Dawenkou culture

Dawenkou culture

Geographical range	North China
Period	Neolithic China
Dates	c. 4300 – c. 2600 BC
Preceded by	Beixin culture
Followed by	Longshan culture
Chinese name
Chinese	大汶口文化
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dàwènkǒu wénhuà

The Dawenkou culture was a Chinese Neolithic culture primarily located in the eastern province of Shandong, but also appearing in Anhui, Henan and Jiangsu. The culture existed from 4300 to 2600 BC, and co-existed with the Yangshao culture. Turquoise, jade and ivory artefacts are commonly found at Dawenkou sites. The earliest examples of alligator drums appear at Dawenkou sites. Neolithic signs, perhaps related to subsequent scripts, such as those of the Shang dynasty, have been found on Dawenkou pottery.^[1] Additionally, the Dawenkou practiced dental ablation and cranial deformation, practices that disappeared in China by the Chinese Bronze Age.^[2]

Archaeologists commonly divide the culture into three phases: the early phase (4100–3500 BC), the middle phase (3500–3000 BC) and the late phase (3000–2600 BC). Based on the evidence from grave goods, the early phase was highly egalitarian. The phase is typified by the presence of individually designed, long-stemmed cups. Graves built with earthen ledges became increasingly common during the latter parts of the early phase. During the middle phase, grave goods began to emphasize quantity over diversity. During the late phase, wooden coffins began to appear in Dawenkou burials. The culture became increasingly stratified, as some graves contained no grave goods while others contained a large quantity of grave goods.

The type site at Dawenkou, located in Tai'an, Shandong, was excavated in 1959, 1974 and 1978. Only the middle layer at Dawenkou is associated with the Dawenkou culture, as the earliest layer corresponds to the Beixin culture and the latest layer corresponds to the early Shandong variant of the Longshan culture.

The term "chiefdom" seems to be appropriate in describe the political organization of the Dawenkou. A dominant kin group likely held sway over Dawenkou village sites, though power was most likely manifested through religious authority rather than coercion. Unlike the Beixin culture from which they descend, the people of the Dawenkou culture were noted for being engaged in violent conflict. Scholars suspect that they may have engaged in raids for land, crops, livestock and prestige goods.^[3]

-3000

SUMER

Proto-
Elamite

EBLA

Jeul-
mun

INDUS
VALLEY
CIVILIZATION

Corded Ware
Culture

Yamnaya
Culture

Kura-
Araxes

Afanasievo
culture

Botai
culture

Bolshemys
culture

Sarazm
culture

Ancient
Northeast Asians

Hongshan

Long-
shan

Dawen-
kou

Liang-
zhu

Majia-
yao

Qujia-
ling

EARLY
DYNASTIC
EGYPT

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The Dawenkou culture and other contemporary cultures c. 3000 BC

The warm and wet climate of the Dawenkou area was suitable for a variety of crops, though they primarily farmed millet at most sites. Their production of millet was quite successful and storage containers have been found that could have contained up to 2000 kg of millet, once decomposition is accounted for, have been found. For some of the southern Dawenkou sites, rice was a more important crop however, especially during the late Dawenkou period. Analysis done on human remains at Dawenkou sites in southern Shandong revealed that the diet of upper-class Dawenkou individuals consisted mainly of rice, while ordinary individuals ate primarily millet.

The Dawenkou people successfully domesticated chicken, dogs, pigs and cattle, but no evidence of horse domestication was found. Pig remains are by far most abundant, accounting for about 85% of the total, and are thought to be the most important domesticated animal. Pig remains were also found in Dawenkou burials also highlighting their importance. Seafood was also an important staple of the Dawenkou diet. Fish and various shellfish mounds have been found in the early periods indicating that they were important food sources. Although these piles became less frequent in the later stages, seafood remained an important part of the diet.^[4]

Dawenkou's inhabitants were one of the earliest practitioners of trepanation in prehistoric China. A skull of a Dawenkou man dating to 3000 BC was found with severe head injuries which appeared to have been remedied by this primitive surgery.^[5] Alligator hide drums have also been found in Dawenkou sites.

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  Jade necklace, dated between 3500 and 2600 BC
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  Red animal-shaped vessel
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  Ivory comb with openwork design
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  Ceramic bracelets or rings
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  Painted bowl, dated circa 3500 BC
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  Stone adze
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  Stemmed vessel (dou 豆) with painted star motif
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  Painted Pottery A Container (c. 3,800—3,300 BCE) Excavated at the Diaolongbei Site, Zaoyang, Hubei. Capital Museum, Beijing.

The Dawenkou interacted extensively with the Yangshao culture. "For two and a half millennia of its existence the Dawenkou was, however, in a dynamic interchange with the Yangshao Culture, in which process of interaction it sometimes had the lead role, notably in generating Longshan.^[1] Scholars have also noted similarities between the Dawenkou and the Liangzhu culture as well as the related cultures of the Yantze River basin.^[6] According to some scholars, the Dawenkou culture may have a link with a pre-Austronesian language.^[7][8][9] Other researchers also note a similarity between Dawenkou inhabitants and modern Austronesian peoples in cultural practices such as dental avulsion and architecture.^[10] However, the Dawenkou appeared to be genetically distinct from the pre-Austronesian cultures to their south.^[11][12]

The physical similarity of the Jiahu people to the later Dawenkou (2600 BC±4300 BC) indicates that the Dawenkou might have descended from the Jiahu, following a slow migration along the middle and lower reaches of the Huai and Hanshui.^[13] Other scholars have also speculated that the Dawenkou originate in nearby regions to the south.^[14] The Dawenkou descends from the Beixin, but is deeply influenced by the northward-expanding Longqiuzhuang culture located between the Yangtze and Huai.^[15]

The people of Dawenkou exhibited a primarily Sinodont dental pattern.^[16] They practiced body modification in the form of dental ablation and cranial deformation.

Many Dawenkou burials exhibited cranial deformation and dental ablation, but both forms of modification had disappeared from mainland China by the beginning of the Bronze Age. No sex differences in the frequency of Dawenkou dental ablation were de- tected (60–90 percent). The most commonly extracted teeth were the up- per incisors and canines, followed by the lower incisors. The majority of the teeth appear to have been knocked out between the ages of 13 and 15. The frequency of individuals with dental ablation among the Dawenkou drops to 50 percent over time.^[17]

The Dawenkou were also physically dissimilar to the Neolithic inhabitants of Hemudu, South China, and Taiwan.^[12] DNA testing revealed that the neolithic inhabitants of Shandong were closer to ancient Northern East Asians.^[11]

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  Painted bowl and beaker
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  Two white ceramic pitchers (guī 鬹)
• 
  Two painted red jars
• 
• 
• 
  Black stemmed goblets
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  Tripod pitcher
• 
  Symbol found on numerous Dawenkou pottery sherds, sometimes interpreted as a sun and cloud
• 
  Painted Pottery Pot Early Dawenkou Culture (c. 4,400—3,600 BCE) Excavated from Wangyin Site, Yanzhou, Shandong. Capital Museum, Beijing.

• List of Neolithic cultures of China
• Longshan culture
• Richard J. Pearson – this Canadian archaeologist has published extensively on Dawenkou burials and social status (see Selected Bibliography of Pearson).
• Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
• Yangshao culture

• Allan, Sarah (ed), The Formation of Chinese Civilization: An Archaeological Perspective, ISBN 0-300-09382-9
• Liu, Li. The Chinese Neolithic: Trajectories to Early States, ISBN 0-521-81184-8
• Underhill, Anne P. Craft Production and Social Change in Northern China, ISBN 0-306-46771-2