中国东南区新石器文化特征之一:有段石锛

STEPPED ADZE:ONE OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEOLITHIC CULTURE IN THE SOUTH-EASTERN REGION OF CHINA

一、引言 (一)有段石锛是中国东南区新石器文化的重要特徵中国东南区的新石器时代文化与他地有同有异,其明显的差异之一,是有一种特殊的石器即有段石锛。有段石锛发现在东南区最多,在华北东部还略有少数发现,在华北西部便未曾发现过。因在华北极其罕见,故华北的仰韶文化或龙山文化都不曾涉及这种石器,因此在中国的石器时代考古学中这种石器几乎没有地位;可中在东南一带数省中这种石器却很常见,已经可当做这一带有代表性的石器。这种石器数量难不像普通石锛之多,但在这一地带却处处都有;

1.The Significance of the Problem (1) The prehistoric archaeology of China has not yet recognized the definite characteristicsof the Neolithic culture in the south-eastern region of China, though some discoveries were madeas early as about thirty years ago. With the help of many new materials excavated since afterthe Liberation in 1949, the author makes the first serious attempt to solve this problem. Headvances the theory that the characteristics of the Neolithic culture in the south-eastern region ofChina may well prove to be the stepped adze and the pottery with printed geometric design. Ashe endeavors to show, the stepped adze has so far been found chiefly in the south-eastern regionof China, including Kwangtung, Fukien, Chekiang, Kiangsu and Kiangsi provinces. It has neverappeared in the north-western and only very rarely in the north-eastern regions. And there is yet no definite data in this respect regarding the south-western region. According to him, stone axesof the Yangshao type often appeared in the North but very rarely in the South-East. On theother hand, the stone adze of the ordinary type appeared very often in the South-East but to afar less extent in the North. As the stepped adze is manifestly a localized product of the South-East, it seems not unreasonable to regard it as one of the characteristics of this region. (2) The origin and diffusion of the stepped adze have long been an interesting problem.To begin with, it was found in the Philippines, Sulawesi and some Polynesian islands much earlierthan in China. The work of other scholars has already established that the stepped adzes foundin all these places were the result of diffusion. Polynesia derived it from the Philippines, butwherefrom did the latter got it had been a knotty question before the stepped adze was discoveredon the Chinese continent. Before the Sino-Japanese War, based upon the discoveries in Hongkong,Hoifung (Kwangtung), and Hangchow some foreign archaeologists had already suggested that thestepped adzes of Polynesia and the Philippines might have some connection with the Chinesecontinent. In his own article 'A Neolithic Site in Wuping, Fukien' Pubished in 'The Proceed-ings of the Third Congress of the Far Eastern Prehistorians' in 1938, the author also inferred thatthe prehistoric culture of south-eastern China might be connected with the PhiIippines and otherislands of the South China Sea, if not also with the Polynesian islands. The stepped adze has been studied earlier by archaeologists in Philippines and Polynesia butsome interesting questions are left unanswered, especially those dealing with their origin, develop-ment, diffusion and remnants. The materials excavated in China will shed much new light onthese points.H.The Discoveries on the Islands of South China Sea and im Polynesia (1) In Philippines——Stepped adzes were found in great abundance in the Philippineswhich gave rise to the name 'the Philippines adzes'.They were classified by H.O.Beyer intofour stages:1.Ridged adze,2.Tanged adze,3.Early stepped adze,4.Fully developed Philip-pines stepped adze.He assigned the first two to the middle period of the Molithic Age andthe latter two to the late Neolithic Actually the first two are the predcessors of the latter twoad so all four types may be called 'stepped adzes',in a broader sense of the word.ProfessorHeine--Geldern,Beyer and several others believed that the Polynesian stepped adzes were derivedfrom the Philippines.And the Philippines were in turn suspected to have come from the Asiancontinent but there was not enough evidence to prove it. (2) In Sulawesi and Northern Borneo(Now Kalimantan)----In Minahasa,Sulawesi step-ped adzes were also found and their shape resembles those of the Philippines.In Northern Borneothe same finding was reported too.Obviousiy the stepped adzes of these two places were diffusedfrom the Philippines. (3) In Taiwan——A latge number of stepped adzes was collected from the northern part of Taiwan by Japanese scholars before the Sino-Japanese War. In 1921 and 1935 the author him-self obtained from Taiwan some splendid specimens which have been kept until now. Thestepped adzes of Taiwan look like those of the Philippines but bear a greater resemblence to thosefound on the continent. The author has suggested in his earlier article on the Taiwan findsthat the stepped adze, the shouldered axe and the pottery with printed geometric design of Tai-wan might have been derived from the Chinese continent. (4) In Polynesia----Stepped adzes were first found in Polynesia. More than three hundredyears ago European travellers passing through these islands found that the aborigines were stillusing stepped adzes with handles as one of their chief implements. The well-known archaeologistRobert Heine----Geldern coined the new term 'stufenbeil' in German (or 'stepped adze' in Eng-lish), but it was also called 'Polynesian adze'. Stepped adzes were widely used on Hawaiian Is.Marguesas Is. Society Is., Cook Is., Austral Is., Tahiti Is., Chatham Is., Easter Is., New Zealandetc.