Black Pottery Culture
Black Pottery Culture refers to a significant aspect of the Neolithic period primarily associated with the Longshan culture, particularly in Shandong Province, China. It is characterized by the production of thin, highly burnished black pottery, created typically on a potter's wheel and often used for ritual purposes. This culture was once thought to be limited to a specific geographic area but has been found to extend as far south as northern Jiangsu Province. Communities within the Black Pottery culture built impressive protective walls made of pounded earth, reaching heights of 20 feet and thicknesses of up to 45 feet. Notably, the practice of scapulimancy emerged during this time, where shamans would interpret cracks on heated scapulae or tortoise shells to provide divinatory insights. The distinctive pottery shapes developed in this culture would later influence the designs of bronze artifacts in subsequent eras. Overall, the Black Pottery Culture played a crucial role in the cultural developments that would shape the later Bronze Age in the region.
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Black Pottery Culture
Related civilization: Neolithic China.
Also known as: Longshan culture.
Date: c. 2000-1000 b.c.e.
Locale: Centered along the eastern seaboards of China, beginning in the province of Shandong, spreading toward Henan, southern Hebei, and northern Jiangsu Provinces
Black Pottery Culture
The Black Pottery culture existed during the Neolithic period and has long been synonymous with the Longshan culture, which is generally believed to be later than the Yangshao culture. Through recent finds, the Longshan culture has been determined to have coexisted with the Yangshao culture. The classic Shandong Longshan (or Black Pottery culture) is actually one of the late phases of the Longshan culture.
Villages of the Black Pottery culture were surrounded by protective walls of pounded earth 20 feet (6 meters) high and 30 to 45 feet (9 to 14 meters) thick. Although the Black Pottery culture was once thought to be restricted to Shandong Province, it extended as far south as northern Jiangsu Province. The Black Pottery culture is characterized by the predominance of thin, highly burnished black wares. The thin black pottery, often thrown on a potter’s wheel, was made for rituals. Many of the pottery shapes were repeated in later bronzes.
Within this culture, a new practice appeared: scapulimancy, the method of prognostication by applying heat to the scapulae (shoulder bones) of deer and cattle or the shells of tortoises. Shamans answered questions by interpreting the cracks that appeared. The use of pounded earth for protective walls, the shapes of the black pottery, and the practice of scapulimancy were all cultural elements that persisted in the following Bronze Age.
Bibliography
Rawson, Jessica. Ancient China: Art and Archaeology. London: Duckworth, 1980.
Shangraw, Clarence F. Origins of Chinese Ceramics. New York: China Institute in America, 1978.
Sylvester, Diane. India and China. Torrance, Calif.: Frank Schaffer, 1997.