THE PREHISTORY OF CHINA: ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES
Palaeolithic China: Tracing the Evolution
- archaeology is a relatively recent enterprise in China
- the origins of the Chinese people is not a topic that is yet fully understood
- advances in archaeology is part of China’s modernization.
- the shift away from the antiquarian tradition started in the 19th century
- this was when a scientific approach took shape
- the antiquarian tradition emerged during the Tang period
- it climaxed during the Song period
- its practice recorded various artifacts and objects divorced from their archaeological contexts.
- the initial systematic archaeological studies began early in the 20th century
- this was when foreigners began excavations in China
- the result was the well-documented discovery (1927) of fossilized remains
- this consisted of more than 40 individuals - homo erectus (Peking Man)
- this was in a cave at Zhoukoudian, some 30 miles south-west of Beijing
- during the time an international team headed by Jia Lanpo took place at Anyang
- Li Ji and others also excavated at Chengziyai, in Longshan
- the importance of Anyang is that it was the evidence that the Shang Dynasty had existed
- previously it was believed that the Shang was a legend.
- other sites were excavated
- the Nihewan basin (Hebei) display the existence of early humans
- early Neolithic sites such as Jiahu suggest the initiation of agriculture.
- others, like Niuheliang (Liaoning) suggests the early practices of rituals.
- the group of sites in the Nihewan basin, was occupied from about 1.7 million to 10,000 BCE,
- this offers evidence of the earliest presence of humans in East Asia - homo erectus
- no human fossils were found, only artifacts
- fossil teeth discovered at Yuanmou (Yunnan) may be that of the earliest human remains
- they closely resemble those of homo erectus at Zhoukoudian
- homo erctus skull found at Gongwangling (Lantian, Shaanxi)
- stone tools at Xihoudu (Ruicheng, Shaanxi) indicate evidence of the early humans in China
- this was during the early Pleistocene era
- other similar sites suggest that homo erectus was widely dispersed throughout China
- the Middle Pleistocene evidence comes from numerous sites, including that of Peking man
- skullcaps, crania, mandible, femur, and other bone fragments were discovered
- they were lost while being shipped out of China to the United States during the war
- casts are all that remain
- the excavation from 1921 to 1937 and since 1959 has uncovered many things:
- a) about 100,000 stone tools,
- b) over 100 teeth, 14 skulls
- c) bones representing some 51 individuals of homo erectus
- one cave found was quite large, 500x150 feet and in one area 120 feet from floor to ceiling,
- it was inhabited continuously for about 100,000 years
- these hominids were hunter-gatherers who used stone tools and made fire.
- these people were small in stature;
- Peking Man stood at 5ft. 2 in. while women were about 4’9” tall
- they had the cranial capacity of 850-1300 cc compared to Java Man’s 775-900 cc
- early homo sapiens has one of 1350 cc
- their diets consisted of 70% deer
- bones of many animals were found:
- the leopard, bear, sabre-toothed tiger, hyena, elephant, rhinoceros, camel, water buffalo
- also boar, and horse were found
- there were no burials or complete skeletons
Zhoukoudian:
- one of the greatest prehistoric sites in the world
- it’s been studied for 80 years
- it became an important archaeological sites & paleontological sites in 1927
- its discovery was stimulated by the identity of an “ape man: in a apothecary shop
- the site is a limestone cave, 31 miles southwest of Beijing
- excavations were carried out from 1927 to 1937
- the team was made of Canadian, Swedish, German, Austrian, American, French, and Chinese scholars
- several places around that area has given scholars evidence of hominid - - activity & non-hominid fossils
- these range from seven millions years ago
Homo Erectus & Its Evidence
- the most productive site was Locality 1 which had the largest collection of homo erectus fossils ever found at one site
- it had 6 complete skull caps & other bones 45 individuals
- it contained over 6,000 stone artifacts, an extensive collection of animal bones and some plant remains.
- they were nondescript stone tools & flaked items, large amounts of quartz
- there seams to be evidence of fire found within the layers connected with human occupation
- the interpretation from Zhoukoudian raises controversy
- the traditional interpretation was of a cave-dwelling big game hunter that cooked over fires
- others have suggested that homo erectus was not so advanced
- the animal bones & hominid remains were the result of scavenging hyenas (their remains were also there)
- any evidence for fire was due to natural causes (lightning)
Earlier Evidence
- there is some evidence to suggest the presence of hominids earlier than those of Zhoukoudian
- a cave site at Longgupo (souther China contains an hominid tooth & some stone artifacts - the tooth seems to have primitive characteristics
- this seems be linked with homo eragster or homo habilis
- the dating is controversial - they range from 2.4 million to less than one million
- other sites of one million years of age have been found at Nihewan basin & at Yuanmou (Yunnan).
