We started with the BanPo Neolithic Village (banpo yizhi). This culture is thought to be of the earliest people of China, stemming back to about 6,000 years ago. These were Neolithic people living in a small village, known as Banpo. A Field Museum has been built at the base of the excavation site, which are located located just east of Xi'an.The village was discovered in 1953 and 45 houses, 6 pottery kilns, 200 storage pits, 250 adult's tombs and children's burial jars, 10,000 tools and utensils were unearthed. Many of the homes were built into the ground with small openings that enlarged the farther they went in. Others were found to have been built at a slightly later date and were of square construction. http://www.sinohotelguide.com/xian/tour/sight/sighte.html#Emperor
The Banpo Site is a typical Neolithic matriarchal community. At that time, the Banpo people used tools made primarily of wood and stone. Women, the crucial labor force, were responsible for making pottery, spinning, and raising the family, while men fished. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/banpo.htm
There are more female tombs and graves here than male, and the women's graves contain more objects and valuables than their male counterparts do.
"The Village was thought to have been inhabited from about 4500 B.C. to 3750 B.C. The houses were constructed of thatch over wood beams while the floors were sunk two to three feet into the ground. Heat was provided by a central fire. Food was stored in underground caves, dug deep enough to protect the provisions from being devoured by wildlife or contaminated by insects. Architecture, village organization, and food storage methods appear to have been strikingly similar to the way of life of some native American plains tribes." http://www.regenttour.com/chinaplanner/sia/xia-sights-banpo.htm
Unfortunately, the batteries on my camera were going dead and I didn't have my spares with me, so the photos are fuzzy. There are some good web sites to view, including probably Wikipedia, however, as that is a web site that is banned and blocked in China I can't check it out.
