The Subsistence Of Prehistoric Pottery Workshop

The research on the subsistence economy of the pottery workshop site is one of the important research contents of the handicraft archaeological research.Archaeobotany is one of the important means of the subsistence economic research.The large scale pottery kiln groups in the late Yangshao period appeared in Zhoujiazuotou site,which indicates that Zhoujiazuotou site may have been a pottery production center at that time.It is of great significance for us to study the specialized production and product distribution of the late Yangshao pottery in this site.In addition,systematic archaeobotanical sampling was carried out,and the variety and quantity of samples collected were very rich.Through the research on the plant remains of zhoujia zuitou site,we can get the following understanding:1.Zhoujiazuitou may carry out agricultural production and pottery firing simultaneously,and the crops are produced locally.The structure of crops is still millet,which based on dry farming,at the same time,soybeans,peas,hemp as supplementary food.The degree of specialization of pottery making at Zhoujiazuitou site is very high,which may lead to the lack of attention to agriculture,and the corresponding field management activities such as fertilization and weeding are reduced,which indirectly leads to the increase of undeveloped millet.In the early Qijia period,the increase of undeveloped millet may be related to the cooling of the climate.2.The fuel varieties of the site is rich,including wood,reed stalks and animal dung.Wood is the main source of fuel.The wood species used for the production of pottery is basically the same as that used for the daily cooking of domestic fuel,which is mainly coniferous trees such as pinus,but also broad-leaved trees such as quercus and elm.The wood collection strategy is random and diverse.In addition to wood,the stems and chaff of millet,reeds and other herbs were also important fuels for cooking pottery and cooking in the late Yangshao period.In the early Qijia period,because of the climate becoming dry,great reduction of tree pollen concentration,forest vegetation degeneration,forest resources reduction,and the introduction of cattle,sheep,transformation of subsistence economy,besides traditional fuel types,such as wood,the universality of reed stem use higher than that of the late Yangshao period,and animal dung become a new choice of ancients fuel.3.Organic-tempered daub is an important building material in zhoujiazuitou site,which is not only used in houses,but also in pottery kilns.It is made by mixing the crushed stalks,leaves and chaff with clay and then mixing them with water.The adulterated plants are mainly the stems and leaves and chaff of millet,and possibly the stems and leaves of reeds.