Bowl with 'human-faced fish' motif, pot with spiral pattern, jar depicting relief carved female figure- These are all painted pottery wares from the Neolithic Age along the upper and central reaches of the Yellow River in China, and mirror the life of Chinese people thousands of years ago.Not only is the range of designs quite dazzling, but the wealth of shapes that were part of the painted pottery wares indicates their various functions.
Neolithic painted pottery is associated with a number of archaeological cultures from China's north-west, specifically those along the upper and central reaches of the Yellow River, including Yangshao culture and Majiayao culture. Yangshao culture (about 5,000–3,000 BC) takes its name from Yangshao Village in Minchi County, Henan Province, where the site was excavated and identified in 1921 by Johan Gunar Andersson. Majiayao culture (about 3,300-2,050 BC), which came shortly after Yangshao culture, takes its name from Majiayao village in Linzhao County, Gansu Province.
Painted pottery in Yangshao culture
Yangshao culture is distinctive and recognizable with two types of painted pottery, namely, Banpo and Miaodigou.
Banpo is an archaeological site located near Xi'an, Shaanxi Province and contains the remains of a Neolithic village dating back to 6,000 years ago. The classic Banpo painted pottery is a bowl with the ‘human-faced fish’ motif, and was unearthed in the 1950s. The basin, 16.5 cm in height with a diameter of 38.5 cm, is made of fine-mud red ceramics and has a design of a human face and fish body. It is uniformly red in color and decorated with black pigment.
In addition to fish, running deer and barking dogs were also among decorative patterns on Banpo painted pottery. These simple but descriptive designs demonstrate that ancient Chinese artists were good at depicting the movement of animals.
Miaodigou is an archaeological site located in Shan County, Henan Province, which dates back to 5,000 years ago. Different from Banpo pottery whose interior parts are painted, Miaodigou pottery is mostly painted on the outside.
Painted pottery in Majiayao culture
It’s widely believed that there are, in order of time, three types of painted pottery featuring Majiayao culture, namely Majiayao (3,300-2,900 BC), Banshan (2,900-2,350 BC), and Machang (2,350-2,050) types. Banshan and Machang types are named after the Banshan Village in Linxia, Gansu Province, and Machang Village in Minhe County, Qinghai Province.
In Majiayao painted pottery, there are many rippling and rotary designs drawn with smooth and balanced strokes to engender a quiet and gentle mood. These designs shed precious light on life in primitive Chinese society, with men fishing and hunting, and women doing housework and collecting vegetables and fruits.
In the Banshan and Machang painted pottery, which were a little later than the Majiayao, the designs changed. More saw-tooth, circling and frog-shaped strokes appeared, which look wild, bold and enigmatic.
More painted pottery wares have been discovered in recent years. For instance, in March 2005, it was announced that a 4,500-year-old pot with patterns of genitalia was discovered in Lintao, Gansu Province. Archaeologists identified it as belonging to the Banshan type of Majiayao culture and pointed out that this pot is the first Banshan type work to be found with patterns of both male and female genitalia.
By Dong Jirong