the Neolithic Period 新石器时代

About 10,000 years ago, the Chinese ancestors entered into the Neolithic Period. More than 7,000 sites, centered in the valleys of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, are spread over a vast area. The Banpo Site of the Yangshao Culture (5,000 to 7,000 years ago) and the Hemudu Site of the Hemudu Culture (5,300 to 7,000 years ago) are representative of the early Neolithic Period, while the Longshan site (4,000 to 4,500 years ago) is typical of the late Neolithic Period.

The Banpo Site in the Yellow River basin, located in the Banpo village of Xi’an, Shaanxi, dates back 6,000 years and covers an area of about 50,000 square meters. The Banpo people lived in halfburied caves built with wood, branches, or grass, and each had a stove made of clay and a kang, a fire-warmed brick sleeping platform. More than 200 silos used to preserve food were found. Tools and bones were excavated from the site, as were colorful porcelains with geometric patterns and human and animal designs.

The 7,000-year-old Hemudu Site in Hemudu Village, Yuyao, Zhejiang, is typical of the Yangtze River basin settlements, whose stilt style of architecture has for thousands of years been a major architectural form used in areas south of the Yangtze.

In the Neolithic Period, the ancient people widely used stone-made axes, spades, hoes, knives, millstones, and other ground-stone tools. They planted millet, rice, cabbage, mustard, and other crops, and raised pigs, dogs, oxen, goats, chickens, and other livestock.