- the evolutionary timeline is simple:
- a) Yuanmou Man: c. 1.6 -1.7 million years ago.
- b) Lantian man: 700,000 - 650, 000 years ago.
- c) Peking man: 500, 000 - 400, 000 years ago.
Early homo sapiens:
- there are some 30 or so sites that go back to 280,000 and 250, 000 years ago
- these sites are evidence of the activities of archaic humans or pre-modern humans.
- three sites prove that pre-modern humans occupied China:
- Jinniushan,
- Maba,
- Dali
- at Jinniushan (Yinkou, Liaoning) chipped stone tools were found
- they’ve been dated to be at around 260,000 years old
- an almost complete skull was found
- the cranial capacity to be 1,260 cc
- this was an hominid in transition between being homo erectus and archaic homo sapiens
- a similar find at Dali (Shaanxi) suggest another transitional hominid
- it dated between 230,000 and 180, 000 years ago
- fragments of a cranium fossil turns up in a cave near the village of Maba
- this dated between 140,000 - 119,000 years ago but stone tools were not unearthed.
Dali:
- this is an open-air site in south central China (Shaanxi)
- it has a deep deposit of silts, sand and gravel
- at the bottom there is a hominid skull found in 1978
- this was found by geologist Liu Shuntang.
- the skull is complete but lacks a jaw
- the layer where it was found has been dated several times
- the consensus gives it 230,000 years ago or old as 300,000
- five hundred stone artifacts were also found there
- some have features common with that of those of Zhoukoudian
Significance
- there has been a lot of academic debate about this finding
- initially it was classified as homo erectus
- many has suggested it is closer to modern humans
- it seems to be an intermediary form between homo erectus and homo sapiens; it seems to be dated at 70,000 years of age
- this supports the multi-regional hypothesis
- other sites with this kind of skull are found at many other sites
- these are dated as between 400,000 & 120,000 years ago
- people assume that modern Chinese population evolved from these early hominid forms
- the recent scholarship suggests a different hypothesis that competes with the traditional one
- genetic studies offer the position that the Chinese share a common ancestral lineage
- this lineage comes from Africa
- Peking Man and other forms of archaic humans are evolutionary cul-de sacs
- they died out only to be replaced by the wave of homo sapiens that emerged in Africa
- this was between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago and migrated to Asia
- this is the “total replacement hypothesis”)s
- they overtook the local Asian archaic modern humans
- contemporary Chinese people are a recently evolved group of people from Africa.
- the “multi-regional hypothesis” rejects the “out of Africa” hypothesis
- it argues that homo erectus evolved independently into modern form
- this is based on similar anatomical traits.
- homo erectus is found at various sites
Modern Humans:
- there are close to one hundred sites of the late Paleolithic period in China
- this contains evidence for the presence of homo sapiens
- the period is between 40,000 and 10,000 years
- yet something is missing - the stretch between 100,000 and 40,000 years ago.
Stone Artifacts
- during the Paleolithic period early humans engaged in the creation of various artifacts
- these are tools made of stones and bones
- those made in China are different from the types made in other large areas
- this would be Africa and Europe during the same time period
- so they do not seem to have evolved from the West
- they were independently designed and manufactured
- scrapers, choppers, points, and burins are the type of stone tools of Paleolithic China
- these were found at Nihewan and Zhoukoudian.
The Neolithic Revolution:
- agriculture in China began sometime around 8500 -8000 BCE
- it involved the cultivation of millet and rice in the Yellow and Yangzi River valleys
- at that time there also occurred the domestication of dogs, pigs, and chickens.
- the settling of the hunter gatherer led to the emergence of village life
- this gradually developed into towns and then into city states
- the Neolithic revolution brought about a population explosion
- this supplied the growing demand for farm labour
- small number of neolithic villages (c. 9000-8000 BCE) have been discovered
- this is at two major valleys
- hundreds of villages from the later period (7500-7000 BCE) have been found
- those of the later period (c. 6000 BCE) are in the thousands.