Ⅲ. The Discoveries in China (1) In Hongkong----From 1932 to 1936 D. J. Finn published his 13 articles entitled'Archaeological Finds on Lamma Island near Hongkong'. Among his finds were 17 pieces ofstepped adzes. He pointed out that they were quite like those of the Philippines and Sulawesi.In 1937 the author himself visited Lamma Island and found that the stepped adzes there lookalso like those of Taiwan and Fukien. The discovery of meithic artifacts in Hongkong wasthe first of its kind in south-eastern China but Finn appeared to have exaggerated the influencefrom the North while paying very little attention to the special local features. (2) In Hangchow, Chekiang----In 1936 a Neolithic site was discovered at Kutan near theWest Lake of Hangchow. Among the unearthed objects two stepped adzes were found but theywere simply called adzes in the report. In 1937 another Neolithic site was found in Liangtzuwhich is also in the vicinity of Hangchow. In that report a so-called stone 'chisel' is really astepped adze of the primary stage and the four pieces of stone 'yueh' are actually stepped adzesof the higher stage. 'Yueh' means big axe and also the name of an ancient tribe in south-easternChina. It had been suggested that the reason why this tribe was called 'Yueh' was because itinvented and used the stone 'yueh'. But the shape of these four pieces of stone implement isvery different from the 'yueh', a fact which seems to discredit the above--mentioned inference. (3) In Wuping, Fukien----In 1937 a Neolithic site was found by the author and his studentsin Wuping district of south-western Fukien. Three pieces of stepped adzes were found there.Later on an article entitled 'A Neolithic Site in Wuping, Fukien' was published by the authorin 'The Proceedings of the Third Congress of Far Eastern Prehistorians'. In that article hementions that 'Another stone adze with a projecting part on the back, in other words, a cham-ferred adze bears a close resemblence to that of Hongkong, Taiwan, Philippine Islands andPolynesian Islands. A variant form also occurred in Hangchow.' And then he makes the fol- lowing observation: '1. The prehistoric culture of south-eastern China was different from thatof North China, being connected with the southern neighbouring peninsulas and islands viz.Malaysia or even Polynesian Islands. 'and' 2. The people of Yueh might bear some relationshipto the present peoples in Malaysia; though to which specific stock cannot easily be determined, atpresent'. (4) Hoifung, Kwangtung----In 1938 R. Magnioni published his work entitled 'Archaeo-logical Finds in Hoifung' in which he pointed out that stepped adzes were also found there buta new term 'the unguiform adze' was used. The four places listed above are the prehistoricsites where stepped adzes were found before the Sino-Japanese War. From 1938 to 1949 no suchfinds had been reported; but since 1950 numerous discoveries of stepped adzes have been made inthe south-eastern provinces. They are listed briefly as follows: (5) In Changting, Fukien----From one month's investigation in 1955 the author found thatthe hills around the town Hot'ien of Changting district in south-western Fukien was a large siteof Neolithic Age. Altogether 1310 pieces of stone implements were found there and among them83 are stepped adzes. The large quantity of stepped adzes found in Changting seems to indicatethat it might be just as abundant in other part of south-eastern China as in Changting. And ifso, the stepped adze may well be one of the characteristics of the Neolithic culture in south-east-ern China. (6) In other districts of Fukien----In Kwangtse district a large number of stepped adzeswas found in 1954--1955. Besides, a few pieces have been obtained from each of the followingdistricts: Minho, Put'ien, Sienyn. Yungchun, Nan-an, Hwei-an, Changpu, etc. In fact it is pos-sible to find stepped adzes from almost every known Neolithic site in Fukien and this same con-dition may be expected to exist in the neighbouring provinces. (7) In Kwangtung province----In the Han River valley of north-eastern Kwangtung pro-vince, especially Ch'aoyang district, the costal region of Hoifung district and the southern part ofPao-an district etc., there have been reports on the discovery of stepped adzes. (8) In Kiangsi province----A big number of stepped adzes nearly as numerous as theChangting find has been found in the district of Chingkiang. The other districts of this provincemay also yield large quantity of this object in the future. (9) In Chekiang province----Besides the discoveries made before the Sino-Japanese War,there have been many new finds in Chekiang, especially in the northern part of the province.Inthe southern part, it has been reported in the district of Wenchou. The number of finds in Che-kiang is less than in the southern provinces, but most of the shapes of the stepped adzes of Che-kiang belong to the higher stage as compared with those of Fukien and Kwangtung. (10) In Kiangsu province----In the districts of Sin-yi, Wusi and Tantu it was reported thata few pieces of stepped adzes were found. The author himself saw some pieces of stepped adzesia the collection of the Nanking Museum, The number of stepped adzes found in Kiangsu is less than in Chekiang, but the shapes are nearly the same as those found in Chekiang. (11) In Anhwei province----In Su district one piece of stepped