Prehistoric Figurines in China

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sascha Priewe
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Early China ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
Relative Rarity ◽  
First Millennium Bc ◽  
Regional Cultures

In early China there was no widespread tradition of making figurines until about the mid-first millennium bc when human figurines started to be placed in burials to accompany the deceased into the afterlife. In prior millennia only pockets of China had seen the emergence of figurines, but these appeared to be short-lived phenomena clearly rooted and linked to local and regional cultures. The overall paucity of three-dimensional imagery and relative rarity of human representations both in two and three dimensions meant that China does not feature in surveys of early figurines. This chapter surveys and discusses selected appearance of figurines of the Neolithic and Bronze Age, with an emphasis on the Hongshan Culture in the northeast, the Yellow River and the Shijiahe Culture along the middle Yangtze.

The Excavation of a Settlement of the Later Bronze Age and Iron Age at Myrehead, Falkirk District

1983 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
G J Barclay
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Activity Period ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
Ring Groove ◽  
Domestic Activity ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
First Millennium Bc ◽  
Actual Settlement

SUMMARY Myrehead has revealed the eroded remnants of activity from the Beaker period (Period A) onwards, with actual settlement evinced only from about the early first millennium be. The three houses and the cooking pits of Period B may have been constructed and used sequentially. This open settlement was probably replaced during the mid first millennium bc, possibly without a break, by a palisaded enclosure (Period C), which may have contained a ring-groove house and a four-post structure. Continued domestic activity (Period D) was suggested by a single pit outside the enclosure, dated to the late first millennium bc/early first millennium ad. The limited evidence of the economy of the settlements suggests a mixed farming system.

scholarly journals The excavation of pit circles at Romancamp Gate, Fochabers, Moray, 1990

1994 ◽  
Vol 123 ◽  
pp. 255-268
Author(s):  
Gordon J Barclay
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Regional Council ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
First Millennium Bc ◽  
Mesolithic Period

The excavation was undertaken with the funding and support of Grampian Regional Council to test hypotheses relating to the interpretation of cropmark pit circles: were they Neolithic or Bronze Age ceremonial or funerary structures, or were they Iron Age houses, and to what extent could the two classifications be differentiated on aerial photographs? The excavation revealed the remains of four circles (between 8.5 m and 11.5 m in diameter) of large post- holes, fence lines (one with a gate), and many other pits and post-holes. Radiocarbon dates place the post circles late in the first millennium BC uncal. The pit circles may be interpreted as the main structural elements of four substantial round houses, two of which burned down. Flint tools of the Mesolithic period were recovered.

Archaeology of the Anthropocene in the Yellow River region, China, 8000–2000 cal. BP

The Holocene ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 1602-1623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yijie Zhuang ◽  
Tristram R Kidder
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Early History ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Human Footprint ◽  
River Region ◽  
History Of

Although archaeological analysis emphasizes the importance of climatic events as a driver of historical processes, we use a variety of environmental and archaeological data to show that human modification of the environment was a significant factor in shaping the early history of the Yellow River region of North China. Humans began to modify site-specific and local-level environments in the Early Holocene (~11,500–7000 BP). By the Mid-Holocene (~7000–5000 BP), the effects of humans on the environment become much larger and are witnessed at regional and tributary river basin scales. Land clearance and agriculture, as well as related land use, are dominant determinants of these changes. By the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age (~5000–3500 BP), population growth and intensification of agricultural production expanded the human footprint across the Yellow River region. By the Mid to Late Bronze Age (~3600–2200 BP), larger populations armed with better technology and propelled by more centralized governments were altering lands throughout the Yellow River region, gradually bringing the environment under human control. By the Early Dynastic period (221 bc–ad 220), the Yellow River region was an increasingly anthropogenic environment wherein human land management practices were, in many instances, as consequential as natural forces. Throughout the Holocene history of the Middle and Lower Yellow River, anthropogenic, climatic, and natural environmental processes were acting to shape human history and behavior, making it difficult, if not impossible, to say whether human or climate processes were more consequential. There is a complex relationship in China’s early history between natural and human forcing much like there is today. The Early Anthropocene concept is useful here because it recognizes that when natural and cultural forces become so intertwined, it no longer makes sense to separate the two.

Study on the Structure Safety Appraisal of Sluice Frame Structure on the Yellow River

2014 ◽  
Vol 578-579 ◽  
pp. 1591-1594
Author(s):  
Xiao Long Sun ◽  
Jian Cheng Yang ◽  
You Zhi Wang ◽  
Kai Lai Zhang ◽  
Yan Bo Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Yellow River ◽  
Decomposition Reaction ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Frame Structure ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Analysis Software ◽  
Original Design ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Safety Coefficient ◽  
Traditional Structure

The safety appraisal of the sluice includes safety check on site and calculation. The safety coefficient of the yellow river sluice is high which indicates significant importance. The traditional structure safety calculation models of frame structure are two dimensional. In this passage three dimensions models of the sluice frame structure was built with finite element analysis software ETABS to analysis the ratio of reinforcement, combined with safety check on site, using shaking type table theory of decomposition reaction method. Compared with the original design, the posts can’t fulfill the requests for fortification against earthquakes. The frame structure should be reinforced.

scholarly journals Effect of Deficiencies in the Tunnel Crown Thickness on Pressure Tunnels with Posttensioned Concrete Linings

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gan Qin ◽  
Shengrong Cao ◽  
Fan Yang
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Finite Element Model ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Concrete Lining ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Posttensioned Concrete ◽  
Dimensional Finite Element ◽  
Three Dimensional Finite Element

