Dadiwan is a Neolithic archaeological site located within the upper reaches of the Yellow River near Shaodian in Qi'nan county, Gansu province of China.
Dadiwan is an enormous site, covering an area of over a million square meters; excavations to date have uncovered 240 house foundations, 35 pottery kilns, portions of 12 irrigation ditches, 71 tombs, 325 storage/refuse pits, and more than 8000 artifacts and over 17,000 faunal artifacts.
Occupations at Dadiwan
Radiocarbon dates indicate that Dadiwan was occupied between 5850 and 2950 BC, with substantial occupations of the Dadiwan culture (5850-5350 BC), early Yangshao (4550-3950 BC), later Yangshao (3950-3550 BC), and Banpo (3550-2950 BC) periods. Dadiwan is the site of the earliest appearance of painted pottery, and the earliest site of the Laoguantai cultural tradition, a pre-Yangshao neolithic culture with cord-marked pottery, round houses and a scattered settlement plan.
Neolithic at Dadiwan
The Neolithic is seen in two separate phases between which is a period of about 700 years in which the site is abandoned. Both phases have evidence for domesticated broomcorn millet Panicum miliaceum, but the presence of domesticate millet doesn't imply full agricultural domestication.
- Phase I: pre-Yangshao, Middle Neolithic), 7900-7200 calBP.
- Phase II: Yanghao/Late Neolithic, 6500-4900 calBP
Based on stable isotope values of animal bones, researchers believe that during the earliest phase of Neolithic Dadiwan, the people were using a primarily hunting strategy, while by the later phase, a more intensive agricultural system including domestic pig was established at the settlement.
Sources
Barton, Loukas, et al. 2009 Agricultural origins and the isotopic identity of domestication in northern China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.
Yang, Xiaoneng. 2004 Essay 16, Dadiwan Site at Qin'an, Gansu Province. Pp. 44-46, Volume II, Yang, Xiaoneng, ed. Chinese Archaeology in the Twentieth Century: New Perspectives on China's Past. Yale University Press, New Haven.
Zhongpei, Zhang. 2004 The formation of ancient civlization in China. Pp. 77-97, volume I, in Yang, Xiaoneng, ed. Chinese Archaeology in the Twentieth Century: New Perspectives on China's Past. Yale University Press, New Haven.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