adze of the higher stagewas found in 1937 but it was simply called 'adze' in the report. (12) In North China----In Laufer's book on Chinese jade there is a picture of four 'stonehammers' from Shantung province among which one is in fact a stepped adze. Another amongthe stone implements from Yangshao in Honan province looks like a stepped adze too. The sites and number of stepped adzes listed above are certainly less than the actual ones,but it is already suffici?nt to indicate that many more new finds would be made in the future.The author further suggests, that, in regard to the possible distribution of stepped adzes finds invarious provines the largest number of finds will be found in such south-eastern provinces asKwangtung, Fukien, Kiangsi and Chekiang and that, the further north one goes the lesser willbe the number of finds.Ⅳ. The Cradle and Diffusing Areas of Stepped Adzes (1) How is one to explain the fact that the stepped adze appeared in so many places betweenwhich there are not only very far distances but also large expanse of seas or ocean? Was thestepped adze invented independently in various places, or did it originate in one place and was laterdiffused to other places? The author is in favor of the second interpretation as supported by thefollowing reasons: 1. The stepped adze is not a simple object but a rather complicated one. An ordinary stone axe or adze might be invented independently in many different places, but a stepped adze was not likely to have appeared in a parallel condition. 2. The stepped adzes found in various places bear a striking resemblence among them- selves. The continental ones look like the Philippines', the Philippines' tike the Polynesians'. but even the Polynesians' look like the continental ones. 3. The. places where the stepped adze is found constitute a definite sphere on the face of the globe stretching from the south-eastern region of China to the islanls of the South China Sea and Polynesia. Outside of this sphere no such type has ever appeared. It is, there- fore. net unreasenable to regard it as having originated in one place but later being diffused to the neighboring places. 4. The seas and oceans are not an absolute obstacle to the diffusion of stone age culture. The author observes, however, that the shape of the stepped adzes found in various placeswas often localized to some extent. (2) Where was the cradle of the stepped adze? Relying on his own studies and the workof other scholars, the author is of the opinion that the stepped adze was first originated on theChinese continent but was later diffused to the South China Sea and even Polynesian islands. His reasoning is as follows: 1. Based on choronology. The Neolithic Age came to an end on the Chinese continentmuch earlier than on the islands. Hence, a stone implement could not very well have startedfrom the prehistoric South China Sea islands and later became adopted by the people of thecontinent in historic time. 2. Based on geography. It was usually not the island but, rather, the continent whichwas the cradle of human culture. 3. Based on the tendency of ethnical migration. Asia was the cradle of human beings andthe ancestors of the South China Sea islanders must have come the Asian continent too. 4. Based on the stages of the stepped adzes: Most of the stepped adzes of the continentbelong to the primary stage while that of the islanders belong to the higher stage. (3) From which part of the Chinese continent did the stepped adze originate? The authorthinks that it originated in the south-eastern region of China, viz. Kwangtung, Fukien, Kiangsi andChekiang provinces. His reasons are as follows: 1. Based on the sites and the number of stepped adzes unearthed. Up to the presentstepped adzes have been found chiefly in Kwangtung, Fukien and Kiangsi, less frequently inChekiang, only occasionally in Kiangsu, and very rarely in north-eastern and south-westernChina. This fact is a strong indication that the stepped adze might have originated in thesouth-eastern region of China. 2. Based on the ethnic distribution. The peoples of the Philippines and Sulawesi areMalayans and one of the composite elements of the Polynesians is also Malayans. On theChinese continent the ancient tribe inhibiting the south-eastern region was the Yueh tribewhich, as suggested by the author's study in a previous article, might have ethnic connectionwith the Malayans. Just as in North China in the Neolithic Age there was the Yangshaoculture with its painted pottery and thick stone axe, so in Neolithic south-eastern China wefound the Yueh tribe with its pottery of printed geometric design, the shoudered axe andthe stepped adze. This is clearly a case of parallel phenomenon in both ethnical and cultural.aspects. Unless the stepped adze was originally the product of Yueh people, the particulararea of distribution of the stepped adze is not easy to explain. 