From grinding stones and pottery in the Central Plains to rice fields, jade, and cities along the Yangtze: five Neolithic cultures reveal a diverse, connected past.
These are archaeological cultures defined through sites, artifacts, and patterns of life—not necessarily single peoples or states. Their dates can overlap, and communities interacted across regions.
早期新石器 Early Neolithic中期新石器 Middle Neolithic晚期新石器 Late Neolithic约公元前 7000 年 → 2000 年 c. 7000–2000 BCE
分布与遗址：主要分布于河南中部，裴李岗遗址（新郑）是命名遗址；贾湖遗址（舞阳）是重要相关遗址。 Region & sites: Centered in central Henan. The Peiligang site near Xinzheng is the type-site; Jiahu near Wuyang is another major site.
生活与特色：居民种植粟类等作物，也利用野生资源，饲养家畜，制作陶器和磨制石器。贾湖出土的骨笛显示当时已有精巧的音乐实践。 Life & legacy: People cultivated millets, used wild resources, raised animals, and made pottery and ground-stone tools. Jiahu’s bone flutes offer remarkable evidence of early music.
思考 / Think: 石磨盘、石磨棒能告诉我们早期农业怎样改变日常生活？ What do grinding stones tell us about the impact of farming on daily life?
分布与遗址：以河北武安磁山遗址为代表，位于太行山东麓。 Region & site: Best known from the Cishan site near Wu’an, Hebei, at the eastern foot of the Taihang Mountains.
生活与特色：农业逐渐成为重要生计；遗址发现窖穴、陶器、石制农具，以及大量炭化粟类遗存。人们也从事采集、捕鱼和饲养家畜。 Life & legacy: Farming was important. Storage pits, pottery, stone tools, and abundant charred millet remains have been found, alongside evidence for gathering, fishing, and animal keeping.
思考 / Think: 储粮设施说明了定居生活和食物规划的哪些变化？ What do storage pits suggest about settled life and food planning?
分布与遗址：分布广泛，尤其见于黄河中游的河南、陕西、山西等地。代表性遗址包括河南渑池仰韶村、陕西西安半坡。 Region & sites: Widespread across the middle Yellow River region, especially Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi. Key sites include Yangshao Village and Banpo.
生活与特色：以粟作农业、村落生活和丰富的彩陶著称。半坡等遗址显示出居住区、墓地与生产活动的空间安排。 Life & legacy: Known for millet farming, settled villages, and painted pottery. Sites such as Banpo reveal organized residential, burial, and working areas.
思考 / Think: 彩陶上的纹样能为我们提供哪些线索？哪些问题仍无法仅凭图案回答？ What can pottery designs tell us—and what can’t they tell us on their own?
分布与遗址：集中于长江下游、太湖流域，核心遗址位于浙江杭州良渚。良渚古城遗址于 2019 年列入 UNESCO 世界遗产名录。 Region & site: Centered in the lower Yangtze and Taihu Lake region. The Liangzhu ruins near Hangzhou, Zhejiang, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019.
生活与特色：以稻作农业为基础，拥有古城、外围水利系统和规划有序的墓地。精美玉器（包括琮、璧）体现了礼仪与社会等级。 Life & legacy: Rice agriculture supported a planned city, a large water-management system, and differentiated cemeteries. Elaborate jade objects, including cong and bi, point to ritual life and social ranking.
思考 / Think: 大型水利工程需要怎样的协作、知识和组织能力？ What cooperation, knowledge, and organization would large waterworks require?
分布与遗址：龙山文化包含多个区域类型，山东龙山镇城子崖遗址是命名遗址；山西襄汾陶寺等遗址也呈现晚期新石器社会的复杂面貌。 Region & sites: Longshan includes several regional traditions. Chengziya in Longshan Town, Shandong, is the type-site; Taosi in Shanxi is another important late Neolithic center.
生活与特色：黑陶（尤以薄胎蛋壳陶闻名）、快轮制陶、城墙和更明显的社会分化是常见讨论主题。不同地区的发展并不完全相同。 Life & legacy: Longshan is associated with fine black pottery—especially delicate “eggshell” ware—fast-wheel production, walled settlements, and more visible social differences. Regional patterns varied.
思考 / Think: 城墙、精细陶器和墓葬差异，分别能说明社会生活的哪些方面？ What aspects of society might walls, fine pottery, and varied burials illuminate?
There was no single, straight path from villages to cities. Communities across China developed different crops, crafts, beliefs, and forms of organization, while influencing one another. Archaeology helps us trace these changes—and new discoveries can revise what we think we know.
遗址点位为核心区域的大致示意，并非精确遗址坐标。中国轮廓图：Wikimedia Commons，公有领域。 Markers indicate broad cultural regions, not precise site coordinates. China outline: Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
时间轴 Timeline
各文化年代彼此交叠。拖动滑块，查看选定年代仍在延续的文化。 Periods overlap. Drag the slider to see which cultures were active at a selected date.
