Brief introduction of Longshan culture

Longshan culture (also known as Longshan) flourished in parts of northeast China in the late Neolithic period of 3000 BC, which was an important link in the development of Chinese civilization from an independent Neolithic society to the first dynasty country. This culture is named after Longshan site in Shandong, but it is sometimes called black pottery culture because of its unique pottery. The discovery of tombs, fortifications and solar observation platforms shows a complex society with several different levels. By about 1700 BC, this culture had evolved into a broader bronze age culture in China together with other cultures.

Development and characteristics

Longshan culture developed from Dawenkou tradition around 3000 BC, and will replace Yangshao culture deeply rooted in northern and central China. By the first half of the 2nd century BC, after several centuries of unexplained population decline, Longshan culture began to evolve into the bronze age culture that eventually formed the Shang Dynasty (about BC 1600- 1046).

Longshan culture is dominated by agriculture, which makes full use of the fertile soil of the Yellow River basin.

During the third millennium BC, the social interaction between small regional units increased, and eventually settlements with clear social or political levels were formed. These are not only related to Longshan culture, because recent discoveries in further places show that similar developments have taken place all over China. Then there is evidence that there is local interaction between these settlements, and each settlement still operates as an independent chiefdom. The state machine connecting villages has existed for many centuries. Longshan culture is mainly based on agriculture, especially planting millet, making full use of the fertile soil of the Yellow River basin. Evidence of tool use includes the existence of shovels and sickles. One of the most important sites in Longshan site is Hougang.

Many Longshan sites are famous for their dense earth walls, which is a new archaeological feature, indicating that there is a more complicated social system than Yangshao culture. An example of Pingliangti site is a wall that encloses 34,000 square meters of space. The city wall has two doors, one in the north and the other in the south. Chengziya site was built the earliest, with an average height of 6 meters. The discovery of these walls, arrows and spears in Longshan site strongly shows that this culture must protect itself more effectively than other contemporary cultures in other parts of China. The necessary defense against outsiders may also be a factor in cultivating a strong sense of cultural identity and unity.

The existence of frequently raised mounds and peripheral houses in the wall of Longshan settlement shows that only elite houses are protected. In the larger Taosi site, dating back to 2600 BC to 2000 BC, the city wall surrounds about 2.8 million square meters. Taosi includes caves and semi-underground houses, as well as walled cemeteries. Although all the tombs are located on the same land, they show at least three different social levels.

black pottery

Black pottery produced in Longshan is famous for its bright luster and no ornamentation. The discovery of 1930, a unique pottery, helped archaeologists realize for the first time that Longshan was a Neolithic culture different from Yangshao red-brown pottery. Not all Longshan porcelain is black, but there are gray-white examples. The fine and extremely thin walls of the finished product are evidence of the use of pottery wheels and professional pottery-making techniques.

Longshan pottery artists seem to focus on the shape of containers, which is unusual and different from what they see elsewhere. However, some of them do have decorative designs in the form of simple carvings and geometric patterns, and sometimes there are animal masks. The most common shapes are inverted kettle, high-handle cup, handle cup, slender beaker and tripod bowl with hollow legs, which are used to heat liquids or as a steamer. The vast majority of black pottery were found in elite tombs rather than residential areas, which shows that they are only used by elites, and then they may be used for sacrifice rather than daily use.

Longshan Cultural Site

The tombs unearthed at Longshan site can be divided into three categories according to the quantity and value of funerary objects. A few (about 10%) are about 3x2m in size and contain about 100 artifacts. The dead in these graves were put in wooden coffins; Sometimes there is more than one person in each tomb. The middle group also includes a wooden coffin containing 20 to 30 cultural relics. The last group, which is also the largest group, is the pit. The deceased is not put in the coffin, nor is anything buried with him.

In addition to many examples of pottery mentioned above, the cultural relics of Longshan Tomb also include a piece (with a cylindrical square inside, whose purpose or meaning is unknown), a flat axe blade and a rectangular flat plate-both of which have separate perforations; Painted wooden utensils; Imported luxury goods in the form of ivory, crocodile drum and tortoise shell. Many Longshan tombs have pig bones or only their skulls and mandibles. These animals may be sacrificed as part of the burial ceremony and show wealth and/or social status (the more graves, the more pigs). In addition, there are traces of some perishable items, which no longer exist, but their impressions are left in the soil of the grave, especially the basket.

Other discoveries, such as bronze bells, bronze vessels and carved metal fragments, show that Longshan people are successful metal workers. The existence of copper ore and slag indicates that these commodities are made locally, not imported. The clock was made of clay mold, which was an advanced technology at that time. Finally, the discovery of the so-called Oracle bones (in fact, the animal's scapula was burned) illustrates the practice of the scapula-that is, reading the fracture caused by fire, and the fortune teller will explain it according to later events.

Solar observatory

Taosi site is particularly eye-catching because of its solar observatory, which was built in the middle of the 3rd century BC and is the oldest observatory of its kind. Discovered in 2003, this observatory consists of three circular platforms, one above the other, and each platform has a rammed earth wall. The whole is surrounded by another earth wall with a diameter of about 50 meters. The top platform is 24.5 meters in diameter and has a wall, which consists of 13 square columns. The space between these columns serves as a line of sight for observing the sun from a centrally placed platform. Experiments show that the observatory is used especially during summer solstice and winter solstice, and can be used to create accurate solar and lunar calendars. The preservation of this record may also indicate that there are orderly marks on the fragments of Longshan pottery written in the early days, which supports this view to some extent.