This paper investigates the effect of deficiencies in the tunnel crown thickness on pressure tunnels with the posttensioned concrete lining. Based on the lining parameters of the Yellow River Crossing Tunnel, the modeling approach of the posttensioned concrete lining is introduced in detail and a three-dimensional finite element model is established. The three-dimensional finite element model is validated by experimental results from the full-scale model experiment of the Yellow River Crossing Tunnel. Special attention is given to the changes in the deformation, radial displacement, and circumferential stress of the posttensioned concrete lining with gradual decreases in the tunnel crown thickness. The calculation results show that the influence scopes of deficiencies in the tunnel crown thickness are mainly concentrated in the crown and its adjacent parts. The posttensioned concrete lining can still maintain a satisfactory stress state when deficiencies in the tunnel crown thickness exist, and undesirable stress levels may be caused only when the tunnel crown thickness decreases below a certain threshold. Furthermore, cracks are most likely to occur at the external and internal surfaces of the crown and at the internal surface of the crown’s adjacent parts, which is useful for taking measurements regarding the lining tightness and stability.

Two Early First Millennium BC Wells at Selsey, West Sussex and their Wider Significance

2001 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
pp. 15-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Seager Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
First Millennium Bc ◽  
Common Function

Two early first millennium BC assemblages from Selsey Bill are considered, one of Late Bronze Age date and one of Early Iron Age date. Detailed examination of two large features suggests both a common function for the features and a functional similarity between the sites to which they belong. Data from them are tested against a contemporary, regional database. In terms of site activity and settlement form, both belonged to the same cultural tradition. But differences in inter-regional relationships, outlook and resource strategies are identified. The change, paralleled on contemporary Sussex sites, is attributed to population growth and a filling-out of the landscape.

From sheep to (some) horses: 4500 years of herd structure at the pastoralist settlement of Begash (south-eastern Kazakhstan)

Antiquity ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (322) ◽  
pp. 1023-1037 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Frachetti ◽  
Norbert Benecke
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Sheep And Goats ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Animal Bones ◽  
Herd Structure ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
First Millennium Bc ◽  
Eastern Kazakhstan

Does the riding of horses necessarily go with the emergence of Eurasian pastoralism? Drawing on their fine sequence of animal bones from Begash, the authors think not. While pastoral herding of sheep and goats is evident from the Early Bronze Age, the horse appears only in small numbers before the end of the first millennium BC. Its adoption coincides with an increase in hunting and the advent of larger politically organised groups.

scholarly journals Shifting Patterns of House Structures during the Neolithic-Bronze Age in the Yellow River Basin: An Environmental Perspective

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 574
Author(s):  
Peng Lu ◽  
Yan Tian ◽  
Michael Storozum ◽  
Panpan Chen ◽  
Hui Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Yellow River Basin ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Construction Methods ◽  
House Construction ◽  
The Yellow River Basin ◽  
Shape And Size

The emergence of houses is a social revolution around the world. Over the past several decades, Chinese archaeologists have excavated many Neolithic to Bronze Age houses, but there is still a great amount of uncertainty about the social and environmental factors driving the differences between these house structures in the Yellow River Basin. In this paper, we summarize data from excavation reports on the shape and size of Neolithic-Bronze Age houses in the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, respectively, to identify some social and environmental factors that may have affected the development of house structures across northern China. Our results show that the shape and size of the houses developed at a different pace, but in general followed a similar developmental sequence: (1) 10–8 ka BP, the bud of settlements emerged in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River; (2) 8–7 ka BP, people started to construct small pithouses without walls; (3) 7–6 ka BP, people made medium-sized pithouses with low walls, and surface buildings were made with a wood skeleton and mud walls; (4) 6–5 ka BP, ultra-large houses emerged; (5) 5–4 ka BP, house form became more varied, including pithouses, cave dwellings and surface buildings with a wood skeleton mud wall, rammed earth wall, piled mud-grass mixed walls and adobe walls; and (6) 4–3 ka BP, original palaces emerged. Our analyses indicate that the environment played an essential role in determining the house changes over time and that the early to middle Holocene’s warm and humid climate provided excellent conditions for the emergence of settlements throughout the region. Due to the shortage of trees, people chose to change their house construction methods to accommodate the growing lumber shortage. In conclusion, the rapid shift in house construction methods reflects the changing ecological condition as well as a feedback cycle between the environment and social practices driven by resource limitations.

scholarly journals Trial excavation of a terrace-edge enclosure at North Mains, Strathallan, Perthshire

1991 ◽  
Vol 120 ◽  
pp. 45-53
Author(s):  
Gordon J Barclay ◽  
Myra Tolan-Smith ◽  
Coralie Mills ◽  
J Barber
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Outer Edge ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The North ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
First Millennium Bc

A small part of the terrace edge enclosure at North Mains was excavated to test the hypothesis that it was contemporary with one or other of the Neolithic/Early Bronze Age ceremonial monuments immediately to the north. Two cropmark ditches and an entrance through them were confirmed by excavation. The inner ditch was very steep sided; postholes were found on the inner edge of both ditches. Possible postholes were also noted on the outer edge of the outer ditch. Traces of a number of structures were located in the interior, including what may be the slight wall-trench of a circular house. The results of radiocarbon dating may suggest that the ditch was dug in the second millennium bc, while at least one of the structures in the interior was in use in the late first millennium bc. A comment on the radiocarbon dates is provided by John Barber (50--1). An appendix gives details of the `Identification of charcoal from North Mains' by Coralie Mills (52--3). Au

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