Yangshao culture
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 B.C.E. to 3000 B.C.E. The culture is named after Yangshao, the first excavated representative village of this culture, which was discovered in 1921 in Henan Province. The culture flourished mainly in the provinces of Henan, Shaanxi and Shanxi.
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 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.
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.
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 was excavated out to its limits, and archaeologists found that it was completely surrounded by a ring-ditch.
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 B.C.E. to 4200 B.C.E., central plane
- Miaodigou phase, circa 4000 B.C.E. to 3000 B.C.E., successor to Banpo
- Majiayao phase, approximately 3300 B.C.E. to 2000 B.C.E., in Gansu, Qinghai
- Banshan phase, approximately 2700 B.C.E. to 2300 B.C.E., successor to Majiayao
- Machang phase, approximately 2400 B.C.E. to 2000 B.C.E.
See also
- List of Neolithic cultures of China
- Dawenkou culture
- Majiayao culture
- Majiabang culture
- Hongshan culture
- Prehistoric Beifudi site
- Xia
- Xishuipo
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- 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.
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.
