Banpo Prehistoric Village outside Xi'an:

Around 5000 BC, a sedentary agricultural community was built by a late
Neolithic people. Discovered in 1953, Banpo is the first known village
to
have been habituated by the Yangshao culture. Unearthed artifacts are
all
that remain of this prehistoric clan-based community.

Banpo had about sixty buildings that covered a span of 50,000 square
meters
and housed over 200 people from two different clans. The ruins are
divided
into a residential area, a pottery manufacturing area and a cemetery.
Five
excavations that were conducted from 1953 to 1957 revealed the remains
of 45
houses, 200 storage pits, 6 pottery kilns, 250 tombs, and more than
10,000
stone tools and everyday articles. These articles are most significant
because they provide solid evidence of the existence of settled
communities
in prehistoric China.

Banpo was a farming based matriarchal society. The houses differ in
structure
depending on when they were built. Earlier houses had floors that were
sunk
two to three feet into the ground whereas the later houses stood at
ground
level. All the houses had frameworks made of wood and walls composed
of mud
and straw as well as a central fire area to provide heat for the
family. The
Banpo also dug underground caves in order to have a place to store
their food
and protect it from wildlife and insects.

In order to combat the threat of rainfall, the Banpo worked together
to dig a
trench about two meters deep and two meters wide. This trench
surrounded the
entire complex and provided drainage in addition to protection from
the
animal attacks. Another trench was also dug through the middle of the
village. A large meeting hall and a central storage area were placed
in the
center of the village. To the east were six pottery kilns, and north
of the
village was the cemetery where the adults were buried. Accompanying
them were
objects of all sorts used for daily life. The children, however, were
buried
alongside the huts in special clay urns. The reasons for this burial
separation are unknown to the people of today.

The people of Banpo initially survived by gathering wild fruits,
hunting, and
fishing. However, the use of gradually improved upon stone tools
initiated
the end of a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and the beginning of a settled
agricultural community in which the Banpo farmed millet. In addition
to the
tools, skeletal remains of pigs, dogs, and cattle were discovered
buried
within the boundaries of the village. These remains indicate that the
Banpo
had started to raise domestic animals. Deer bones were also found, but
it is
unclear whether or not they were domesticated.

Most of their tools, such as axes, knives, shovels, and arrowheads,
were made
of stone, but some, such as needles, were composed of animal bone. The
Banpo
also had ornaments for personal decoration such as hairpins, beads,
and
rings. All were made of bone, shell, stone, or animal teeth.

The Banpo spent a great amount of time producing pottery designed for
drinking, storage, cooking, and burial. Most of the pottery was
colored and
adorned with either geometric patterns or animal-like figures. The
edges of
some of the pottery were carved with what seems to be a primitive form
of
writing. Because of this and many other reasons, the people of Banpo
deserve
recognition for developing one of the oldest known cultures in the
world.

By Serena Bristow
from:
http://www.furman.edu/engaged/inted/StudyAbroad/China/zhongguo/terracotta.html