3. Based on the stages of the stepped adze. On the Chinese continent there are alsolocal differences in the shapes of the stepped adzes. Those found in Kwangtung, Fukienand Kiangsi belong chiefly to the primary or middle stages while those of Chekiang, Kiangsuand Anhwei are more developed and belong to the higher stage. This may be taken as agood indication that the original one was the product of the south-eastern region of China. (4) Hew did the stepped adze migrate to the South China Sea islands? From the south-eastern region of China the stepped adze migrated both nothward and southward. To the northit reached Kiangsu, Anhwei Honan, Shantung. etc. To the south-east, the islands of the South China Sea and Polynesia. Its southward route might be the following: 1. To Taiwan: The aborigines of Taiwan are generally regarded as a branch of Ma- layans who migrated northward from the Philippines, but. as suggested by the author in an earlier article, they had several composite elements one of which might have come from the continent in the Neolithic Age. Not only the stepped adze but also many other Neolithic objects of the continent such as the pottery with printed geometric design, the variant form of painted pottery and the black pottery, as well as the shouldered axe were found in Taiwan. This reveals that some of the Yueh people in the south-eastern region of the Chinese continent might have reached Taiwan as a result of some natural accidents when they were in their dugouts on the sea during the Neolithic Age. 2. To Philippines: H. O. Beyer once pointed out that the stepped adze of the primary stage of Philippines might have come from south China. The author endorses this view and suggests further that the way to Philippines might be chiefly through Taiwan. 3. To Sulawesi and northern Boneo: The stepped adze of these two places were clearly derived from the Philippines. 4. To Polynesia: It is also obvious that the Polynesian stepped adzes might be diffused from the Philippines but the time was probably much later.Ⅴ. The Invention, Development and Remnants of the Stepped Adzes (1) The Invention----On the basis of his study of half-completed specimens from knownsites. the author has developed a theory regarding the invention of the stepped adze. Accordingto him, the stepped adze was first created without the wooden handle and it was only at a laterstage that a handle was added to it. The stepped adze was derived from some ordinary adzewhich was made from a small pebble and one face of the adze still kept the original round shapWhen this adze was polished, naturally on this face there would appear two slopes, transformingit into a stepped adze of the primary stage. Later on the prehistoric man discovered that thisimplement would become much handier if a handle was attached to it. Thus, the opposite ofthe cutting edge turned into a tang to which the handle was bound. To prevent the cord whichwas used for binding from slipping away, the ridge between the two slopes would be made higheror the tang part made deeper and finally two real steps appeared on the back Moreover, tofacilitate binding on the handle, the shape of the stepped adze also became progressively longerand narrower. (2) The Stages of Development----Based on the specimens of various places, the steppedadze may be classified into three groups which at the same time reveal three stages of develop-nents: 1. The Primary Stage On the back of the stepped adze of this stage there is a cross ridge which divides the back into two parts. This type was still used like the ordinary adze without a handle. It often appeared in the south-eastern region of China, 2. The Mature or Middle Stage The tang part is specially worked over to make it easier to acid a handle by striking and trimming it deeper or making a chamfer at the point between the parts. The shape is also more slender. Such form appears on both the continent and the islands. The tanged adze of Polynesian islands belong to this stage. 3. The Higher Stage When the stone sawing method was adopted the tang part would ,be sawed much deeper and the margins and corners looked very clear and delicate. Philippines produced many such specimens but this type was not unknown on the Chinese continent. In both Chekiang and Kiangsu most of the stepped adzes are of this type. Though the stepped adzes are divided into three stages it does not mean that they necessarilyexist in three seperate periods. During the earlier period, there was, of course, no specimens of thelater stages, but in the later period the specimens of earlier stages might be preserved and perhapsstill used together with the new types. (3) The Usages of the Stepped Adze----In Polynesia it was a useful implement employed inhollowing out a dugout and manufacturing wooden utensils.It might have been used for thesame purposes in other places. The ancient Yueh people of south-eastern China were noted fortheir skill in boat building and seagoing and it was possible that the stepped adze might have beenused by them chiefly in making the dugouts. In addition to this, trees could also be cut down bythe stepped adze and their trunk made into many useful domestic objects with the same method. (4) The Remmants of the Stone Stepped Adze----When the Stone Age passed the basicconcept of the structure of the stepped adze was preserved and adopted in the making of metalimplements. In ancient China there was a bronze tool with the name 'chin' which was often men-tioned alongside 'fu', the axe. The shape of 'chin' might resemble the adze except that the formerhas only a socket but no steps. Hence it may be regarded as a bronze adze and the halted 'chin'might have the same function as the stepped adze. In the Iron Age there has been a carpenter'stool with the name 'digging axe' or so which looks just like a bronze 'chin' and may beregard as another remant of the stone stepped adze.