- neolithic China has some unique characteristics
- its sedentary lifestyle emerged after the cultivation of cereal
- in the Middle East (the earliest centre of agriculture) it took place before farming
- the picture above is a Yangshao painted pottery storage jar - Banshan phase (2600 -2300 BCE)
- in the Middle East the rise of pottery took place after the advent of agriculture
- in China, pottery was invented simultaneously in several places by hunter-gatherers.
The Neolithic Culture
- thousands of pieces of Neolithic art have been discovered
- these are objects made from ceramic, stone, and bone
- the most common art of the period consists of painted potter
- this climaxed with the Yangshao culture (c.5000-2700 BCE) and other cultures in the north.
- stylized incisions of plants, animals, fish & the famous taotie mask are features of this culture.
- the rise of agriculture brought about cultural changes
- the division of labour increased and with it came artisanship
- this led to state owned industries
- jade, ceramics, and textile manufacturing were the result
- pottery was invented by the hunter-gatherers
- it was the farmers of the Neolithic period that produced refined forms of pottery
- this type required the use of the potter's wheel and the use of the kiln
- society became stratified
- it led to the emergence of the state with its political underpinnings.
Cultural Sites:
- the transition from paleolithic to the neolithic is one of settlement
- this is due to the increase of food created by the emergence of agriculture
- this was because climate change
- this was when the Yellow and Yangzi River valleys warmed up
- with that warmth seed collecting began in earnest.
- the neolithic period is the transition from being nomadic cave dwellers to becoming villagers
- along with agriculture came the domestication of farm animals - dogs, pigs, chickens
- this grouping of larger social units in one area laid the foundation for a civilization
- thousands of neolithic sites demonstrate that during the period of 10,000 to 2,000 BCE
- the earliest Neolithic sites are in the following southern provinces:
- Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Guizhou
- these are dated between 11,000 and 10,000 BCE
- the north is 8500 - 7000 BCE (Xinglongwa culture) and 7000 and 5000 BCE (Xinle culture)
- in the north, central, and coastal regions the settlements are found to have emerged later
- the most intense settlements are from the Yellow River basins
- also along its tributaries and the southern areas where rice was highly productive
- this was in the wet and humid climate
- the north (Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi) was basically a millet growing dual culture
- Cishan-Peiligang (6500-4900 BCE), is where red and brown coloured pottery was a feature.
Yangshao Culture
- the best known culture - Yangshao - from that area later emerged (5000-3000 BCE)
- it contained over a hundred sites covering a larger territory from Gansu to Qinghai.
- in the south we have the cord-marked pottery often found in limestone caves
- this identifies a culture located in Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Guangxi.
- the best documented Yangshao culture was named after a village in northern Henan
- this is where in 1921 J. Gunnar Andersson had found a fragment of painted pottery.
- its famous site is at Banpo, near Xi’an
- it was built on a huge circular site surrounded by a deep ditch
- it was occupied from about 4800 - 3600 BCE
- it was a village of some 45 houses grouped in clusters suggesting kinship units
- the huts like tombs were similar in size and shape
- the only difference was the communal building
- its inhabitants cultivated millet and kept pigs and dog
- the millet was supplemented by hunting and fishing
- hemp was used for fabrics
- their pottery of various shapes - bowls, jugs, vases
- it was painted red & had incisions
- those designs were that of fish, animal, plants, and human faces, & symbols
- these markings that may have identified clans or lineages
- these markings were an early stage in the development of Chinese characters
- later markings consisted of waves and spirals
- these were characteristic of later Miaodigou culture (3900-3000 BCE)
- deriving from the Yangshao culture there emerged three cultures:
- a) Majiayao,
- b) Banshan
- c) Machang (3300 - 2050 BCE) in Gansu & Qinghai
- deriving from the Majiayao culture there emerged two cultures:
- the Qijias culture (2250 -1900 BCE)
- the Huoshaogou culture (1800-1600 BCE)
- their production of objects and jewelry that were made of copper, bronze, gold, and silver
- the Dawenkou culture (5000 - 2500 BCE) which was scattered throughout a number of areas - - this was in Shangdong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, and Liaoning
- it seemed to have been somewhat stratified
- this was suggested from the objects buried with the rich strata of society
- these objects were jade , stone, pottery, bracelets
- the eastern cultures of Majiabang (5000 - 3500 BCE) and Hemudu (5000 - 3300 BCE) - (Jiangsu & north Zhejiang) depended much on fishing and the production of aquatic plants, especially rice
- the pottery of Majiabang was a combination of red and brown while Hemudu was black.
