仰韶文化

仰韶文化

仰韶文化是指中国黄河中游地区一种重要的新石器时代彩陶文化，其持续时间大约在公元前5000年至前3000年，分布在整个黄河中游到河南省之间。1921年，因仰韶遗址（今河南省三门峡市境内）发掘而命名的仰韶文化，是中国第一个依靠现代考古学技术、方法和理论而确立的中国史前文化，开启了以科学方法探索和重建中国古史的历程。

仰韶文化是中国分布地域最广、延续长久、内涵丰富的史前文化。彩陶是仰韶文化的重要元素，也是仰韶文化出土器物中最精美的标志。彩陶的大范围传播，被考古学家认为是史前第一次艺术浪潮的代表，其传播至周边多个地区，达到史前艺术的高峰。

仰韶文化遗址不乏特大型中心性聚落，是探索中国早期文明起源的核心地区，是实证中华5000多年文明史的关键区域。距今5300年前后的双槐树遗址（今河南省郑州市境内）作为仰韶文化的核心，是迄今为止在黄河流域仰韶文化中晚期即中华文明形成初期发现的规格最高的、具有都邑性质的中心聚落，被誉为“早期中华文明的胚胎”。

仰韶文化的发现，证实了中国存在过较为发达的新石器时代，破除了“中国无石器时代”的谬论，是中国考古史上第一个被正式命名的远古文化体系，对探寻中华文明起源、研究中华民族多元一体演进格局具有重要意义。

Yangshao Culture

The Yangshao Culture is an important Neolithic painted-pottery culture that existed extensively in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, where Henan Province is located, from 5000 BC to 3000 BC. Named after Yangshao in Sanmenxia, Henan where large cultural deposits were discovered in 1921, it is the first prehistoric culture in China that is confirmed using modern archaeological techniques, methods and theories, marking the beginning of the efforts to explore and rebuild ancient Chinese history with scientific approaches.

The Yangshao Culture features wide distribution, long durance, and significant discoveries. Painted pottery is a crucial element of the culture and the most exquisite representative of the relics of that period. The wide spread of painted pottery to several surrounding regions is considered by archaeologists to be the first artistic surge in prehistoric times.

With several large-scale, concentrated settlements, the Yangshao site is of vital importance for tracing the origin of the Chinese civilization and verifying its 5,000 years of history. The Shuanghuaishu site in Zhengzhou, dating back about 5,300 years, is the center of the Yangshao Culture. Being a city-like central settlement of the highest level among those formed during the middle and late periods of the Yangshao Culture, or the initial period of the Chinese civilization, the site is reputed as the embryo of the Chinese civilization.

The discovery of the Yangshao Culture proves the existence of a highly developed Neolithic Age in China and disproves the fallacy that "there was no Stone Age in China." The Yangshao Culture, as the first ancient cultural system to have an official name in China's archaeological history, is significant for tracing the origin of the Chinese civilization and studying the integrated evolution of the Chinese nation in diversity.