East Asia

how fashion did the land from east to west ride

in a step like fashion to the Tibetan plateau

what were the two main rivers

• Yellow River

• Yangtze River

what was grown by the yellow river? yangtze?

yellow = cooler region = good for millet

yangtze - warmer region = good for rice

what was land like around the yellow river? Yangtze? 

yellow - vast floodplain with constant flooding 

yangtze - marshy 

was the Yellow or Yangtze river more agricultural productive

yellow

what were the Legendary origins of ag in East Asia

Shennong the divine farmer associated with the invention of agriculture

• taught his people how farming techniques

• invented the plough

• understood medicine and pharmacology

• created musical instruments

what were two cultures associated with the origins of ag in East Asia

Peiligang

• A mixed economy of hunting, fishing, and agriculture, with early cultivation of millet

• Sedentary villages with both round and square semi-subterranean houses

• differential grave goods between males and females

Cishan 

• Focused heavily on millet cultivation and storage

• Known for abundant, deep storage pits

• pottery was more utilitarian and lacked painted designs. 

One of the earliest cultures in China to make pottery

pelligang

what was iconic of Jiahu burials

unique and rich grave goods

• bone flutes

• tortoise shells

what was the northern limit of wild rice

Valley of Yangzi River

was wild rice associated with a warming or cooling period

warming period

what were three cultures showing rice cultivation 

Hemudu - wild rice cultivation

Shangshan - clay vessels with rice temper

Kuaguqiao - small quantities of domesticated rice 

what type of sites showed the best development from wild to domesticated rice

cave sites

examples of cave sites with development of domesticated rice

Yuchanyang

Diatotonghuan

Xianrendong

why were cave sites better for showing the development from wild to domesticated rice

the stable, often drier, conditions within caves provide superior preservation of both macrobotanical remains (like grains and spikelet bases) and phytoliths

what were two Neolithic cultures

Yangshao Culture

Dawenkou culture

describe the Yangshao period

• distinctive painted pottery

• represents a crucial stage in the development of early Chinese civilization

• conomy was primarily based on millet agriculture

what were sites found in the Yangshao culture 

Banpo 

Xishuipo  

what was the Xishuipo site in the Yangshao period know for

Puyang Shaman 

describe the Puyang Shaman

tomb with shaman in the middle and clamshell inlaid images on either side accompanied by 3 young children 

• image: one of the oldest known depictions of a dragon

• image: big cat (tiger or lion)

where was the Hongshan Culture

Mongolia

what was significant about the Hongshan Culture

• Jade work

• monumental architecture

• likely female ancestor worship

what were the 4 types of burials of the Hongshan Culture 

1. Large, central grave = elites

2. Large stone-coffin graves 

3. Regular stone coffins 

4. small burials without artifacts

what gave a clear hierarchical order in the Hongshan Culture

the four types of burials

what were depicted in the jade statues of the Hongshan

• humans

• animals

• pig dragons

what is significant of the Liangzhu culture

• Earliest Known Large-Scale Water Management System

• evidence of stratification

• Pinnacle of Prehistoric Jade Culture

what type of jade artifacts were found in the Lianghzu culture

• Bi (left)

• Cong (right)

what culture sees jade production intensify

Liangzhu culture

what is the only prehistoric culture to use sapphires

Liangzhu

what was jade seen as an embodiment of 

life spirits and breath spirits 

what kind of ceramic vessels did Tianluoshan culture have

fu (rectangle cooking pot)

what was significant of the Tianluoshan

• exceptionally well-preserved evidence of early rice cultivation

• waterlogged and anaerobic conditions of the site preserved organic artifacts

what culture in East Asia was waterlogged 

Tianluoshan

Longshan translates to 

dragon Mountain 

was there evidence of conflict at Longshan

YES

what was characteristic of Longshan

• Distinctive Black Pottery

• highly stratified

• hang tu defenses

what was evidence of conflict in Longshan culture

hang tu - fortifications made of rammed earth between wooden slats

what was characteristic of the Taosi cemetery

extreme social stratification

• large tombs for the elite

• medium-sized tombs for lower elites/bureaucrats

• small, bare graves for commoners

what style of coffin were the elite buried in at the Taosi cemetery

boat shaped coffins

what was Man Bac

early farming site in Vietnam

what were four main food sources in Man Bac 

• forest uplands - gathering 

• grasslands - pigs, otters, cows…

• mangrove shore of a river - fishing

• rice - not reliable food source

what kinds of burials were found at Man Bac

two unique burials for immigrant farmers and native hunter-gatherers:

how did immigrant farmer and native hunter-gatherer burials differ in Man Bac

farmers

• diet based on domesticated plants and animal

• Grave goods found in specific burials may reflect emerging social hierarchies and community organization

hunter-gatherer

• Often buried in a flexed (foetal) position

• Grave goods generally reflect a simpler material culture,

• diet heavily reliant on marine or wild resources.

What was significant of Ban Non Wat 

• oldest known remains of a domestic chicken

• grave goods like bronze tools and exotic shell and marble jewelry = extensive trade networks

• hierarchical society

what site had the oldest known remains of a domestic chicken

Ban Non Wat 

what is sericulture

silk production

what was the mythological origins of sericulture

Confucius claims the wife of Yellow Emperor invented sericulture while having tea

what was the 4 step process of sericulture

1. selectively breeding flightless moths with their 500 eggs

2. once hatched fed a careful diet until they spin cocoons

3. cocoons were heated to kill the pupa then immersed in water so the filaments unwind

4. spun into threads