- their descendants are
- a) the Songze culture (4000 - 3000 BCE
- b) the Qinglian’gang (4800 - 3600 BCE)
- the Hongshan culture (3600 - 2000 BCE) derived from the Xinle culture
- its development can be traced to Liaoning and Inner Mongolia
- the Hongshan culture is well known for its production of jade
- it became highly developed during the period of the Liangzhu culture (3300 - 2200 BCE)
- the Liangzhu developed along the eastern coastal areas (Zhejiang & Jiangsu)
- jade is prominent (greatly found in tombs) in this cultural area
- this suggests that an elite group administered a political and/or religious power.
- the Daxi culture (5000 - 3000 BCE) developed along the Yangzi jiang valley
- this is adjacent to Sichuan, Hubei, and Hunan
- it was known for its production of stone objects with red, brown, and dark pottery
- further south you had
- a) the Dapenkeng culture (5000 - 2500 BCE
- b) the Shixia culture (2865 - 2480 BCE) and both are producers of jade.
Longshan Culture
- in 1928 at Chengziyai in north-west Shandong a different kind of pottery was discovered
- it was that of the Longshan culture (3000 - 2000 BCE)
- the pottery was not painted and was usually thinner than that of the Yangshao
- sometimes the pottery was elevated on a circular foot or on tripod legs
- at first scholars believed that the culture of Longshan was that of eastern China
- they thought that the Yangshao was that of the Central Plains
- when the Miaodigou site was excavated Yangshao was found to be below Longshan
- it was then believed that Longshan derived from Yangshao
- other excavations suggested it derived from Dawenkou
- it developed separately and gradually spread itself to the Central Plains
- this was when its painted pottery was on the decline
- the cultures that would later dominate the Central Plains region came from Longshan
- that development would usher in the Bronze Age
Transition & Change
- the basic ideas of kinship, authority, religion, and art began to emerge
- they emerged in these distinct regional cultures
- becoming more populated a civilizing experiment emerged and developed.
- organization, division of labour, and self-expression made its appearance.
- the traditional belief is that the neolithic culture had its origins in one area
- this would be that of northern China (Peiligang culture)
- it would spread itself out from the core of the Yellow River valley & the Central Plains
- it would assimilate the entire area known today as China.
- in recent years archaeological discoveries have revealed a more complex view
- various cultures made the successful transition from food-gathering to food production
- that success led to the appearance of pottery and the further development of other industries
- this would be the production of jade, ceramic, and textiles
- this led to an emerging economy and an intensification of social engagement
- this, in turn, led to stratification
- politicization of communities as multicultural communities co-existed and interacted.
- these cultures differed from one another in spite of similarities
- both the northern cultures and the southern cultures hunted, fished, and harvested plants; both - the north and the south made use of pottery
- they both used tools made from wood and stone
- they both buried their dead
- the Dawenkou and the Majiayo both buried their dead with ceremonial objects
- the former elite were buried with a greater diversified collection of pottery
- the latter’s elite were buried with a greater number of similar kinds of pottery
- in the south, the Majiabang build their houses close to water
- they built them either on high ground or on built mounds
- the Hemudu built their houses differently along water wooden houses on piles
- the Hemudu’s pottery was painted black with incised geometric designs
- they also has incisions of birds, fish, or trees
- the Majiabang’s pottery was of a reddish-brown colour.
Agricultural Centres:
- there are two dominant agricultural centres that emerged early on:
- the Yellow River basin
- the Yangzi River basin,
- each had sub-divisions giving them a unique ecological and cultural identity.
- the settlements of the north Yellow River basin has its roots in the Cishan and Peiligang
- these cultures had semi-subterranean houses, including storage pits
- this suggested they had a sedentary lifestyle
- similar features were found in the cultures of Houli (east) and the Xinglongwa (northeast)
- this was where millet was found at the excavation site
- at this period the sites also showed that dogs and pigs were domesticated.
