Dawenkou culture

Dawenkou culture
Geographical rangeNorth China
PeriodNeolithic China
Datesc. 4300 – c. 2600 BC
Preceded byBeixin culture
Followed byLongshan culture
Chinese name
Chinese大汶口文化
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDàwènkǒu wénhuà

The Dawenkou culture was a Chinese Neolithic culture primarily located in the eastern province of Shandong, but also appearing in Anhui, Henan and Jiangsu. The culture existed from 4300 to 2600 BC, and co-existed with the Yangshao culture. Turquoise, jade and ivory artefacts are commonly found at Dawenkou sites. The earliest examples of alligator drums appear at Dawenkou sites. Neolithic signs, perhaps related to subsequent scripts, such as those of the Shang dynasty, have been found on Dawenkou pottery.[1] Additionally, the Dawenkou practiced dental ablation and cranial deformation, practices that disappeared in China by the Chinese Bronze Age.[2]

  1. ^ Maisel, Charles Keith (1999). Early Civilizations of the Old World: The Formative Histories of Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, India and China. Psychology Press. p. 283. ISBN 978-0-4151-0975-8.
  2. ^ Lee, Christine (2017). "The Relationship between Intentional Dental Ablation and Hereditary Agenesis in Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age China". In Burnett, Scott E.; Irish, Joel D. (eds.). A World View of Bioculturally Modified Teeth. University Press of Florida. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-8130-5297-7.