Where did Yangshao culture originate?

Figure 1: Painted pottery fish-faced basin (Banpo type of Yangshao culture); Fig. 2. Painted pottery urn (mid-mountain type)

The excavation of Yangshao cultural site, a series of "civilized" historical sites such as city sites, characters and bronzes 5,-6, years ago have been constantly revealed, which has posed new challenges to the traditional "Central Plains three-generation theory". Archaeology in China has once again become a focus of the world's humanities. A series of "civilized" historical sites, such as city sites, characters, bronzes and ritual buildings, which were 5,-6, years ago, have been constantly revealed on the Chinese land, posing a new challenge to the "three generations of central plains" in the traditional concept of civilization, and also making the study on the origin of China civilization the most controversial topic in China archaeology at the end of the century.

(1) The middle and late Yangshao period was the first appearance of the "city" and the embryonic period of China civilization

During 6-48 years ago, it was equivalent to the middle and late Yangshao culture compiled by the Central Plains, and it was the initial stage of the emergence of the "city". The city first appeared in Chengtou Mountain in Lixian County in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and then extended to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, but only three were seen: Chengtou Mountain, Xishan Mountain and Xikangliu. The early city era has existed with many complicated factors that simple society does not have, but it is still far from civilized society.

1. The emergence of private ownership, class differentiation and the formation of privilege levels in the middle and late Yangshao era are the embodiment of the "crisis" of primitive social organizational structure, showing the fundamental characteristics of social progress and the budding of civilization.

The emerging city is the expression of the development and evolution of primitive society in the form of settlement. From the external form and function, rammed earth city circle is the improvement of large-scale settlement construction technology characterized by ring trenches in the early and middle Neolithic period, but these mostly round early cities obviously retain the strong form remnants of ring trenches settlements. In dealing with more and more frequent external wars and internal conflicts, the defense function of settlements has been strengthened unprecedentedly with the transformation from moat defense to city defense.