- rice became the staple food of central and southern areas
- for the Pengoushan culture, hunting and fishing,the domestication of plants were the activities
- this is where houses raised on wooden posts have been discovered; t
- the predominance of these types of dwellings are associated with the Hemudu culture.
Neolithic Technology:
- the success of farming went hand in hand with the production of jade, ceramics, and textiles
- the success of farming was connected to the emergence of farming technologies
- the rice paddy field in the middle of the Yangzi River valley shows the mastery of irrigation
- the success of having learned how to better select seeds for cultivation was also apparent
- before agriculture was invented pottery had emerged - the cord-markings type
- later with the advent of agriculture the technology improved greatly with an aesthetic appeal.
- by 9800 BCE painted ceramic bowls , vases, and, dishes, made their appearances
- this was in the Yellow River valley thanks to the early development of kilns
- the potter’s wheel was used both in the south and in the north by 9000 BCE.
- the main artifact of the period was jade
- its manufacturing tradition goes back to 10,000 BCE in northeast
- later these forms morphed into shapes dragons, eagles, and circular designs
- this was in Hongshan ca. 3500 BCE)
- burial sites suggest that they were owned by the wealthy
- large number of jade were found in tombs
- they seemed to be symbols of the authority & status of elite groups
- these elite groups held political, religious, and administrative powers
- later they were to appear in the two river valleys along with disks, combs , rings, and tubes
- they were made of tremolite, actinolite, chrysotile, and agate belonging to the wealthy.
- another achievement of Neolithic China was the production of silk
- this originated in north China
- it was a Chinese monopoly until silkworms found their way out of China in the 6th century
- evidence of this production of silk has been traced back to about 8300 BCE in Hemudu
- remains of silk threads were discovered in both the Yellow & Yangzi River valleys
- this was dated at about 7000 -6700 BCE.
Neolithic Villages:
- the growth of grain was quite substantial
- we see this from the Jiangzhai storage pits (Wei River valley)
- it contained 297 of them dated from 5000 - 4000 BCE
- just a 120 of these pits are enough to hold close to three million liters of grain
- this is enough to feed more than 10,000 people within a year
- villages have been estimated to anywhere between 300 and 400 people
- during later periods villages grew larger and larger
- tea and hemp were produced
- the silkworm industry flourished along ceramics and the appearance of bronze..
- these villages underwent developmental phases
- during the 6th and 5th millennium BCE, houses were simple
- they were designed to be round or square, surrounding a communal courtyard
- during the late neolithic period villages surrounded themselves with pounded earth walls,
- this included moats, especially the large ones.
- changes within the walls also changed
- row house type of units began to emerge under one house
- this suggested the living quarters of a nuclear family.
The Emergence of Civilizations:
- the Neolithic revolution was the pre-condition for the emergence of civilization
- settlements because of farming brought about mergers of villages into towns
- towns merged into cities.
- civilization first began some time between 4000 & 3000 BCE
- this was in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in an area - Mesopotamia
- a little later in civilization emerged in the valley of the Nile River in Egypt
- this was followed by that of the valley in India and the Yellow River basin in China.
- civilization is characterized as having common features:
- a) the appearance of urban centres
- b) architecture
- c) hierarchical societies
- d) the invention of writing.
- this period is often referred to as the Bronze Age
- it took place at the same time as the emergence of the knowledge of smelting tin and copper
- this is to create a stronger and more useful metal -bronze.
The City State
- the political institution of Bronze Age China was the city -state
- it was a walled city that had public building and, residences of the aristocracy
- they supported the ruler surrounded by Neolithic tribal villages.
- the power of the ruler came from
- a) his access to the deities
- b) support from the aristocratic families
- c) kinship
- d) control of the bronze industry.
- the Shang state was able to mobilize thousands of people for a number of projects:
- a) military campaigns
- b) construction of large tombs for the royal family
- c) clearing the land for the building of walls and roads
The Shang State
- the Shang was a confederation of lineages
- it had small political units within a network of shifting alliances
- through diplomacy, culture, and religion, the Shang held on to hegemony
- it also did this through warfare
- their armies could be as large as 10,000 men on rare occasions
- employing chariots was the main technique in fighting during the later period.
Zhengzhou
- the Shang city at Zhengzhou is a large walled site
- it is below the modern city of Zhengzhou in Henan
- the settlement was excavated in the 1950s
- it is thought to be an early Shang capital - possibly Bo or Ao.
