The Hemudu Prehistoric Culture
Look at this piece of pottery. There is a pig carved on it. Can you imagine that it has a history of about 7,000 years? This pottery comes from a very ancient and important civilization: the Hemudu prehistoric culture.
The Hemudu culture dates back about 7,000 years and was located around today’s Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, China. It belongs to the Neolithic culture of the Yangtze River region. The Hemudu people lived in a humid area with many rivers and lakes, and they had already begun growing rice. This makes the area one of the earliest rice-growing regions in the world.
Their houses were mostly “stilt-style buildings,” which means wooden houses raised above the ground. These houses helped protect people from moisture, floods, and wild animals. They also began to keep pigs as domestic animals under their houses.
Although no complete writing system has been found at the Hemudu site, some simple symbols were discovered. These symbols may have been an early form of writing. If you know Chinese characters, you may know the character “家,” meaning “home.” It is made up of a “roof” on the top and a “pig” underneath. This shows that Chinese people had already started raising pigs at home from a very early time.
In addition, the Hemudu people made beautiful pottery. Although they did not have metal tools yet, they used bone and stone tools for farming and daily work. This shows a fairly high level of craftsmanship in the late Neolithic period.
The Hemudu culture shows the lifestyle and wisdom of ancient Chinese people. It is also an important part of the diverse origins of Chinese civilization.
If you are interested in ancient Chinese culture, you can visit the Hemudu Site Museum in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province!
This is the introduction at the entrance of the China Gallery in the British Museum, and it mentions China’s 7,000 years of civilization.
But in 2021, Chinese archaeologists discovered the Mengxi River Prehistoric Culture in Sichuan, which dates back about 80,000 years! As more archaeological discoveries are made, history textbooks will probably continue to be updated.
