East Asian Paleolithic & Neolithic Cultures

Flashcards covering Paleolithic and Neolithic visual culture, artifacts, and architecture in China, Korea, and Japan from Art 55 lecture notes.

When did urban settlements emerge in the central "heartland" river valleys of Neolithic China?

ca. 2500 BCE

Which regions comprised the central "heartland" river valleys of Neolithic China?

Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi regions

What is the date range for the Yangshao culture in Neolithic China?

ca. 5000-2000 BCE

What key Yangshao site in Shaanxi dates to 5000 BCE and was discovered in the early 1950s?

Banpo

How did Neolithic Chinese artisans produce earthenware ceramics?

By baking ("firing") clay at low temperatures in pit kilns

What object is shown in this image, dating to c. 2350-2050 BCE?

Jar (Guan), Yangshao Culture, Machang phase

What artifact from the Yangshao Culture is depicted in this image?

Bowl with Men's Heads and Fish (ca. 5000–4000 BCE, Banpo, Shaanxi province)

What primary function did the Bowl with Men's Heads and Fish serve in Yangshao funerary practices?

It served as a lid for a funerary urn that held the cremated remains of the deceased

What object from the Longshan culture is depicted here?

Gu Beaker (ca. 2000 BCE)

How was the distinctive black color of the Longshan culture Gu Beaker achieved?

Through its firing technique in a kiln without using slip, followed by burnishing the surface

Why was abrasion used to shape jade objects like Bi disks in Neolithic China?

Because jade cannot be cut, so it must be shaped by abrasion

What object from the Liangzhu Culture is pictured here?

Cong Prism (ca. 2000 BCE)

What symbolic associations are suggested by the form of the Liangzhu Cong prism?

The square shape may refer to the realm of the earth, while the round cylinder refers to heaven

What jade artifact from the Hongshan Culture is depicted in this image?

Cloud-like Plaque (ca. 4700–2920 BCE, Niuheliang, Liaoning province)

How many megalithic dolmen tombs have been found in Korea from the Neolithic period?

Over 200,000 tombs

What structure from Neolithic Korea is pictured in this image?

Megalithic dolmen tomb

According to one scholar, what did the stones of Korean dolmen tombs represent?

The horizontal capstone represented heaven and the vertical stones represented the earth

What ceramic vessel from Neolithic Korea is depicted here?

Jar with Comb Pattern (Jeulmun), ca. 3000 BCE

What sequence in technological development distinguishes Japan's Jomon culture from most other ancient cultures?

Jomon culture developed ceramics before developing agriculture, creating the world's oldest ceramics around 10,000 BCE

What Jomon period object is shown in this image?

"Flame" Vessel (ca. 2000 BCE)

What techniques were used to construct and decorate the Jomon "Flame" Vessel?

Hand-built coil technique with appliqué (rolled clay pressed onto the surface) fired at a low temperature in an open fire

What artifact type from Japan's Jomon era is pictured in this image?

Dogu Figure

What condition are many of the more than 18,000 discovered Jomon Dogu figures found in?

Many were found deliberately broken

Describe the materials of the Jar (Guan) from the Yangshao Culture?

terracotta with pigments