High Level Overview of Chinese History: Prehistory II
During the Neolithic, people began to produce food via farming and herding animals in a single area. This also led to larger and more complex living groups than mobile tribes, which likely led to more abstract symbols and eventually writing to record physical, concrete things which is then expanded to record abstract things. There were many centers of civilizations from this time that are known by their locations and through the artifacts, including pottery and paintings, and in some locations, remains of their dwellings. This transition began around 12,000 years ago.
By Zhangzhugang - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15220484
One of the earliest sites is the Xianren Cave, 仙人洞, Xiānréndòng, in Jiangxi province, which was used as a shelter while people were still hunter-gatherers. Interestingly, this site also contains remains of pottery that goes back as far as 20,000 years ago, at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, which saw the beginning of glaciers retreating from the northern hemisphere, leading to a more mild and temperate climate. The pottery found often has scorch marks, suggesting it was used for cooking rather than for storage, suggesting that the users of the pottery were still mobile. There are also signs that rice was cultivated in the area, with dates as early as 7000 years ago.
By 用心阁 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6984489
The oldest site that was used definitively in the Neolithic only is Nanzhuangtou, 南莊頭, Nánzhuāngtóu, near Lake Baiyangdian, which was used about 10,500 years ago, and it's one of the oldest sites showing that millet was cultivated in the area. Pottery in the area dates to a little bit later, around 10,200 years ago. The location was preserved under layers of lake deposits, resulting in a peat bog over the area. The Peiligang culture is from about this area, with more than 100 sites within 100 square km on the south side of the Yi-Lou river, which flows into the Yellow River. They cultivated millet and herded pigs and potentially poultry. They supplemented by hunting wild boar and dear as well as fishing for carp. They created nets from hemp fibers. They separated the dead from their living quarters, creating necropolises. Nearby, at a site know as Jiahu, which is 'several days' travel to the south of the main group', is slightly older and focused on rice cultivation. Researchers are divided if Jiahu, which predated the Peiligang sites by 'several hundred years', is a different culture or a 'practice' for the villages Peiligang.
By Prof. Gary Lee Todd - CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73025359
The earliest known site near the Yangtze river is of the Pengtoushan culture, 彭頭山文化 Péngtóushānwénhuà, which was used from about 9500-7500 years ago. Rice was cultivated in this area, with pots from later cultures showing that pots were used to store rice. Pottery also showed signs of being cord-marked, which uses clay mixed with materials such as shells, plant fibers, sand, or crushed clay that had been previously fired, which made the clay more stable and prevented cracking when the pot was dried and then fired. Pots were shaped with a 'paddle and anvil method that was accomplished by pressing cord-wrapped paddles against the side of the pottery to form and thin the pottery. This was done while holding an anvil stone on the inside of the vessel'. This type of pots have been found within grave goods at this site. Tools, such as bone and wood spades, have been found here, further evidence of rice cultivation.
By Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China - Longshan Culture Black Egg-shell Pottery Stemmed Cup, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=108959733
A more recent site, dating from about 5000-4900 years ago, is the Longshan culture, 龍山文化 Lóngshānwénhuà, which spanned the middle and lower Yellow River valley areas. They are also known as the Black Pottery Culture, as they are 'noted for [their] highly polished black pottery (or egg-shell pottery)'. This culture spanned the late Neolithic period and showed many improvements from those that came before. The settlements were larger and had rammed earth walls, created by piling the raw materials (earth, silt, gravel, or chalk) within a temporary frame or form as well as some type of stabilizer (lime or animal blood), which is then compacted with a pole to about half its original volume in layers until the wall is the desired height. The presence of these walls indicate that there was likely warfare between the various polities. They also made use of the pottery wheel, which allowed their black pottery to have thin walls and edges as well stems. This pottery was initially used to suggest 'a fairly uniform culture attributed to expansion from a core area in the Central Plain. More recent discoveries have uncovered much more regional diversity than previously thought, so that many local cultures included within [Kwang-chih] Chang's [1963 definition of the] Longshanold horizon are now viewed as distinct cultures, and the term "Longshan Culture" is restricted to the middle and lower Yellow River Valley'. Farming in this area primarily focused on millet, with some rice and wheat also being found, while animal husbandry shows evidence of pigs, sheep, and goats being domesticated as well as early silkworm farming, as well as the presence of dogs. As time progressed, there were regional differences developed resulting in about 6 major cultural centers as settlements became cities, showing social stratification and ritual structures. These cities showed signs of being connected to the villages around them, possibly 'indicating the ability of the urban elites to exert control over the countryside and its agrarian wealth'.
