Pathways to Social Complexity in China

Abstract

The characteristic traits of the Neolithic developed independently of each other during a very long time period over a broad region in China. Pottery appeared as early as ca. 19.000 cal. BP in late Paleolithic contexts. A shift to a semi-sedentary way of life first occurred at the onset of Holocene (ca. 11.000 cal. BP), and was associated with hunting-gathering populations. Pigs, dogs, rice and millet were domesticated by 9000-8000 cal. BP by people who primarily relied on wild plants and animals. Fully developed Neolithic sedentary farming villages were not established until ca. 7000 cal. BP in China. Agricultural economy was the foundation for emergence of hierarchical organized societies with elite groups controlling political and ritual power. Throughout the middle and late Neolithic period (7000-4000 cal. BP) numerous complex societies developed and declined across much of China’s landscape before the formation of early states in the second millennium BC.