Introduction to Longshan Culture

The Longshan Culture (also known as Longshan) flourished in parts of northeastern China in the late Neolithic period in the third millennium B.C., and was an important link in the development of Chinese civilization from independent Neolithic communities to the first dynastic state. The culture is named after the Longshan site in Shandong Province, but is sometimes referred to as the Black Pottery Culture for the distinctive pottery it produced. The discovery of graves, fortifications, and solar observation platforms suggests a complex society with several different layers. By around 1700 BC, the culture had evolved with other regional cultures into the broader Bronze Age culture of China.

Development and Characterization

The Longshan culture developed from the Da Wenkou tradition in Shandong province around 3000 BCE, and would later replace the Yangshao culture, which was y entrenched in northern and central China. By the first half of the 2nd century BC, after centuries of depopulation for unknown reasons, the Longshan culture began to evolve into the Bronze Age culture that would eventually form the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC).

The Longshan culture was predominantly agricultural, taking full advantage of the fertile soil of the Yellow River basin.

During the 3rd millennium BC, there was an increase in social interaction between small regional units, culminating in settlements with a clear social or political hierarchy. These are not only associated with the Longshan culture, as recent discoveries further afield suggest that similar developments took place across China. There is then evidence of local interactions between these settlements, each of which still functioned as separate chiefdoms. The state apparatus connecting the villages existed for many more centuries. The Longshan culture was dominated by agriculture, especially millet cultivation, which took full advantage of the fertile soils of the Yellow River basin. Evidence of tool use includes the presence of shovels and sickles. One of the most important Longshan sites is Hougang,

Many Longshan sites are known for their dense earthen walls, a new archaeological feature that suggests the existence of a more complex social system than that of the Yangshao culture. One example at the Pingliang Terrace site has a wall that encloses a 34,000-square-meter space. The wall has two gates, one to the north and one to the south. The Chengziya site was the earliest to be built, with walls averaging 6 meters high. These walls and the discovery of arrowheads and spearheads at the Longshan site strongly suggest that the culture had to defend itself more vigorously than other contemporary cultures elsewhere in China. The necessary defense against outsiders may also have been a factor in fostering a strong sense of cultural identity and unity.

The presence of frequently raised mounds and outlying dwellings within the walls of the Longshan settlement suggests that only elite dwellings were protected. At the larger Taosi site, dating from 2600 to 2000 BCE, the walls enclosed some 2.8 million square meters. The Taosi includes caves and semi-subterranean dwellings, as well as walled cemeteries. Although all the tombs are located on the same surface, they indicate at least three distinct social levels.

Black Pottery

Black pottery from Longshan is known for its bright luster and lack of ornamentation. The discovery of this unique pottery in the 1930s AD helped archaeologists first realize that Longshan was a Neolithic culture distinct from the reddish-brown pottery of the Yangshao. Not all Longshan pottery is black; both gray and white examples exist. The fineness of the finished pieces and the extremely thin walls are evidence of the use of the potter's wheel and specialized pottery skills.

The Longshan potters seem to have focused on the form of the vessels, which are unusual and unlike anything seen elsewhere. However, some do have decoration in the form of simple carvings and embossed designs in the form of geometric patterns, and sometimes animal masks. The most common shapes are jugs with pouring spouts, tall-handled cups, cups with handles, slender beakers, and tripod bowls with hollow legs for heating liquids or for use as steamers. The vast majority of black pottery vessels were found in elite burials rather than in residential areas, suggesting that they were for elite use only, and then probably used for ceremonial purposes rather than everyday use.

Longsan Artifacts

The burials excavated at the Longsan site can be categorized into three groups based on the quantity and value of the grave goods. A small number (about 10%) measured about 3 x 2 meters and contained about 100 artifacts. The dead in these burials were placed in wooden coffins; sometimes there was more than one individual per burial. The middle group, which also contained a wooden coffin, had between 20 and 30 artifacts. The last and most numerous group were simply pits that did not place the dead in coffins or any of the objects buried with them.

In addition to the many examples of pottery mentioned above, artifacts from the Longshan tombs include cong (a cylindrical square with an interior of unknown use or significance), flat axe blades, and rectangular flat slabs - both with a single perforation; painted wooden vessels; and imported luxury goods in the form of ivory, crocodile-skin drums, and tortoise shells. Many Longshan burials had pig skeletons or only their skulls and mandibles. These animals may have been sacrificed as part of burials for rituals and to indicate wealth and/or social status (the richer the grave, the more pigs there were). There are also traces of perishable objects that are no longer present, but whose impressions have remained in the soil of the graves, especially the baskets.

Other finds such as bronze bells, bronze vessels and engraved metal fragments indicate that the Longshan people were accomplished metal workers. The presence of copper ore and slag suggests that these goods were made locally rather than imported. Bells were made from clay molds, an advanced technology of the time. Finally, the discovery of so-called oracle bones (actually animal scapulae burned) suggests the practice of scapulae - i.e., reading cracks in the bones caused by fire, which soothsayers would interpret in light of future events.

Solar Observatory

The Taosi site is particularly notable for its solar observatory, which was built in the mid-3rd century BC and is one of the oldest of its kind. Discovered in 2003 AD, the observatory consists of three circular platforms, one on top of the other, each with a rammed earth wall. The whole is surrounded by another earth wall about 50 meters in diameter. The top platform, 24.5 meters in diameter, had a wall consisting of 13 square columns. The space between these columns acted as a line of sight for solar observations from the centrally placed platform. Experiments have shown that the observatory was used especially during the summer and winter solstices and may have been used to create accurate solar and lunar calendars. This record keeping may also indicate the presence of early writing Longshan pottery sherds on which ordered markings partially support this idea.