Dawenkou culture

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Dawenkou culture
Hanyu Pinyin
Dàwènkǒu wénhuà

The Dawenkou culture was a Chinese

Chinese Bronze Age.[2]

Chronology

Painted Pottery Bowl Early Dawenkou Culture (c. 4,400—3,600 BCE). Excavated from Wangyin Site, Yanzhou, Shandong. Capital Museum, Beijing.

Archaeologists commonly divide the culture into three phases: the early phase (4100–3500 BC), the middle phase (3500–3000 BC) and the late phase (3000–2600 BC). Based on the evidence from grave goods, the early phase was highly egalitarian. The phase is typified by the presence of individually designed, long-stemmed cups. Graves built with earthen ledges became increasingly common during the latter parts of the early phase. During the middle phase, grave goods began to emphasize quantity over diversity. During the late phase, wooden coffins began to appear in Dawenkou burials. The culture became increasingly stratified, as some graves contained no grave goods while others contained a large quantity of grave goods.

The type site at Dawenkou, located in Tai'an, Shandong, was excavated in 1959, 1974 and 1978. Only the middle layer at Dawenkou is associated with the Dawenkou culture, as the earliest layer corresponds to the Beixin culture and the latest layer corresponds to the early Shandong variant of the Longshan culture.

Political organization

The term "chiefdom" seems to be appropriate in describe the political organization of the Dawenkou. A dominant kin group likely held sway over Dawenkou village sites, though power was most likely manifested through religious authority rather than coercion. Unlike the Beixin culture from which they descend, the people of the Dawenkou culture were noted for being engaged in violent conflict. Scholars suspect that they may have engaged in raids for land, crops, livestock and prestige goods.[3]

Agriculture and diet

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The Dawenkou culture and other contemporary cultures c. 3000 BC

The warm and wet climate of the Dawenkou area was suitable for a variety of crops, though they primarily farmed millet at most sites. Their production of millet was quite successful and storage containers have been found that could have contained up to 2000 kg of millet, once decomposition is accounted for, have been found. For some of the southern Dawenkou sites, rice was a more important crop however, especially during the late Dawenkou period. Analysis done on human remains at Dawenkou sites in southern Shandong revealed that the diet of upper-class Dawenkou individuals consisted mainly of rice, while ordinary individuals ate primarily millet.

The Dawenkou people successfully domesticated chicken, dogs, pigs and cattle, but no evidence of horse domestication was found. Pig remains are by far most abundant, accounting for about 85% of the total, and are thought to be the most important domesticated animal. Pig remains were also found in Dawenkou burials also highlighting their importance. Seafood was also an important staple of the Dawenkou diet. Fish and various shellfish mounds have been found in the early periods indicating that they were important food sources. Although these piles became less frequent in the later stages, seafood remained an important part of the diet.[4]

Culture

Dawenkou's inhabitants were one of the earliest practitioners of

trepanation in prehistoric China. A skull of a Dawenkou man dating to 3000 BC was found with severe head injuries which appeared to have been remedied by this primitive surgery.[5]
Alligator hide drums have also been found in Dawenkou sites.

  • Jade necklace, dated between 3500 and 2600 BC
    Jade necklace, dated between 3500 and 2600 BC
  • Red animal-shaped vessel
    Red animal-shaped vessel
  • Ivory comb with openwork design
    Ivory comb with openwork design
  • Ceramic bracelets or rings
    Ceramic bracelets or rings
  • Painted bowl, dated circa 3500 BC
    Painted bowl, dated circa 3500 BC
  • Stone adze
    Stone adze
  • Stemmed vessel (dou 豆) with painted star motif
    Stemmed vessel (dou 豆) with painted star motif
  • Painted Pottery A Container (c. 3,800—3,300 BCE) Excavated at the Diaolongbei Site, Zaoyang, Hubei. Capital Museum, Beijing.
    Painted Pottery A Container (c. 3,800—3,300 BCE) Excavated at the Diaolongbei Site, Zaoyang, Hubei. Capital Museum, Beijing.

Interactions with other cultures

Dog-shaped vessel

The Dawenkou interacted extensively with the

Austronesian language.[7][8][9] Other researchers also note a similarity between Dawenkou inhabitants and modern Austronesian peoples in cultural practices such as dental avulsion and architecture.[10] However, the Dawenkou appeared to be genetically distinct from the pre-Austronesian cultures to their south.[11][12]

Physical characteristics

The physical similarity of the

Huai.[15]

The people of Dawenkou exhibited a primarily

Sinodont dental pattern.[16] They practiced body modification in the form of dental ablation and cranial deformation.

Many Dawenkou burials exhibited cranial deformation and dental ablation, but both forms of modification had disappeared from mainland China by the beginning of the Bronze Age. No sex differences in the frequency of Dawenkou dental ablation were de- tected (60–90 percent). The most commonly extracted teeth were the up- per incisors and canines, followed by the lower incisors. The majority of the teeth appear to have been knocked out between the ages of 13 and 15. The frequency of individuals with dental ablation among the Dawenkou drops to 50 percent over time.[17]

The Dawenkou were also physically dissimilar to the Neolithic inhabitants of

Hemudu, South China, and Taiwan.[12] DNA testing revealed that the neolithic inhabitants of Shandong were closer to ancient Northern East Asians.[11]

Gallery

  • Painted bowl and beaker
    Painted bowl and beaker
  • Two white ceramic pitchers (guī 鬹)
    Two white ceramic pitchers (guī 鬹)
  • Two painted red jars
    Two painted red jars
  • Black stemmed goblets
    Black stemmed goblets
  • Tripod pitcher
    Tripod pitcher
  • Symbol found on numerous Dawenkou pottery sherds, sometimes interpreted as a sun and cloud
    Symbol found on numerous Dawenkou pottery sherds, sometimes interpreted as a sun and cloud
  • Painted Pottery Pot Early Dawenkou Culture (c. 4,400—3,600 BCE) Excavated from Wangyin Site, Yanzhou, Shandong. Capital Museum, Beijing.
    Painted Pottery Pot Early Dawenkou Culture (c. 4,400—3,600 BCE) Excavated from Wangyin Site, Yanzhou, Shandong. Capital Museum, Beijing.

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-4151-0975-8
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-8130-5297-7
    .
  3. ^ Peregrine, Peter N. (2001). Encyclopedia of Prehistory: Volume 3: East Asia and Oceania. p. 14.
  4. ^ Underhill, Anne (2013). A companion to Chinese Archaeology.
  5. ^ Han, Kangxin (2007). "THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF TREPANATION IN EARLY CHINA". Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China.: 22–27.
  6. ISBN 978-0-4151-0975-8
    .
  7. ISBN 9781430308997
    .
  8. ^ Sagart, Laurent. "The expansion of Setaria farmers in East Asia". Past Human Migrations in East Asia: Matching …. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  9. ISBN 9780415322423
    .
  10. ISBN 9781134149629
    .
  11. ^
    S2CID 218649510
    .
  12. ^ a b Goodenough, Ward (1996). Prehistoric Settlement of the Pacific, Volume 86, Part 5. p. 53.
  13. ^ "Oldest playable musical instruments found at Jiahu early Neolithic site in China" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-02-19.
  14. ^ Blench, Roger (1997). Archaeology and Language: Correlating archaeological and linguistic hypotheses. pp. 94.
  15. ^ Han, Jianye (2011). "Northward Expanding of the Longqiuzhuang Culture and the Formation of the Dawenkou Culture": 59–64. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. PMID 14624747
    .
  17. ISBN 978-0-8130-5297-7
    .
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