Prehistoric China is revealed by Xian Tour to Banpo Museum. At this venue you will learn about ancestors of the grand dynasties that also were based in Xian long after them. The artifacts of the Neolithic period also known as the New Stone Age are exhibited at the museum. This museum is the first constructed at the site of a prehistoric discovery. Human evolution from the hunter gatherer life style to agricultural mode of production marks this age whose settlement shows characteristics of the Banpo phase of the Yanshao culture that had a thousand year duration.
Residents in Banpo lived in villages in clans or tribes. Agriculture, fishing and hunting were their main sources of food production. The clan dwellings was surrounded by a moat. Banpo culture is renowned for its fine painted potteries. Not only are the pottery wares of different kinds but they are also meticulous in craft and detailed patterns. The settlement excavation lasted four years and it was first opened for public viewing in 1958. Around four hundred sites of this settlement type have been discovered around the Yellow River Basin, and of these this Banpo site is the largest. The arrangement of the Neolithic village reveals an organized way of life and a good idea for Xi’an Tour.
The village has a living section of dwellings, a pottery manufacturing section and a community cemetery. Construction methods revealed characteristics of traditional Chinese wall-construction methods. The graves revealed they lived until they were about thirty years old. Their pottery kilns used both fine-grained and coarse clay to produce their distinctive painted pottery they are known for.
Xian Tour to the museum take you through 3 exhibition halls and an iconic model village. One exhibition hall displays their basic tools, vessels and other products. The other exhibition hall displays innovations and cultural items. The museum also holds special shows on the prehistoric China. Amongst the most notable items is a bottle with a pointed bottom for water collection and a steamer. The Banpo Clan Matriachal Village is a model village whose iconic matriarchal theme reveals what was thought to be the hierarchal structure of village society.
China in the Neolithic Age
The Neolithic people began large scale use of agriculture and started domestication of animals. They built the first civilized settlements. During this era, simple tool making out of stone and wood took off. Archaeological research has discovered that several cultures were spread across China at the time. They are believed to have independently evolved despite some communication amongst them. The Yangshao were based in the mountains of northern and western China. They are known for their painted pottery.
The Neolithic period is still yielding new discoveries in the present time. We know that agriculture was most common in the southern region of the Yellow River and millet was the major product. Some cultures have been found to have common traits such as rice cultivation.
Cultivation and livestock husbandry evolved during this period. The tools showed skillful craftsmanship. Dwellings became patterned and populations grew. Painted pottery was the precursor of more sophisticated painted pottery of later periods. An emerging class hierarchy was revealed in the use of pottery and jade. The eastern communities developed the pottery wheel in China.
The use of handicrafts was a distinctive characteristic of this age. The development of clans was another major change. Recent discoveries revealed they made music with flutes, made millet noodles and made alcohol from grain. The Banpo people contributed to evolution of civilization. Xian Tours to the Banpo Museum provide a glimpse of a major foundational era in human evolution.