Chinanews.com, Sanmenxia, Henan, November 12 (Reporter Sun Zifa) "The discovery of the Yangshao Culture triple large-scale ring city site at the Shuanghuaishu site has brought out new understandings, which means that the mid-Yangshao Culture has begun to enter the threshold of civilization."
"The painted pottery of Miaodigou culture in the Yangshao period was spread around, creating a splendid era of painted pottery."
"The sites such as Lantian New Street and Yangguanzhai in Shaanxi reflect the intensification of social division in the late Yangshao culture and the clarification of social division of labor."
"The combination of the unearthed remains from the Lishidegang site in Shanxi is rich and clear, and is very representative of the mid-Yangshao site."
"The fourth archaeological excavation filled the gap of multidisciplinary research at the Yangshao Village site in the past 100 years."...
The characteristic appearance of Yangshao Cultural Museum.
Photo by Sun Zifa
To welcome the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the Yangshao site in 2021 and the 100th birthday of Chinese archaeology, experts and scholars from the Public Archaeology Steering Committee of the Chinese Archaeological Society, the Public Archaeology Center of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology Yangshao Culture and Sanmenxia City, where the birthplace of Chinese archaeology is located, gathered together to visit and inspect the construction progress of Yangshao National Archaeological Site Park, discuss and exchange the archaeological discoveries and spread of Yangshao Culture.
Wang Renxiang, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and director of the Public Archaeology Steering Committee of the Chinese Archaeological Society, pointed out that the Henan Shuanghuaishu site was a super-large settlement site of the middle and late Yangshao culture around 5,300 years ago. The three large-scale ring of the Yangshao culture was discovered. On the site of the city, a large number of rich cultural relics from the Yangshao period were unearthed.
The new understanding derived from the new discovery is tantamount to returning to the "Central Plains" theory of the Yangshao culture period, and it is tantamount to saying that the mid-Yangshao culture has begun to enter the threshold of civilization.
"Even so, we still can't say that the Yangshao culture will not make more significant discoveries, thinking that the most important central city has been found. New discoveries can still be expected."
Through the influence of Yangshao culture, the local winery "Near Water Tower" has launched colored pottery cellar wine products.
Photo by Sun Zifa
He said that the archaeological community is looking forward to the discovery of large-scale tombs in Yangshao, hoping to obtain more new information about the spiritual life of Yangshao people, especially their beliefs.
"In the picture of the beliefs expressed by the people of Yangshao through painted pottery, we have also discovered the worship of sun and moon gods. There is still room for improvement in our understanding of the theocratic system of Yangshao society. If we deepen our understanding of the meaning of painted pottery, we can The cognition of the overall connotation will definitely change a lot."
Researcher Wei Xingtao, deputy dean of the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that the social complication of Neolithic sites in the Lingbao Basin first appeared in the middle stage of the Yangshao culture, indicating that the initial social complication in the Central Plains adopted a gradual development model, which is a good example for China. The basic characteristics and style of ancient civilization laid the foundation for the trend.
At the same time, the society in the mid-Yangshao culture was clearly stratified, but the polarization between the rich and the poor was not very serious. The differences were mainly reflected in the settlements, that is, between communities, implying that the formation of the complex society in the region may be due to blood relations rather than economic means.
The “Treasure of the Town Hall” small mouth and pointed bottom bottle of Yangshao Cultural Museum has attracted much attention.
Photo by Sun Zifa
"The colored pottery of the Miaodigou culture in the Yangshao period was spread around, creating a splendid colored pottery era." Researcher Fan Wenquan, director of the Xia, Shangzhou Archaeological Research Office of the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the second excavation leader of the Miaodigou site, pointed out. Painted pottery was found in the surrounding archaeological cultures at the same time as the Miaodigou culture, and it was obviously directly or indirectly affected by the painted pottery of the Miaodigou culture. Therefore, the painted pottery of the Miaodigou culture laid the foundation for the development of Chinese prehistoric art. .
He said that the Miaodigou culture is the prehistoric archaeological culture with the widest distribution, the highest cultural similarity, and the deepest influence on later cultures in China.
The Sanmenxia Miaodigou site has initially formed the rudimentary settlement structure as early as the Miaodigou culture in the Yangshao period.
The area with the Miaodigou culture as the core has also become the most core area of the evolution of Chinese history.
