Studies On The Prehistoric Settlement Pattern Of The Dongting Lake Basin

Dongting Lake Basin is brought into the study limits on the origin of Chinese civilization, with the development of the archaeology, archaeological culture in Hunan province improves and distincts gradually, archaeological materials emerge in an endless stream, which establish good material foundation on settlement pattern study. On the base of the settlement pattern study achievements an Neolithic Age by stages, the study analyses the settlement pattern's space-time changes in Dongting Lake Basin .Humanity society and culture's development in Neolithic Age was restricted natural geographical environment, climatic changes and the vicissitudes of lakes and rivers decided human's distribution and development. Starting with settlement pattern development base to analyse the relationship of the vicissitudes of environment and the development order of archaeological culture, and settlement development's economic foundation.Almost equal settlement period, including Pengtou Mountain Culture and Zaoshi Lower levels Culture, analysing settlement's structure and character which included settlement's distribution, area, scope, sphere of activities, address(house) and sacrifice sites, etc. thereby, studying the social, economic and political pattern which the settlement reflected. During the period, in the sphere of Dongting Lake Basin, settlement had been a basic life-style, but the society wasn't divided, human society lied in almost equal social period.The unequal period of preliminary dibision, including Tang Jiagang Culture and Daxi Culture. Starting with analysis of settlement pattern to study settlement pattern's space-time changes. Analysing address and social structure, settlement arrangement and cultural division, grave and economic and political pattern, religious sacrifice sites and ideology and the emergence of pre-historic cities and so on, which reflected that it had taken place social division between social members and settlement.Applying anthropology's"chiefdom"social development model to analyse settlement character and social development model during Qu Jialing Culture and Shijiahe Culture period. The settlement which regarded Chengtou Mountain and Jijiao City as the centre had development district settlement centre. Not only the amounts and the quality of the burial articles in grave were different, but the distribution and arrangement of one grave embodied clan society disintegration, family-clan became social relation's basic model. The project and scale of pre-historic city had achieved the level that something couldn't be compared before, city's founction counldn't be used to protect community members's life and property any more, but to defend special groups profit in cities. Social members divided, the whole society also stepped into unequal stage.