The Neolithic of the Middle Dadu River Valley in Southwest China: Recent Discoveries and New Insights

Summary

In recent years, a large number of Neolithic remains have been found in the middle reaches of the Dadu River in Southwest China, most importantly in the valleys of Hanyuan and Shimian. Excavations conducted at the settlement cluster around Maiping site have led to the discovery of numerous features and object finds displaying strong local characteristics. This paper introduces these finds, highlighting their importance for understanding of local prehistoric developments. The middle Dadu River region forms an independent geographic unit whose early archaeological remains display strong local characteristics, combining a large number of microliths with local-style Neolithic ceramics including jars with decorated lips carrying shallow saw-tooth indentations, appliqué points, and fine corded-ware impressions on the vessel bottom. Considering the strong local characteristics of the assemblages and the dense distribution of similar finds within the region, this facies can be ascribed to the same "Maiping Culture." Based on these recent discoveries of a large number of sites, features, and objects combined with a scientific analysis of the archaeological material, this paper sketches the local cultural development during the middle and late Neolithic.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Recent Developments in East and Southeast Asian Archaeology II: Sites, Landscape, and Environment

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15052