Cishan culture
Encyclopedia
The Cishan culture (8000-5500 BC) was a Neolithic
Yellow River
culture in northern China
, based primarily around southern Hebei
. The Cishan culture was based on millet
farming, the cultivation of which on one site has been dated back 10,000 years. Common artifacts from the culture include stone grinders, stone sickles and tripod pottery.
Since the culture shared many similarities with its southern neighbor, the Peiligang culture
, both cultures are sometimes referred to together as the Cishan-Peiligang culture or Peiligang-Cishan culture. The Cishan culture also shared several similarities with its eastern neighbor, the Beixin culture
.
The type site
at Cishan is located in Wu'an
, Hebei, China. The site covered an area of around 80,000 m². The houses at Cishan were semi-subterranean and round. The site showed evidence of domesticated pigs, dogs and chicken, with pigs providing the primary source of meat. Fish was also an important part of the diet at Cishan.
Over 500 subterranean storage pits were discovered at Cishan. These pits were used to store millet. The largest pits were 5 meters deep and capable of storing up to 1000 kg of millet.
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
culture in northern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, based primarily around southern Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
. The Cishan culture was based on millet
Millet
The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
farming, the cultivation of which on one site has been dated back 10,000 years. Common artifacts from the culture include stone grinders, stone sickles and tripod pottery.
Since the culture shared many similarities with its southern neighbor, the Peiligang culture
Peiligang culture
The Peiligang culture is a name given by archaeologists to a group of Neolithic communities in the Yi-Luo river basin in Henan Province, China. The culture existed from 7000 BC to 5000 BC. Over 70 sites have been identified with the Peiligang culture. The culture is named after the site discovered...
, both cultures are sometimes referred to together as the Cishan-Peiligang culture or Peiligang-Cishan culture. The Cishan culture also shared several similarities with its eastern neighbor, the Beixin culture
Beixin culture
The Beixin culture was a Neolithic culture in Shandong, China. 50 sites from the culture have been discovered. The culture showed evidence of millet cultivation and water buffalo domestication....
.
The type site
Type site
In archaeology a type site is a site that is considered the model of a particular archaeological culture...
at Cishan is located in Wu'an
Wu'an
Wu'an is a County-level city in the prefecture level city of Handan, Hebei province, China.-Liberation:In August 1949, WuAn was one of three counties to be detached from Handan and attached to the new Pingyuan Province...
, Hebei, China. The site covered an area of around 80,000 m². The houses at Cishan were semi-subterranean and round. The site showed evidence of domesticated pigs, dogs and chicken, with pigs providing the primary source of meat. Fish was also an important part of the diet at Cishan.
Over 500 subterranean storage pits were discovered at Cishan. These pits were used to store millet. The largest pits were 5 meters deep and capable of storing up to 1000 kg of millet.
See also
- List of Neolithic cultures of China
- Dadiwan cultureDadiwan cultureThe Dadiwan culture was a Neolithic culture found primarily in Gansu and western Shaanxi, China. The culture takes its name from the earliest layer found at the type site at Dadiwan. The remains of millet and pigs were found in sites associated with the culture...
- Prehistoric Beifudi sitePrehistoric Beifudi siteThe Beifudi prehistoric site, near Yi County in Hebei Province, China, is the excavation of a recently discovered prehistoric Neolithic village that Chinese archaeologists say is one of the most important sites found so far...