjustments made to match the pitch of the first flute. Innovations in the last phase include the use of heptatonic flutes.
Jiahu yielded some of the oldest pottery yet found in Neolithic China. Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania applied chemical analysis to pottery jars from Jiahu and found evidence of alcohol fermented from rice, honey and . Researchers hypothesize that the alcohol was fermented by the process of mold saccharification.
At Jiahu, archaeologists identified eleven markings Jiahu script, nine on tortoise shells and two on bone, as possible evidence for . The markings correspond to the middle phase. Some of the markings are quite similar to later Chinese characters; two of the most intriguing marks appear to be similar to later characters for ''eye'' and ''sun'' . However, correspondence of many early non-writing symbols with the Shang dynasty period oracle bone writing is to be expected, given the pictographic flavor of many of the Shang characters.
Archaeologists have divided Jiahu into three distinct phases. The oldest phase ranges from 7000 to 6600 BC. The middle phase ranges from 6600 to 6200 BC. The last phase ranges from 6200 to 5800 BC. The last two phases correspond to the Peiligang culture, while the earliest phase is unique to Jiahu.
The inhabitants of Jiahu cultivated foxtail millet and rice. While millet cultivation is common among the Peiligang culture, rice cultivation at Jiahu is unique. Jiahu rice cultivation is one of the earliest found, and the most northerly found at such an early stage in history.
Over 300 burials have been unearthed at Jiahu, accompanied by burial offerings. Burial objects range from pottery to tortoise shells. One of the most significant offerings discovered were playable tonal . The flutes were made from Red-crowned Crane wing bones. The oldest phase at Jiahu only contains two flutes, which are tetratonic and pentatonic. The middle phase at Jiahu contains several flutes, including an interesting pair of hexatonic flutes. One of the flutes was broken, and the other flute seems to be a replica of the first flute. The second flute shows evidence of adjustments made to match the pitch of the first flute. Innovations in the last phase include the use of heptatonic flutes.
Jiahu yielded some of the oldest pottery yet found in Neolithic China. Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania applied chemical analysis to pottery jars from Jiahu and found evidence of alcohol fermented from rice, honey and . Researchers hypothesize that the alcohol was fermented by the process of mold saccharification.
At Jiahu, archaeologists identified eleven markings Jiahu script, nine on tortoise shells and two on bone, as possible evidence for . The markings correspond to the middle phase. Some of the markings are quite similar to later Chinese characters; two of the most intriguing marks appear to be similar to later characters for ''eye'' and ''sun'' . However, correspondence of many early non-writing symbols with the Shang dynasty period oracle bone writing is to be expected, given the pictographic flavor of many of the Shang characters.
Houli culture
The Houli culture was a Neolithic culture in Shandong, China. The people of the culture lived in square, semi-subterranean houses. Archaeological evidence shows that domesticated dogs and pigs were used. The type site at Houli was discovered in the Linzi District of Shandong and was excavated from 1989 to 1990. The culture was followed by the Beixin culture.
Evidence of the earliest rice cultivation in the Yellow River basin came from carbonized rice grains from the Yuezhuang site in Jinan, Shandong. The carbonized rice was dated using radiocarbon dating to 7050±80. Archaeologists also excavated millet from the Yuezhuang site.
Evidence of the earliest rice cultivation in the Yellow River basin came from carbonized rice grains from the Yuezhuang site in Jinan, Shandong. The carbonized rice was dated using radiocarbon dating to 7050±80. Archaeologists also excavated millet from the Yuezhuang site.
Hongshan culture
The Hongshan culture was a Neolithic culture in northeastern China. Hongshan sites have been found in an area stretching from Inner Mongolia to Liaoning and Hebei, and dated from about 4700 BC to 2900 BC.
The culture is named after Hongshanhou , a site in Hongshan District, Hongshan District, Chifeng. The Hongshanhou site was discovered by the Japanese archaeologist Torii Ryūzō in 1908 and extensively excavated in 1935 by Hamada Kosaku and Mizuno Seiichi.
Existence of an early culture in the North undermines the Chinese nationalistic concept of cultural homogenity pushed for political ends.
Hongshan grave goods include some of the earliest known examples of Chinese jade working; the Hongshan culture is known for its jade pig dragons. Clay figurines, including figurines of pregnant women, are also found throughout Hongshan sites.
Small copper rings were excavated.
The archaeological site at Niuheliang is a unique ritual complex associated with the Hongshan culture.
Excavators have discovered an underground temple complex -- which included an altar -- and also cairns in Niuheliang. The temple was constructed of stone platforms, with painted walls. Included on its walls are mural paintings.
The existence of complex trading networks and monumental architecture point to the existence of a "chiefdom" in these communies.
Painted pottery was also discovered within the temple.
Cairns were discovered atop two nearby two hills, with either round or square stepped tombs, made of piled limestone. Tombed inside were sculptures of s and tortoises. The presence of both round and square shapes at Hongshan culture ceremonial centers suggests an early presence of the gaitian cosmography .
Early Feng shui relied on astronomy to find correlations between humans and the universe.
The culture is named after Hongshanhou , a site in Hongshan District, Hongshan District, Chifeng. The Hongshanhou site was discovered by the Japanese archaeologist Torii Ryūzō in 1908 and extensively excavated in 1935 by Hamada Kosaku and Mizuno Seiichi.
Existence of an early culture in the North undermines the Chinese nationalistic concept of cultural homogenity pushed for political ends.
Jade
Hongshan grave goods include some of the earliest known examples of Chinese jade working; the Hongshan culture is known for its jade pig dragons. Clay figurines, including figurines of pregnant women, are also found throughout Hongshan sites.
Copper
Small copper rings were excavated.
Religion
The archaeological site at Niuheliang is a unique ritual complex associated with the Hongshan culture.
Excavators have discovered an underground temple complex -- which included an altar -- and also cairns in Niuheliang. The temple was constructed of stone platforms, with painted walls. Included on its walls are mural paintings.
The existence of complex trading networks and monumental architecture point to the existence of a "chiefdom" in these communies.
Painted pottery was also discovered within the temple.
Cairns were discovered atop two nearby two hills, with either round or square stepped tombs, made of piled limestone. Tombed inside were sculptures of s and tortoises. The presence of both round and square shapes at Hongshan culture ceremonial centers suggests an early presence of the gaitian cosmography .
Early Feng shui relied on astronomy to find correlations between humans and the universe.
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