论新石器时代珠江三角洲区域文化

ON THE NEOLITHIC OF THE ZHUJIANG RIVER DELTA

近些年来,在考古学界的共同努力下,广东省的新石器时代田野考古和考古研究工作与全国其它省份一样取得了一批可喜成果。并为今后进一步深入开展工作奠定了坚实基础。迄今为止,在全省的粤北、粤东、粤西、粤南、港澳、珠江三角洲这六大地区之中,就发现的新石器时代遗址之数量及其规模、文化内涵丰富而论,以珠江三角洲为最,同时也是田野考古和考古研究工作开展得最多的一个地区,因此其考古文化面貌较其它地区稍觉清晰。

Among archaeologists have long been diverse views on the periodization of the Neolithic in the Zhujiang River Delta. So far, its early stage is still unknown, and, according to the archaeological data available, it is appropriate to divide the Neolithic remains discovered in this region into the middle and late periods. The stone tools, especially the shouldered ones, exhibit rather strong formal difference between the artifacts of the middle period and those of the late stage, which, in addition, saw the appearance of stepped implements. Bone and shell objects are rare in the middle stage and increase distinctly in the late period. The change of pottery is represented, for shape, mainly in rim and bottom and, for decoration, in the appearance of some new motifs, partiqualarty stamped geographical patterns and incised symbols. The burials are discovered mostly in shell mounds and rarely in dunes and on hill sites. The great majority of them have neither tomb pits nor funeral objects. In tomb shape, burial manner and mortuary custom, no grounds have been detected to distinguish the tombs of the middle and late periods, this should be done upon tomb goods when unearthed and finds from stratified contents. Although the 'Xijiaoshan culture' was suggested long ago as the name of an archaeological culture, actually, the Xijiaoshan site is only a stone tool workshop functionating for a long time and thus can't be held to be the base to denominate the Neolithic culture of the Zhujiang River Delta. It can be pointed out that there existed two sharply different late Neolithic cultural complexes in the Guangdong region: one is the 'aboriginal culture' represented by the remains in the Zhujiang River Delta; the other, the 'external culture' represen ed by the Shixia culture.