Yangshao Culture

Yangshao culture was born in the Neolithic Age. In 1921, archaeologists unearthed a number of chipped stone implements such as knives and axes; bone objects and everyday ceramic items. Thus Yangshao Village and its matriarchal society

Prehistoric damaging earthquake promoted the decline of"Heluo Ancient State"in Early China

The emergence of the"Ancient State"is considered an important stage in the discourse on human civilizations.Based on its complex and hierarchical social structure,the Shuanghuaishu site of Henan Province is regarded as an"Ancient state",specifically the"Heluo Ancient State".The site is situated in the middle reaches of the Yellow River region and played a key role in prehistoric China.However,the reasons behind its decline are unclear.Here,we conducted an integrated investigation of the archaeological excavations and archaeoseismic analyses at the Shuanghuaishu site.We identified paleoseismic remains within paleo-artificial moats,which were formed owing to off-fault structures of soil liquefaction,hillslope landslides,and related ground fractures,along with shake-related wall disruption and building collapse in the residential zone.Charcoal dating was conducted to constrain the age for this earthquake event,which was determined to be approximately 5.0 cal kyr BP.Furthermore,based on the practical curve for earthquake-induced liquefaction,the preliminary estimate of the magnitude of this paleo seismic event is greater than M_(s)5.9-6.0.We propose that the Shuanghuaishu site experienced a recession after the earthquake event,which may have influenced the continuous development of the"Heluo Ancient State"as a regional center settlement.

Reconstruction of cultivated land during mJid- Holocene in the middle and lower reaches of Yellow River and human impact on vegetations

Yangshao culture is the most important mid-Holocene Neolithic culture in the Yellow River catchment, and thus, a study on the impact of human activities on the environment is important. In the current study, the distribution pattern of the cultivated land in late Yangshao culture is reconstructed using GIS tool and site domain analysis （SDA）. The results show that the cultivated land during 5.5-5.0 ka BP was mainly distributed in the Weihe River valley, Luohe River valley, northwestern Henan Plain, Fenhe River valley and eastern Gansu region, especially concentrated in the Xi＇an-Baoji line of the Weihe River valley. At that time, at least 37,000 km2 of lands were reclaimed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, and 132,000 km2 of lands were affected by agricultural activities. Human activities had become the driving force of land use/land coverage. Charcoal records indicate that the ancestors of Yangshao culture burnt forests for reclamation, leading to the decrease of arbor pollen at 5 ka BP in core areas of the Yangshao culture. The areas that were significantly affected by human activities accounted for 3.2% of the Yangshao culture influenced area, while the moderately affected areas accounted for 20.1% of Yangshao culture influenced area. Meanwhile, 92% of the land areas on the edge and outside of the Yangshao culture influenced area were not affected by human activities. The arbor pollen in these areas did not decrease until 4.0 ka BP.

Spatial pattern and temporal trend of prehistoric human sites and its driving factors in Henan Province, Central China

The Yangshao Culture （approx. 6.9-5.5 ka BP） and the Longshan Culture （approx. 4.6-4.0 ka BP） played important roles in Henan＇s Neolithic Period. Due to spatial distribution of the Yangshao cultural sites, they had a river-oriented trend in comparison with those in the Longshan Period. Apart from terrain factors, distribution of the sites in both periods is subject to paleo-environmental changes. The Yangshao Culture originated in Holocene Optimum Period, and the Longshan Culture started in climatic fluctuations prior to Neolithic ending. But the latter owned more sites and wider scopes than the former did. Both the Cultures devel- oped fast in rich rainfall and warm periods, and withered for abrupt cooling events in 5.4 ka BP and 4.0 ka BP respectively. Therefore, the sustainability of Henan＇s Neolithic Cultures is not good as expected. Whilst, the ancient farming acted an irreplaceable part in distribution of human sites, and the need for farming space prompted human sites to expand from the western hilly areas towards the eastern plain of Henan. Moreover, the neighboring cultures poured into Henan and complicated the cultural patterns. Besides, characteristics of the sites in the Erlitou Period suggest that some social factors disturbed the spatial pattern at the end of Neolithic age in Henan.