First Farmers of
Asia
- Neolithic of East Asia (China,
Japan, SE Asia) only now beginning to be known
- Archaeological research highly
variable
- Japan
- Progressive research
tradition
- China
- Lots of work, poorly
known
- SE Asia
- Most work done by "western"
researchers
- Focus on description not
explanation
- Neolithic developments often
presumed to be consequence of diffusion from West
- Asia unique & separate from
West
Asian
Environments
- Environmentally very
heterogeneous
- Three broad environmental zones
from N-S
- North: dry desert to arctic
desert w/ temperatures decreasing from east to west (Manchuria to
Gobi Desert)
- Temperate "forest" zone (includes
Japan, most of China)
- Variation greatest between
coast & interior
- Neo-tropical & tropical
environments
- Coastal vs. inland
variation
- Post-Pleistocene emergence of
environmental zones w/ modern conditions ca. 9000 BP
- Climatic optimum ca. 8000-5000 BP
w/ temperatures 3-5° C higher than present
- 2500 BP onset of cooler, wetter
conditions
- Neolithic emergence occurred
during period of near modern, wet, reasonably warm
conditions
- New landforms develop in
post-Pleistocene times
- Loess of N-central
China
- Huang-Ho (Yellow
River)
- Yangtze
Early Neolithic
China
- Earliest Neolithic societies in
N. China
- P’ei-li-kang
culture
- At least four distinct clusters
(separate cultures?) along Wei & Huang Ho rivers &
tributaries
- Dates for early Neolithic ca.
8500-7000 RCYBP
- Communities relatively large
(10-20,000 km2) w/ dwelling & cemetery
areas
- Houses usually round to square w/
round corners & 3-4 m diameter
- Sunken floors (sometimes
plastered), often w/ numerous storage pits
- Burials usually single interments
w/ grave goods (ceramics, stone tools, rarely jewelry (turquoise,
jadeite)
P’ei-li-kang
culture
- Agricultural tools common
(mortars, grinding stones, sickles)
- Cultivating millet, rapeseed
& cabbage
- Pigs & dogs were
domesticated, chicken possible
- Wild plant (walnuts, hazelnuts,
various fruits) & animal foods utilized
Early Neolithic in South
China
- Identified by use of cord-marked
pottery but otherwise poorly known
- Found in Vietnam, Thailand, S.
China
- Best data from cave sites w/ long
stratigraphic sequences
- Dates ca. 9000-7000
B.P.
- Digging tools, hoes, celts
"common"
- Pigs domesticated
- Spirit Cave
(Thailand)
- Bean, bottle gourd, cucumber,
Chinese olive, & nuts dated ca. 9000 RCYBP
- Limited evidence of increased
sedentism preceding full-blown domestication
Later Neolithic in
China
- 7000-5000 B.P. time of dramatic
Neolithic developments across China
- Variations in Neolithic during
this period suggest diverse economies &
adaptations
- Yang Shao (Middle
Huang-Ho)
- Ta-wen-k’ou (N. coastal
China)
- Ch’ing-lien-kang (inland S.
China)
- Ta-p’en-keng (S. coastal
China & Vietnam)
- Yang-shao best known both
archaeologically & art historically
- Yang-shao probably develops out
of Pei-li-k’ang
Yang-Shao
Neolithic
- Dense occupation of Huang-Ho
& tributaries
- Most occupations on lower
terraces of river
- Agriculture predominant
subsistence pursuit
- Millet (foxtail & broomcorn)
& sorghum
- Pigs, goats, sheep &
cattle
- Wild foods (especially
fish)
- Wild hemp & silkworm for
textiles
- Ceramics well known
- Kiln-fired
- Wheel-thrown
- Elaborate decoration
- Variety of shapes &
functions
- Lithics elaborate &
diverse
- Agricultural tools
- Imported lithics
Bampo
- Best known Yang-shao
site
- 50-60,000 km2 in rough
oval on terrace of river
- Entire community of houses
surrounded by wall & ditch (5-6 m wide)
- 46 houses
- Round to square w/ round ends,
semi-subterranean & used substantial wood posts
- Walls mud plastered wattle 7
daub
- Long-houses (rectangular 20 x
12.5 m)
- Later than single
structures
- Compartmented w/ 1 hearth per
compartment
- cluster in center of
site
Bampo & Contemporary
Sites
- Community structures w/ cemetery
& pottery kilns outside of walls
- Burials
- 132 individuals in
cemetery
- Mostly single
interments
- Grave goods limited
- Adolescent w/ 79 pots, stone
tools & lg. quantity of food remains
- Children buried in urns between
houses
- Chiang-chia
- Similar to Bampo
- > 100 houses
- Surrounded by wall &
ditch
- Cemetery & kilns outside of
wall
- 1 burial w/ > 8000 stone
& bone beads, ochre pigment, ceramic vessels
- Houses similar
- Semi-subterranean
- Entered via ramp
- Central hearth
- Plastered
"benches"
Yang-Shao
Neolithic
- Complex communities w/ spatial
segregation of functional & social space
- Spatial layout, segregated
burials & communal (?) long houses argued to reflect Chinese
clan structure
- Specific lineages have known
roles & spatial "places"
- Politics mostly (?) egalitarian
perhaps w/ some hereditary leadership
- Walls & ditches suggest
defense was important
South China Neolithic
(Ch’ing-lien-kang)
- Contemporary w/
Yang-shao
- Occupations on rivers &
lakes
- Hemudu
- Rectangular log houses (up to 23
x 7.5 m)
- Built on pillings over
lake
- Subsistence
- Rice intensively
cultivated
- Threshing floors
- Shoulder blade
hoes
- Water chestnuts &
fruit
- Cattle, buffalo &
dog
- wild deer, turtle, rhino,
& elephant
- Pottery simple & largely
undecorated
- Vessel shapes diverse
(tripods, spouted bottles, bowls, beakers)
- Burials in cemeteries
- Flexed or extended burials w/
head always facing N
Lung-Shan
- 5000-4000 B.P.
- Origin in Huang-Ho Valley but
grows to cover much of central & N China
- Larger, more complex
sites
- Thick walls & defensive
works
- Evidence of warfare &
violence
- Monumental
architecture
- Increasing homogeneity in
material culture (especially pottery)
- Shared ritual systems (art &
iconography)
- Greater social & political
(?) ranking & differentiation
- Copper & (later) bronze
technology
- Increased trade
- Economic
specialization
- Proto-writing
(scapulamancy)