Banpo
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This fountain greets visitors at the main courtyard at the edge of Banpo Village |
Banpo (半坡) is the site of a
Neolithic village located near
Xi'an,
China. Banpo is the most famous archaeological site associated with the
Yangshao culture. Archaeological sites with similarities to the first phase at Banpo are considered to be part of the
Banpo phase (
5000 BC to
4000 BC) of the Yangshao culture. Banpo was excavated from
1954 to
1957 and covers an area of around 50,000 square meters.
The settlement was surrounded by a
moat, with the graves and pottery
kilns located outside of the moat perimeter. Many of the houses were semisubterranean with the floor typically a meter below the ground surface. The houses were supported by timber poles and had steeply pitched thatched roofs.
According to the
Marxist paradigm of archaeology that was prevalent in the
People's Republic of China during the time of the excavation of the site, Banpo was considered to be a
matriarchal society; however, new research contradicts this claim, and the Marxist paradigm is gradually being phased out in modern Chinese archaeological research
[The Chinese Neolithic: Trajectories to Early States, pp.11].
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Artifacts such as this clay pot are on display in the museums at Banpo Village |
The site is now home to the
Xi'an Banpo Museum, which houses artifacts from the site. There are also several reconstructed houses designed to resemble the Neolithic settlement.
*
Yangshao culture
* Allan, Sarah (ed),
The Formation of Chinese Civilization: An Archaeological Perspective, ISBN 0300093829
*
Chang, Kwang-chih.
The Archaeology of Ancient China, ISBN 0300037848
* Liu, Li.
The Chinese Neolithic: Trajectories to Early States, ISBN 0521811848
