Dadiwan culture

Dadiwan culture

File:Dadiwan map.svg
Geographical range	Gansu, Shaanxi
Period	Neolithic
Dates	5800–5400 BC
Type site	Dadiwan
Followed by	Yangshao culture
Chinese name
Chinese	大地灣文化
Transcriptions

The Dadiwan culture (5800–5400 BC) was a Neolithic culture located primarily in modern eastern area of Gansu and Shaanxi provinces of China. The culture takes its name from the earliest layer found at the type site at Dadiwan. The remains of millet, pigs and dogs were found in sites associated with the culture. The site has continued to produce information about the Dadiwan culture and recently C4 carbon fixation plant isotopes found in the diet of early (ca. 7900–4900 calBP) Dadiwan dogs have been identified by Barton el al. in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences The culture shared several similarities with the Cishan and Peiligang cultures.

The type site at Dadiwan was discovered at Qin'an County, Gansu and excavated from 1975 to 1984. Dadiwan was built on a mountain slope south of the Qingshui River near the Wei River. The oldest layer of the site is from the Dadiwan culture, the middle layer is from the Yangshao culture and the youngest layer is from the Longshan culture. The Yangshao culture was known to contain pigs, dogs, sheep, and goats so by 3000BC it was late Neolithic layered above the early Dadiwan.

The foundation of a large building, measuring 290 m² and 420 m² when including the outer courtyard, was discovered at Dadiwan. The building, known as F901, is described by Chinese archaeologists as a communal meeting hall. The building was built on an elevated rammed earth foundation, which was then layered with burnt clay.

See also

• Majiayao culture
• Qijia culture

References

• Allan, Sarah (ed), The Formation of Chinese Civilization: An Archaeological Perspective, ISBN 0-300-09382-9