Majiabang Culture was named after its first discovery in 1959 at Majiabang, Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. It is mainly distributed in southern Jiangsu, Shanghai, and northern Zhejiang. Carbon-14 dating places it around 5000–4000 BCE. During this period, people used tools such as stone axes, stone spades, stone hoes, and stone knives to cultivate indica rice. The domestication of animals was similar to that of the Hemudu culture but showed more significant development. People also engaged in fishing, hunting, and gathering activities.
The social structure, as inferred from early burial practices, exhibited minimal grave goods, indicating a lack of wealth differentiation. Some sites have revealed “female joint burial” practices, similar to those found in the Banpo site of the Yangshao Culture in Xi’an. However, in the later stages, grave goods in male burials increased significantly compared to those in female burials, reflecting gradual social changes over time.
The pottery of the Majiabang Culture was primarily handmade, but slow-wheel finishing techniques had begun to emerge. With the advancement of agricultural production and the need for daily life, new types of pottery appeared. In addition to round-bottomed, flat-bottomed, tripod, and ring-footed vessels, some were designed with handles or spouts. Common forms included plates, dou (stemmed vessels), basins, bowls, jars, pots, he (pitchers), cauldrons, tripods, and stands.
Key Features:
- Dou (Stemmed Vessels): Popular with perforated handles in various shapes—circular, square, rectangular, triangular, curved triangular, and curved diamond-shaped. Some handles were decorated with alternating ring bands or shaped like bamboo joints.
- Cauldrons: Complex styles, with the “waist-rim cauldron” being typical.
- Tripods: Included flat-cone cauldron-style tripods, basin-style tripods with mortise-shaped legs, and fish-fin-shaped tripod legs.
- Other Notable Features: Bull-nose-shaped vessel ears and petal-shaped ring feet.
Certain pottery pieces had carved symbols or animal-shaped patterns on their shoulders or bases. These designs are comparable to the symbolic marks (or proto-writing) found on painted pottery from the Yangshao Culture’s Banpo site or the Dawenkou Culture, offering valuable insights for further research.
Painted and Sculpted Pottery:
Painted pottery was rare. A fragment of gray clay pottery (possibly from a bowl or basin) was discovered at the Xidun site in Changzhou, Jiangsu, with black lattice patterns and oblique triangular designs.
Terracotta sculptures were found in the upper layers of the Hemudu site, including a human head sculpture with an elongated oval shape, a prominent and high forehead, and finely engraved eyes and mouth, showing realistic craftsmanship.
Other Artifacts:
Production tools such as ceramic spinning wheels, pads, and net weights were uncovered, along with musical instruments like ocarinas.