- Zhengzhou was occupied by Shang kings and its aristocracy
- it was surrounded by larger population
- two phases accounts for the occupation of Zhengzhou from between 1500 & 1300 BCE.
- a) the earlier Erligang was the period of the construction of the city walls
- b) the later period (upper Erligang) is associated with the later use of the site.
The Walled City
- the walls are rectangular
- the perimeter reaches 4 miles (7 km)
- there is a layered pounded earth sloping wall of a massive width
- today most are underground but those that are visible reach 16 feet.
- within the walls there are remains of temples & ritual areas
- these were originally areas of royal and aristocratic palaces
- twenty pounded earth platform foundations are in an elevated section
- there are sub-divisions of rooms and corridors
- there is evidence of ritual structures such as human & animal sacrifices.
- in one pit archaeologists retrieved almost 100 young men
- skeletons of 92 sacrificial dogs were found in nearby pits
- houses were discovered in the parts of the city.
Beyond the Walls
- nearby there are cemeteries, houses of common people, workshops & other things
- four burial grounds have been found
- tombstone to be small, hence they are not of the kings
- also found are work areas: bone & pottery workshops, kilns & bronze foundries
- hoards of bronzes have been excavated outside the city
Anyang
- a large area near modern Anyang is the location of Yin (Yinxu)
- this is the last capital of the Shang
- antique bronzes & divination bones have been excavate
- the excavation at Anyang was due to the investigation of oracle bones in 1928
- according to traditional records Yin was the ritual-political centre of the Shang dynasty for 12 kings, ruling for about 350 years (c. 1300-1050 BCE)
The Archaeological Site
- the inscriptions on the oracle bones confirm the presence at Yin of the last nine of these kings
- inscriptions also tell us of the four phases of occupation of the site.
- the site is quite extensive - four and half miles; most outside the defensive wall that dates to an earlier period
- perhaps they thought that the city be a uniting city ritual centre rather than a political capital with definite borders
- there is definitely a core centre with ritual centres and cemeteries
- two large parts of Anyang core are
- the Xiaotun palatial site south of the Human River
- the Xibeigang royal cemetery north of the river.
Xiaotun Palatial Site:
- near modenr Xiatun an elevated area is surrounded on two sides by a moat
- it is defended on the remaining sides by the Huan River
- the area contains 50 palace or temple foundations
- it all contains a large deposit of oracle bones, human sacrifices & workshops
- the building is arranged into three groups - north, west, south
- the north group may have been a residential zone
- the remaining two are interspersed with sacrificial burials of animals, humans, chariots
- southwest, just outside the moat there is the burial tomb of Fu Hao.
- it is the only undisturbed aristocratic burial of Anyang
- the archaeological exploration of the Shang began at Anyang in 1928
- this was the last Shang capital
- by the time of the Japanese occupation in 1937, 55,000 square yards was excavated
- this was in eleven places
- the site covers 14 square miles on both sides of the Huan River
- it included important sites such as Xiatun
- Xiatun was known for the discoveries of
- a) palaces
- b) sacrificial pits
- c ) earth-pounded platforms
- d) oracle bones,
- e) bronze workshops
- f) elite burials
The Royal Cemetery at Xibeigang
- Xibeigang was known for the discoveries of 14 large tombs,
- four of them were graves of Shang kings.
- this place is located across the river from the Xiaotun palatial area
- there are eleven large tombs in this place
- they are arranged in two clusters - west (7 burials & unfinished pit) & east (4 burials and one pit)
- eight tombs have access ramps on four sides (cross-shaped)
- the burials range in length 65 and a half ft. to 260 feet
- the shaft reaches a depth of 32 ft.
- surrounding the large tombs there are over 1400 sacrificial victims.
- some were formally b.uried, others brutally killed
- these burials suggest that they belonged to the kings and queens that ruled Anyang
- one could be King Wuding
- one of the unfinished pits may have been for Zhouxin, the last Shang king.
- another achievement of Neolithic China was the production of silk
- the exact procedure has been practised in China throughout history
- the worms eat about 100 pounds of mulberry leaves to produce about 15 pounds of cocoon
- from the 15 pounds of cocoon comes one pound of raw silk.
- this household industry began in Neolithic times in North China
- it remained a Chinese monopoly until silkworms were smuggled to the West (6th century)
No comments:
Post a Comment