The excavation of pit H770 of the Miaodigou culture at Miaodigou, Sanmenxia

Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology......................04

Abstract：In 2002, the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology conducted a salvage excavation at the northern section of the Miaodigou site. A considerable quantity of relics came to light, including more than 800 pits, more than 20 kilns, around 10 residential relics and 3 trenches. They dated to the Midaodigou culture, the Xiwangcun culture and the Midaodigou II culture, featuring the Miaodigou culture. This report centers the H770 pit of the Miaodigou culture.

A preliminary report of the house F1 at the Taoyuan site, Linfen, Shanxi Province

Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology et al...........................................15

Abstract：Taoyuan site is located at the joint area between the southeastern Taoyuan village of the Linfen city and the northern Sitou village of Xiangfen. From July to December 2016, the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, together with other institutes, conducted an excavation there. A house F1 was unearthed at zone II, which should date to the middle phase of the Yangshao culture. Its discovery sheds light on the architecture, technique and function of constructions in southern Shanxi then.

A preliminary report of the Xiacun locality at the Suyang site, Yiyang, Henan Province

Luoyang Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology................23

Abstract：In October 2016, the Luoyang Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology conducted a survey of prehistoric sites in the Yi and Luo river valleys, during which the Suyang site at Yiyang was found. In our excavation, relics of the Yangshao culture, the Miaodigou II culture and the Wangwan III culture came to light. The Suyang settlement has contributed greatly to completing the archaeological sequence of the late Neolithic Age in Henan, which was important for the understanding of the social complexity process in the Central Plains.

On the archaeological discoveries of the Miaodigou phase of the Yangshao Culture in Henan

MA Xiaolin................................................................................................................39

Abstract：The Yangshao culture was crucial for the origin and development of the Huaxia civilization. During the Miaodigou phase, the Yangshao society developed from the egalitarian level to the complex level. Henan was one of the most important regions regarding the Yangshao culture, as revealed in its very dense settlements, remarkably typical cultural characteristics and a complete sequence. According to discoveries and research of more than 40 excavated sites of the Miaodigou phase in Henan, great developments were made in husbandry and production, while regional differences were in existence. The western Henan region, centering Sanmenxia, was the pioneer in the social-complexity process of the Yangshao society in Henan. The emergence and transformation of the Lingbao head settlement was the witness to the social change then.

A comparative study between Yangguanzhai and the Miaodigou culture in the Guanzhong area

WANG Weilin.................................................................................................................52

Abstract：The discovery of the Miaodigou-culture remains can be traced to the beginning of Chinese archaeology. They first came to light in the excavation of the Yangshao village by J. G. Andersson more than a century ago. The excavation by LI Ji at Xiyin, together with the archaeological work at Miaodigou, Quanhu and so on, contributed greatly to the understanding of the Miaodigou culture. It is evident that the Miaodigou culture was the most influential archaeological culture. The previous related archaeological interpretations were mainly based on painted pottery. The Yangguanzhai site has shed light on settlement and cemetery of the Miaodigou culture. With more archaeological work in the Guanzhong region, we will have a more profound understanding of the Miaodigou culture and the Guanzhong area in relation to Chinese civilization.

The archaeological discoveries and research of the Miaodigou culture in Shanxi

XUE Xinmin...............................................................................................................64

Abstract：The ancient natural landscape of southwestern Shanxi was characteristic of mountains, basins and lakes, which shaped the distribution of prehistoric settlements. The discovery and research of the Miaodigou culture in Shanxi could be divided into three stages, divided by 1949 and 1990 separately. An origin of the Miaodigou culture is the Zaoyuan culture in southern Shanxi and western Henan. The related tribes expanded along the Lvliang Mountains, and integrated with the Northern Zone cultures. When it came to the late Yangshao culture, the tribes in different regions splitted, which made the foundation for the alliance between the north and the south.

On the two fermentation techniques of ancient beer at the Dingcun site of the Yangshao culture

LIU Li et al........................................................................................................75

molds) shows great potential to identify different types of microfossils related to the fermentation process which are preserved in pottery residues. We examined nine Neolithic jiandiping amphorae from a middle Yangshao culture site at Dingcun in Mianchi, Henan (ca. 6000-5100 cal. BP), and revealed the evidence of ancient beer as well as brewing techniques. The Yangshao people there used amphorae to make cereal-based fermented beverages with millet, rice, Job’s tears, wild Triticeae grass seeds and snake gourd roots. They employed two fermentation techniques, using qu starter and using malts. The qu starter may have been made of several molds, including Monascus, Aspergillus and Mucor, while using rice as ingredient. Making fermented beverages with Monascus mold and rice may have originated in the Lower Yangzi River region, and reached the Yellow River region together with rice domestication in the Neolithic period. Dingcun is only 10 km away from the famous Yangshao type site, and its fermentation method can represent the development state of alcohol brewing technology in the core area of the Yangshao culture 6000 years ago.

On the paired-bird theme on the painted pottery of the Yangshaoculture
LI Xinwei.............................................................................................................86

Abstract：Bird motif made an important theme of painted pottery of the Miaodigou culture. The author argues that paired-bird motif made a major representation of the bird theme, which originated from the transformation of bird in the fish body. The paired-bird motif was shown in diverse ways, which spread across a vast region and lasted for a long time. The typological study in this research shows the transformation trajectory, which sheds light on the nature of the influence of the Miaodigou painted pottery.