The Shijiahe culture (2500–2000 BC) was a Late Neolithic culture centered on the middle Yangtze River region in Shijiazhuang Town, Tianmen, Hubei Province, China. Named after its type site, the Shijiahe site cluster, it succeeded the Qujialing culture and inherited its unique painted spindle whorls. The culture is characterized by large-scale fortified settlements, advanced agriculture, and specialized craftsmanship, including distinctive jade artifacts and pottery figurines.
Location, dating, discovery history, and environmental context
The Shijiahe site, located in the
Jianghan Plain of Hubei, was first identified in the 1950s, with initial excavations from 1955 to 1957. The culture spans approximately 2500–2000 BC. It thrived in the middle Yangtze region, bordered by the
Dabie Mountains to the west,
Dongting Lake to the north, the
Three Gorges to the east, and the
Nanyang Basin to the south. Most sites are located north of the Yangtze between modern
Yichang and
Wuhan, with some extending southwest to the southern bank, ideal for agriculture and trade via the Yangtze.
The region was dominated by wetlands, rivers, lakes, and marshes, with settlements built on raised ground to avoid flooding. Archaeological evidence from Dongting Lake reveals stilted structures from the Pengtoushan culture and Daxi culture, indicating a subtropical environment with deciduous and evergreen forests. Algae remains suggest periodic flooding, and the climate, initially warm and humid, became drier, transitioning to grasslands and scrub, coinciding with reduced human activity.
Subsistence
The Shijiahe culture cultivated
Oryza sativa (Asian rice),
Foxtail millet (foxtail millet), and
Proso millet (common millet), alongside vegetables,
Amaranthaceae, and plants now considered weeds. By the third millennium BC, irrigated rice paddies emerged, as seen at the Chengtoushan site with its reservoirs.
The primary mode of travel was likely watercraft, with constructed channels connecting urban cores to rivers.
Emergence of fortified settlements
The Shijiahe culture saw a significant population increase, with settlements quadrupling in number and increasing five- to sixfold in size by the middle phase, some reaching 800 ha compared to the Daxi culture's largest site, Chengtoushan (6–8 ha). Eight known sites were encircled by earthen walls or moats, which expanded until the middle phase before a sharp decline. At Chengtoushan, the moat was 40–50 m wide, requiring an estimated 200,000 to 470,000 laborers for construction. These fortifications likely served defensive purposes, reflecting early state formation and inter-city rivalries, as suggested by a warrior depiction with a
yue-type battle axe at Xiaojia Wuji. Some scholars speculate Shijiahe could be considered an ancient state due to its advanced socio-political structure, potentially surpassing the centralization of
Erlitou.
Shijiahe site
The Shijiahe complex, spanning 8 km² across terraces between two rivers, comprises about 40 dispersed sites, with a central settlement of nearly one square kilometer, the largest in Neolithic China. Originating as a small Daxi-era village, it grew into a fortified agglomeration, covering 120 ha with earthen walls and moats up to 100 m wide to manage flooding from the Han River and local streams. Houses included concave-shaped structures, enclosed courtyards, and interlinked buildings, typically housing 20–30 people per courtyard, suggesting clan-based units. Larger dwellings likely served elite or specialized functions, and cemeteries near courtyards with about 20 graves reinforce the clan-based social structure. The lower layer of the site belonged to the Qujialing culture, indicating continuity.
Craftsmanship, funerary practices, and symbolism
Specialized craft production was prominent, with Dengjiawan yielding over 10,000 clay figurines (5–10 cm) depicting birds, hens, dogs, sheep, turtles, pigs, elephants, tigers, and humans, some in dance poses or holding a fish, likely for religious purposes. Similar figurines were found in
Hunan and
Henan. Other sites produced thousands of red pottery cups and stone drills, indicating pottery and jade workshops. In the late phase (2200–2000 BC), jade became prominent in burials, with some tombs containing up to 56 pieces, including anthropomorphic figures, monstrous forms,
cong tubes, birds, dragons, cicadas, and phoenixes, resembling
Liangzhu culture artifacts. At Tanjialing, over 250 jade pieces were found in five tombs, showcasing advanced carving techniques surpassing those of Liangzhu and
Hongshan culture.
One male burial included 99 pottery jars. Early copper objects, the southernmost in Neolithic China, were also found at Dengjiawan.
Decline
By 2000 BC, fortifications were no longer maintained, and the population declined significantly, possibly due to warfare with the expanding
Longshan culture, flooding, or collapse of social order. A severe drought around 4200 cal BP eroded the economic foundation of rice cultivation.
Unlike the abrupt collapse of the Liangzhu culture, Shijiahe experienced a gradual decline.
Gallery
File:Neolithic Shijiahe Culture Jade Plaque.jpg|Jade plaque with face
File:Neolithic Shijiahe Culture Jade Bird.jpg|Jade bird
File:Shijiahe Culture Jade Pendant.jpg|Jade pendant
File:Shijiahe Neolithic Jade Artifacts.jpg
File:Cernuschi Neolithic jades.jpg
File:Characters from Shijiahe Culture, Hubei (10185323866).jpg|Markings of pottery
File:Shijiahe Culture Pottery Animals (10161384623).jpg|Pottery animals
File:Shijiahe Culture Pottery Animals (10161387663).jpg|Pottery animals
File:Shijiahe clay animals, bear and monkey.jpg|Clay figurines: bear and monkey
File:Shijiahe clay figurine of a hen. Shijiahe culture.jpg|Clay figurines: dog with fish(?) and hen
File:Shijiahe clay figurines of a pig and a turtle.jpg|Clay figurines: turtle and pig
File:Shijiahe clay figurines of elephants.jpg|Clay elephant figurines, H. 6.8 cm
File:Shijiahe clay figurines of men, one holding a fish.jpg|Clay human figurines, one holding a fish, H. 9.5 cm
See also
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Neolithic Chinese ceramics
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Neolithic China
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Geography of China
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Chinese art
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Prehistory of China
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Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
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Xia dynasty
Bibliography
Further reading
External links
