Hongshan Neolithic Culture
红山文化
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shaguodun
In 1921 Andersson, who was commissioned by the Beijing government to survey mineral resources but spent much time on archaeological finds, discovered two caves in southwestern Liaoning containing multiple layers of ancient artifacts
thus starting the process of Hong- shan studies
Below: part of current cave surface, not much to see now but signs of very ancient life
Right: the caves being now a kind of tourist site, the local government has provided some signage and access, but interest in archaeology is generally low
Andersson's discovery remained isolated and little noticed, but in the 1930s a Japanese team (in China after Japan's conquest of Manchuria in 1931) found in the chifeng region major residential sites, and additional finds in other sites confirmed the existence of a particular cultural type, combining features of microlithic culture (hunting and fishing) with settled agriculture, and it was given the name of Hongshan (which means red hill, as does chifeng). Further work in the 60s and 70s were more impressive, including a pottery kiln at silingshan
but it was the discovery of a tomb at hutougou (Right) with jade objects that caused it to be realized the Hongshan culture may be associated with a type of jade objects that collectors and museums already possessed in significant numbers
Above: Jade items recovered at Hutougou, and the pottery tubs from tomb boundary
Further discoveries at chengzishan (Left site) and dongshanzui then led to Niuheliang
niuheliang
a tomb complex, round altar in middle
large unexcavated man-made mound at niuheliang with closer view below
an early excavated grave, establishing the Hongshan status of the pig dragon
the two-turtles man, probably a priest
a tomb with several unique jade objects
Reconstructed Goddess Temple. Below: map showing temple in a corner of an assembly ground around 500m square
Below: a map of the overall Niuheliang complex
Left: Map showing some
major Hongshan site
locations
1 chifeng
2 sanxing
3 Nasitai
4 Jianshanzi
5 Sijiazi
6 Wushijiazi
7 Xiahuofang
8 Shaguodun
9 Dongshanzui
10 Niuheliang
11 Hutougou
12 Panjin
13 Kangping
14 Duling
15 Xin-aili
Chart Above shows the time periods of some neolithic cultures in comparison to Hongshan (PPN means pre-pottery neolithic - a Eurocentric concept since in Japan pottery appeared already; PPN A and B periods differ in domestication of animals; Jumon/Chulman are Japanese/Korean neolithic cultures, Natufian is a middle east one; Houwa neighbours Hongshan)
Where did the Hongshan people, and the Chahai-Xinglongwa people before them, come from? suggesting that they came from Japan would not be popular with Chinese readers, but that is what I have to do. We have below a sketch of jade findings in the Jomon period before Hongshan, some around 10000 years old and they
(Left) are similar to or simpler than the jade objects found in Xinglongwa and other sites of NE China and eastern Siberia; since these are earlier and more primitive than Hongshan jade, the inevitable idea arising is that early Jomom people started fashioning the smooth and colourful pebbles they found in Hokkaido and other parts of Japan into personal ornaments and brought the techniques to China, with those that settled in the Hongshan area developing particularly superior skills in this art, in addition to obtaining the concept of dragon and other shamanistic ideas from tribes that came from the west, while those back in Japan made much less progross, as shown on the right with a set of jade objects close in time to Hongshan or later; in any case, Chinese readers might be mollified by the knowledge that after Jomon culture came the Yanoi culture, with rice cultivation and bronze, clearly from China.
Below: Early Jomon pottery, not obviously ancestral to Hongshan and Chahai-Xinglongwa the following diagram on gene tracing provides some support for my theory of the japan origin of hongshan: a branch of homo sapiens, after reaching malaya, split into three groups, one sailing to australia, one to japan then machuria but no further; but the other north going branch, unrelated to hongshan, is even more interesting: it reached eastern china, went west and eventually ended in near tibet: this is the Huaxia branch of Han chinese, which formed the backbone of chinese population, with the small remnant that ended in Yunnan, the Naxi tribe, even today showing its once advanced culture, the Dongba text; also interesting is the neighbouring branch that reached thailand/burma then continued on to indonesia and south pacific: the austronesian group practised circumcision which was also performed by the native population of madagasca, philippines and taiwan; its language showed some connection to the semites, who returned to africa as descendents of queen sheba, probably carrying the ark (not a ship but a war drum) and are the ancesters of the maasai
Hongshan Neolithic Culture
红山文化
web support: Asia Youth Media
we operate in Palo Alto and
Singapore
ph: 65-96623201
fax: 65-64652558
alt: 65-96539476
mail