Yangshao culture

Yangshao Culture ← ca. 5000 BC–ca. 3000 BC → Extent of Yangshao Culture Capital Banpo Government Tribal History  - Established ca. 5000 BC  - Disestablished ca. 3000 BC Currency Cowries

The Yangshao culture (Chinese: 仰韶文化; pinyin: Yǎngsháo wénhuà) was a Neolithic culture that existed extensively along the central Yellow River in China. The Yangshao culture is dated from around 5000 BC to 3000 BC. The culture is named after Yangshao, the first excavated representative village of this culture, which was discovered in 1921 in Henan Province by the Swedish archaeologist Johan Gunnar Andersson (1874-1960). The culture flourished mainly in the provinces of Henan, Shaanxi and Shanxi.

Subsistence

The subsistence practices of Yangshao people were varied. They cultivated millet extensively; some villages also cultivated wheat or rice. The exact nature of Yangshao agriculture—small-scale slash-and-burn cultivation versus intensive agriculture in permanent fields, is currently matter of debate. However, Middle Yangshao settlements such as Jiangzhi contain raised floor buildings that may have been used for the storage of surplus grains. They kept such animals as pigs, chickens and dogs, as well as sheep, goats, and cattle, but much of their meat came from hunting and fishing. Their stone tools were polished and highly specialized. The Yangshao people may also have practiced an early form of silkworm cultivation.

Pottery

The Yangshao culture is well-known for its painted pottery. Yangshao artisans created fine white, red, and black painted pottery with human facial, animal, and geometric designs. Unlike the later Longshan culture, the Yangshao culture did not use pottery wheels in pottery-making. Excavations found that children were buried in painted pottery jars.

Archaeological sites

The archaeological site of Banpo village, near Xi'an, is one of the best-known ditch-enclosed settlements of the Yangshao culture. Another major settlement called Jiangzhai (姜寨) was excavated out to its limits, and archaeologists found that it was completely surrounded by a ring-ditch. Both Banpo and Jiangzhai also yielded controversial incised marks on pottery which a few have interpreted as numerals or perhaps precursors to the Chinese script^[1]. However, such conclusions may be premature ^[2].

Phases

Among the numerous overlapping phases of the Yangshao culture, the most prominent phases, typified by differing styles of pottery, include:

• Banpo phase, approximately 4800 BC to 4200 BC, central plane
• Miaodigou phase, circa 4000 BC to 3000 BC, successor to Banpo
• Majiayao phase, approximately 3300 BC to 2000 BC, in Gansu, Qinghai
• Banshan phase, approximately 2700 BC to 2300 BC, successor to Majiayao
• Machang phase, approximately 2400 BC to 2000 BC

Artifacts

Ceramics

Ding, decorated with a string pattern.

Yangshao cordmarked amphora, Banpo phase, 4800 BCE.

See also

• List of Neolithic cultures of China
• Dawenkou culture
• Majiayao culture
• Majiabang culture
• Hongshan culture
• Prehistoric Beifudi site
• Xia
• Xishuipo

References

• Chang, K.C. Archaeology of Ancient China. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1983.
• Liu, Li. The Chinese Neolithic: Trajectories to Early States, ISBN 0-521-81184-8
• Underhill, Anne P. Craft Production and Social Change in Northern China, 2002. ISBN 0-306-46771-2.