Associate researcher Yang Liping of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology introduced the new archaeological discoveries of Yangshao Culture in Shaanxi in recent years, saying that the archaeological excavations of Gaoling Yangguanzhai Site, Baishuihe Site, Lantian New Street Site, Fuping Chakou Site, and Xi’an Ma Tengkong Site There were supplementary understandings in the early Yangshao period, which filled the gaps in the settlement morphology and social development of the mid-Yangshao period, and enriched the archeological materials such as settlement recognition, construction materials, and social differentiation in the late Yangshao period.
The Yangshao National Archaeological Site Park is under construction, and an observation deck in the shape of a clay pot is taking shape.
Photo by Sun Zifa
Among them, the emergence of early urban prototypes represented by the Yangguanzhai site, and the determination of men as a specific genetic status, promoted the acceleration of the process of civilization; Lantian New Street, Yangguanzhai and other sites reflected the intensification of social differentiation in the late Yangshao culture, and society The clarification of the division of labor provides archaeological support for the research on the roots of Chinese culture.
Li Xiaoyan, a librarian from the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that the archaeological excavation of the Lingbao City Tobacco Site is another large-scale excavation of the early Yangshao site since the Xi'an Banpo and Lintong Jiangzhai sites. The large number of relics obtained promoted further understanding of the early Yangshao period Cultural characteristics.
There is no centralized cemetery at the Chengyan site, and the distribution of tombs is scattered, and most of them have no burial objects. This provides new important archaeological data for studying the burial customs, population structure, blood relationship, marriage relationship and social relationship of the early settlements in Yangshao.
At the same time, as a mountain settlement, the Chengyan site provides new materials for studying the settlements in different natural environments in the early Yangshao period.
"At present, the fourth active archaeological excavation work (Zone I and Zone II) at the Yangshao Village site is proceeding in an orderly manner, and the rescue archaeological excavation work (Zone III) has begun." Li Shiwei Hall, Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology According to the member, the relevant samples and specimens collected in the fourth archaeological excavation at the Yangshao Village site in Mianchi County provided valuable materials for the development of multidisciplinary and multi-technical research work, and also filled the gaps in multidisciplinary research at the Yangshao Village site in the past century. It will greatly enrich the multi-faceted understanding of human living conditions during the Yangshao culture and Longshan culture at the Yangshao village site.
An archaeological excavation site in Yangshao National Archaeological Site Park.
Photo by Sun Zifa
Researcher Zhang Guanghui, deputy director of the Huaxia Civilization Research Institute of the Shanxi Archaeological Research Institute, pointed out that the main combination of flat-bottomed bottles, pointed-bottomed bottles, converging bowls, sand-filled pots, and curved belly basins is the main combination of the middle Yangshao settlement in Lishidegang, Shanxi. The shape of the house is a typical Miaodigou culture of the Yangshao period, which is equivalent to the late stage of the middle Yangshao period.
The relics excavated at this site are rich and clear. They are very representative in the mid-Yangshao site, providing a typical case for the analysis of household utensils and production conditions in this period.
The Yangshao culture, about 7000 to 5000 years ago, is a prehistoric culture represented by painted pottery in the Neolithic Age of China. It was discovered in October 1921 in Yangshao Village, Mianchi County, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province and the first official archaeological excavation was carried out. The customary name is Yangshao Culture, which is China's first archaeological cultural name, marking the birth of Chinese archaeology.
In the past 100 years, more than 5,200 sites of the Yangshao Culture have been found nationwide, mainly located in the Central Plains region with the Qin, Jin, and Henan provinces as the core in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, covering 9 provinces.
At an archaeological excavation site in Yangshao National Archaeological Site Park, archaeologists are excavating and cleaning up the newly discovered remains.
Photo by Sun Zifa
"Archaeology has entered the level of national cultural construction, and a century of Chinese archaeology has ushered in a great opportunity for the second century." In Wang Renxiang's view, the Central Plains is the center and source of the origin of Chinese civilization, commemorating and disseminating the century of Chinese archaeology. One hundred years of Yangshao, the significance is particularly important. It is the responsibility of public archaeologists and all archaeologists to let the public understand the history of the ancestors and the culture they created through archaeology, and to promote the Chinese civilization.
Researcher Liu Guoxiang, executive deputy director of the Public Archaeology Center of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that on the eve of the Centennial of Yangshao and the Centennial of Chinese Archaeology, the archaeological community discussed and exchanged Yangshao archaeological discoveries and results, and discussed the research and dissemination of Yangshao culture. A preview of the centennial series of commemorative activities will also promote the further development of Chinese archaeology, especially public archaeology, and help build archaeology with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style and Chinese style.
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