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The Siwa culture (, ca. 1350-650 BCE) was a Bronze Age culture in southeast Gansu Province, China. It was discovered by Swedish geologist Johan Gunnar Andersson in 1924 at Mount Siwa (寺洼山) in Lintao County, hence its name.These sites are also called Miaopingyagou yizhi 庙坪鸦沟遗址. It flourished circa 14th to 11th century BC, it is tentatively attributed to the cultures of the Northern Di, Qiang, and Xunyu peoples.Hu, Qianying 胡謙盈, "Lun Siwa wenhua" 論寺洼文化, Wenwu jikan 文物集刊 2 (1980), 123-4 of 118–24. Cited in Li, Feng (2006), Landscape And Power In Early China, Cambridge University Press. p. 187 Gānsù. ''Zǒujìn. 2007. Accessed 17 Dec 2013.
The archaeological culture is divided into two phases: the early phase associated with the sites at Lintao County, Zhuoni, Lintan, and Heshui; and, the final phase during the late Shang and proto-Zhou periods associated with the Jiuzhan, Xujianian, and Lanquiao sites. (2025). 9781108418614, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108418614 Siwa Oasis culture is known for producing a type of pottery that had saddle-shaped mouths.
The Siwa culture has often been associated with the tribes appearing in Chinese historical sources, such as the Rong (Xirong, Shanrong, Quanrong...) or the Qiang. These tribes, whose captives sometimes were sacrificed in Shang dynasty rituals, ultimately toppled the Western Zhou dynasty in 771 BCE. The Siwa people produced relatively abundant ceramics, reflecting a rather varied diet.
The neighboring Xindian culture was roughly contemporary with the Siwa culture and was influenced by it. Some scholars hold that Siwa culture descended from the Qijia culture.Anne P. Underhill, ed., A Companion to Chinese Archaeology. Wiley Blackwell Companions to Anthropology. John Wiley & Sons, 2013 There are also those who believe that the culture was a remnant of Xunyu, which is associated with the Xianyun people. However, questions are raised against this theory since Siwa sites are small with low subsistence levels. According to Feng Li, these could not have sustained an advanced society like the Xianyun. The debate remains open.
The Siwa culture was followed by the appearance of Eurasian steppe cultures, particularly Saka cultures such as the Ordos culture, which again interracted in various ways with the Zhongyuan.
One of Siwa culture's main characteristics is pottery with saddle-shaped openings (马鞍口陶罐), It is also distinguished by its bronze objects.
Since 2006, the Siwa site (寺洼遗址) is on the list of the People's Republic of China's archeological monuments.
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