The Site of Yangshao
Village is located in Yangshao Village, 8 kilometers to the north of Mianchi
County in Henan Province.
The Yangshao Site, one of the
important sites of the Neolithic Age in China, was discovered in the south
tableland of the ordinary Mianchi Village. Encircled by river on three sides and
Shaoshan Mountain on the north side, the site covers an area of 300,000 square
meters with its cultural layer being up to 4 meters deep. The Yangshao Site was
discovered by a Swedish archaeologist in 1921, and has drawn great attention
from historians. In 1931, Chinese archaeologist Liang Siyong discovered for the
first time the laminated cultural layers of Shang Culture, Longshan Culture and
Yangshao Culture at the back hillock in Anyang. The discovery has a significant
meaning in determining the time line of the three cultures.
In 1951, the
Archaeological Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
conducted a large-scale excavation of the Yangshao ruins, and obtained rich
scientific data. According to the measure by C14, the site dates back to
5,000-6,000 years ago. Unearthed relics include zax, stone shovel, stone hoe,
spinning wheel, bone awl, bone needle and some wares for daily use, such as
earthen bowl, basin, and pots. Most of these wares are decorated with colored
drawings. Since this culture was first discovered in Yangshao Village, so it has
been named as Yangshao Culture.
As the most influential
culture in the Yellow River Valley, the Yangshao Culture was distributed in a
vast area wider than any other Neolithic cultures of the same period in China.
Over 1,000 Yangshao Culture sites with a long history have been discovered in an
area centering in Henan, Shaanxi and southern Shanxi and stretching westward to
the Gansu Corridor, eastward to western Shandong, northward to center Hebei and
the Great Bend of the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia, and southward to the
drainage basin of the Hanshui River.
The Yangshao Culture
lasted 2,000 years from 7,000 years ago and 5,000 years ago. Such an influential
primitive culture is seldom seen in the world's Neolithic culture history.
The Yangshao Culture
site shows the social structure and cultural achievements of the Chinese
Matriarchy clan society from its prosperity to the decline. The Yangshao people
have broken away from the natural restraint and led a settled life, which can be
proved by the excavation of the Jiangzhai clan site in Lintong of Shaanxi
Province. Besides husbandry, fishing, hunting, collecting and livestock breeding
also became their major pocketbook.
The craft technique
level of the Yangshao Culture can be best represented by the pottery technique,
which was quite mature then with wheel-technique being used in some areas. The
pottery decorated with red, black and white patterns was the greatest artistic
achievement then. Hence, the Yangshao Culture is also known as the ancient
painted pottery culture.