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When did Neolithic China start?
When did the Neolithic period start?
Where did Neolithic people live in China?
When did ancient China start?
The Neolithic period, which began in China around 10,000 B.C. and concluded with the introduction of metallurgy about 8,000 years later, was characterized by the development of settled communities that relied primarily on farming and domesticated animals rather than hunting and gathering.
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- Pendant in the form of a mask
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Essay by Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is characterized by the beginning of a settled human lifestyle. People learned to cultivate plants and domesticate animals for food, rather than rely solely on hunting and gathering. That coincided with the use of more sophisticated stone tools, which were useful for farming and animal herding. In China, this period began around 7000 B.C.E. and lasted until 1700 B.C.E.
It is traditionally believed that Chinese civilization first emerged along the Yellow River and then spread to other parts of China. However, recent archaeological evidence suggests that a number of distinct cultures developed simultaneously across China, all along waterways. These cultures were located near the coastal areas, the Yellow River in the north, and the
River in the south. They are usually named after the site where remains of the culture were first discovered by modern archaeologists.
Neolithic people did not write. However, because they lived in settled communities, they left many traces behind, including the foundations of their houses, burial sites, tools, and crafts. We learn from the archaeological record that their diet included millet or rice, they domesticated pigs and dogs, and, as in all Neolithic cultures, there was extensive pottery production. Cultures in central China along the Yellow River were known for their painted pottery. Toward the late Neolithic period (c. 5000–1700 B.C.E.), fine gray and black pottery of elaborate forms were produced by cultures along the east and southeast coasts. The forms and decorative patterns of these pottery vessels continued to the
dynasty (c. 1600–1050 B.C.E.) and inspired the craftsmen of bronzes.
This jade object is rectangular in shape. It’s very thin and the color is an almost clear grayish green. Tiny black dots are scattered on the surface. Find a pair of eyes in the middle. Their “pupils” are two symmetrically positioned holes drilled from front to back. Above the eyes are two semicircular slits. Seven pairs of teeth-like points line up along the bottom edge, flanked on each side by a pair of large curls. These elements seem to suggest a face with eyes, brows, teeth, and curly hair or ears at the sides. Subtle relief carving, designs that slightly rise above the surrounding surface, highlight the curves and contours of the piece.
A single hole sits between the eyes. It is neatly drilled from both sides of the plaque. Can you guess why it’s there? It would have allowed the jade piece to be worn similar to a modern pendant, suspended on a cord and worn around the neck. It would have felt cool against the skin. All details are worked from the front, and the back is flat and polished smooth.
Ancient Chinese poetically described jade as “the fairest of stones.” As early as the Neolithic period (c. 7000–1700 B.C.E.), several early Chinese societies appear to have simultaneously discovered this special and precious stone. A substantial number of jade objects were made during this period. This stunning pendant is a typical jade work of the Hongshan culture. Existing more than six thousand years ago, Hongshan people were active in northeast China. They are known for making distinctively shaped jades like this one.
The motif and meaning of toothed pendants have not yet been deciphered. Many scholars suspect that they are similar to other jade pendants that depict fantastic creatures. For example, an object from the Cleveland Museum of Art depicts the head of a cow on a human-like body and is also pierced for wearing as a pendant. These pendants appear to be more than mere decorations. They were all excavated from burial sites and found on prominent locations of the body. This pendant was most likely a power and status symbol for an elite member of the Hongshan community.
This resource was developed for Teaching China with the Smithsonian, made possible by the generous support of the Freeman Foundation
Notes:
Discussion questions about the pendant in the form of a mask:
•What is a pendant? How does a pendant compare to other types of jewelry?
•What do you think the significance of the face is? What could this represent?
•Who do you think wore this? When and for what types of occasions do you think it was worn? What about the piece leads you to think that?
This essay on the National Museum of Asian Art’s website
Learn more about ancient Chinese jades with Jades for Life and Death from the Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art
Read more about the jade pendant in the form of the mask on the National Museum of Asian Art’s website
Read more about the Hongshan pendant from Jades for Life and Death
Read more about the Liangzhu cong tube from Jades for Life and Death
Shuping Deng. Neolithic jades in the collection of the National Palace Museum. no. 114 Tabei Shi, September 1992. p. 5, fig. 2.
May 21, 2024 · When did the Neolithic Period begin? The starting point of the Neolithic Period is much debated, as different parts of the world achieved the Neolithic stage at different times, but it is generally thought to have occurred sometime about 10,000 BCE.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- What occurred during the Neolithic Period?The Neolithic Period, also called the New Stone Age, is the final stage of cultural evolution or technological development among prehistoric humans...
- When did the Neolithic Period begin?The starting point of the Neolithic Period is much debated, as different parts of the world achieved the Neolithic stage at different times, but it...
- How did Neolithic technologies spread outward from the Fertile Crescent?A way of life based on farming and settled villages had been firmly achieved by 7000 BCE in the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys (now in Iraq and...
- How long did it take other cultures to reach the Neolithic stage of development?Neolithic technologies also spread eastward to the Indus River valley of India by 5000 BCE. Farming communities based on millet and rice appeared i...
In China, this period began around 7000 BCE and lasted until 1700 BCE. It is traditionally believed that Chinese civilization first emerged along the Yellow River and then spread to other parts of China.
We will refer to Ancient China as the time between the Neolithic period (ca. 6,000‒ ca. 1750 B.C.E.) and the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.‒220 C.E.), which is roughly equivalent to the period of the Roman Empire in the West. This is the formative stage of Chinese civilization.
Jan 12, 2018 · Australian archaeologist V. Gordon Childe coined the term “Neolithic Revolution” in 1935 to describe the radical and important period of change in which humans began cultivating plants,...
Dec 6, 2023 · c. 3500 - 1600 B.C.E. Beginner's Guide. What is Neolithic China? Neolithic period (c. 7000–1700 B.C.E.), an introduction. videos + essays. We're adding new content all the time! Jar (Hu) Painted spirals recall the crests of waves on this 4,500-year-old jar. Neolithic period (c. 7000–1700 B.C.E.), an introduction.
