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The Yangshao culture (p=Yǎngsháo wénhuà) was a Neolithic culture that existed extensively along the middle reaches of the Yellow River in China from around 5000 BC to 3000 BC. The Yangshao culture saw social and technological development in the region, with advancements in agriculture, architecture, and crafts.
The culture is named after the Yangshao site, the first excavated site of this culture, which was discovered in 1921 in the town of Yangshao in western Henan by the Swedish geologist Johan Gunnar Andersson (1874–1960). The culture flourished mainly in Henan, as well as the neighboring provinces of Shaanxi and Shanxi.
Recent research indicates a common origin and spread of the Sino-Tibetan languages with the Cishan culture, Yangshao and/or .
Later, Chinese archeologists, such as Yin Da, Shi Zhangru and Guo Baojun argued that the Yangshao culture was developed by the indigenous population from the Yellow River and transitioned to other cultures. Liang Siyong discovered a three-layer stratigraphy at the Hougang site, confirming the transaction from the Yangshao culture to the Longshan culture and Shang culture cultures. It is now understood that the Yangshao culture had a big impact in the pottery culture Central Plains region, being transmitted from east to west. Some examples are the Shandong Longshan culture, considered to be it's eastern branch, and the Majiayao culture, considered to be it's western branch.
During the Yangshao period, advancements in farming techniques and crop cultivation led to improvements in agricultural productivity. Dryland agriculture was of importance to the Yangshao culture starting in the middle Yangshao culture period. The introduction of mixed farming across more sites played a crucial role in shifting subsistence practices away from gathering. As a result, agriculture became the dominant means of sustenance, ultimately laying the foundation for the development of an agricultural society in the Central Plain.
Archaeological research indicates that beer brewing and communal feasting were integral aspects of Yangshao culture. Evidence suggests that Yangshao people produced beer primarily using common millet and rice, while foxtail millet was notably absent from the brewing process. These brewing practices, along with associated social gatherings, indicate that rice may have been a valuable resource to larger Yangshao settlements.
The Yangshao people kept and . Sheep, , and cattle are found much more rarely. Reared domestic pigs were the main source of meat for the Yangshao people, while a small amount of hunted animals were also included in their diet. They may also have practiced an early form of sericulture.
[[File:Distant dialogue exhibition of Dadiwan site, 2017-03-04 05.jpg|thumb|upright|Human head-shaped mouth colored pottery bottle. Dated 4000-3500 BCE, Yangshao culture. Excavated in Dadiwan, Gansu.]] The Yangshao people gradually introduced rice into young children's diets alongside foxtail millet and broomcorn millet. This practice was used for both weaning and post-weaning transitional foods, leading to variations in early childhood nutrition and distinct feeding practices among the Yangshao.
During the Yangshao period, the development of stone axe types flourished in the Guanzhong Plain. By the late Yangshao period, stone axes began to show specialized functions, with some used for woodworking and others for chopping. Differences in raw materials suggest these tools were produced and used by different groups.Ma, Chiying. “A Typology of Polished Stone Axes in the Middle Yellow River and Their Impact on Early Complex Societies.” Archaeological Research in Asia 38 (2024): 100519-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2024.100519.
Shihushan stone Knife, produced during the Yangshao period, are rectangular and simply made, often with side notches. Usually crafted from fine sandstone, these tools were likely used to process soft materials like plants, and sometimes for cutting grains.LIU, LI, XINGCAN CHEN, and PING JI. “Understanding Household Subsistence Activities in Neolithic Inner Mongolia, China: Functional Analyses of Stone Tools.” Journal of Anthropological Research 72, no. 2 (2016): 226–47. https://doi.org/10.1086/686298.
Pottery production during the Yangshao period saw development at an increased pace, leading to the creation of unique ceramic forms. One example is the jiandiping amphora, recognized by its narrow opening, cone-shaped base, and varied rim styles. The amphorae may have been used to ferment grain to create alcoholic beverages, although research also suggests that amphorae were rather used to filter impurities in alcoholic beverages.Song, Linlin, and Marcella Festa. “A New Perspective on Vessels Usage in the Yangshao Culture: Were Amphorae Brine Purification Devices?” Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 16, no. 11 (2024): 176-. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-024-02086-2. The pottery patterns changed with time. In the beginning of the Yangshao culture, there was a preference for fish patterns, but it later changed to more abstract, streamlined, and geometric patterns in the middle period and monochromic fashion in the late period.
The Yangshao culture produced silk to a small degree and wove hemp. Men wore Loincloth and tied their hair in a top knot. Women wrapped a length of cloth around themselves and tied their hair in a bun.
Middle Yangshao settlements such as Jiangzhi contain raised-floor buildings that may have been used for the storage of surplus grains. Grinding stones for making flour were also found.
In the late Yangshao period, architecture underwent significant changes. Square ground-level houses became the most common form, and longhouses with multiple rooms began to appear. Some homes featured floors covered with a layer of lime. Organizational features first seen in the middle Yangshao period persisted, including large settlements associated with public buildings resembling palaces. This period also saw the emergence of the first walled-town site in the Yellow River valley.
Excavations at various Yangshao sites have uncovered large structures that appear to have served as public ritual spaces rather than homes for elites. It was not until the late Longshan culture that substantial palace-like residences for elites were built at locations such as Guchengzhai and Taosi, indicating the early stages of residential separation between social classes.
Residential homes were typically built by digging a rounded rectangular pit-house around one meter deep. Then they were Rammed earth, and a lattice of wattle was woven over it. Then it was plastered with mud. The floor was also rammed down.
Next, a few short wattle poles would be placed around the top of the pit, and more wattle would be woven to it. It was plastered with mud, and a framework of poles would be placed to make a cone shape for the roof. Poles would be added to support the roof. It was then thatched with millet stalks. There was little furniture; a shallow fireplace in the middle with a stool, a bench along the wall, and a bed of cloth. Food and items were placed or hung against the walls. A pen would be built outside for animals.
Yangshao villages typically covered ten to fourteen acres and were composed of houses around a central square.
Although early reports suggested a matriarchal culture, others argue that it was a society in transition from matriarchy to patriarchy, while still others believe it to have been patriarchal. The debate hinges on differing interpretations of burial practices. Another interpretation is that the Yangshao culture had a parallel with a segmentary lineage system. New archeological sites, specially in the Xipo site, revealed very large houses and tombs with rich furnishes. This suggest the late Yangshao culture was an early form of chiefdom.
A Marxist analysis of the Yangshao site suggests that the inhabitants practiced punaluan marriage.
In the Yangshao culture, it was a common mortuary practice to place deceased children in funerary urns and bury them near the foundations of houses. All the children buried were girls.
The discovery of a Chinese dragon statue dating back to the fifth millennium BC in the Yangshao culture makes it the world's oldest known dragon depiction,.Howard Giskin and Bettye S. Walsh (2025). 9780791450475, State University of New York Press. ISBN 9780791450475
A few Yangshao pottery heads, including one found in Liujiahe in Ankang, southern Shaanxi, "clearly show Caucasian characteristics", with "a long and large nose, deep eyes and narrow face". These archaeological finds suggest that during the prehistorical period different ethnic groups from west and east may have interacted in the region of the Wei River valley.
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