Gansu Southeastern Late Yangshao Age Remains

The region around the upper reaches of Wei-shui River and the Tao River valley located in the southeast of Gansu province is where the Yangshao culture meets the Majiayao culture. To determine the relationship between the two, the key lies in the study of the remains of the late Yangshao that dates from the middle stage of Yangshao culture and the early stage of Majiayao culture.The remains of the late Yangshao in this region are conventionally known as the Shilingxia type. In this thesis, cultural factors analysis is utilized, first of all, to decide the characteristics of potteries unearthed in individual sites in this region by studying the potteries from typical individual sites of late Yangshao remains through way of quantitative statistics and analysis. Second, by comparing these data and the characteristics of same period potteries from different individual sites, the generic traits of the remains in this region is concluded as well as their cultural principal factors. Finally, by comparing with remains of the Miaodigou period of Yangshao culture and that of the Majiayao period of Majiayao culture, the cultural attributes of the remains of the late Yangshao in this region is discussed so as to further understand the Shilingxia type remains.Via comparison and analysis, it is concluded that the remains of the late Yangshao in these area are a result of the development of the local Miaodigou type. They can be classified into four sub regions with distinctive features. The fourth period of Dadiwan site remains that are in the upper reaches of the Wei-shui River belong to the Yangshao culture, while the remains of the late Yangshao in the middle and the west reaches of the Wei-shui River and the Mogou remains in the Tao River valley belong to the Majiayao culture. Shilingxia type, which evolved into what is later known as the Majiayao type, distribution in the middle and the west reaches of the Wei-shui River.The remains of the late Yangshao in the region The Mogou remains are a transitional type between the late Yangshao period and Majiayao period, whose potteries show the track of the evolution.