The Peiligang culture is a name given by archaeologists to a group of Neolithic

Neolithic

The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...

 communities in the Yi-Luo river basin

Luo River (Henan)

The Luo River is a tributary of the Yellow River in China. It rises in the southeast flank of Huashan in Shaanxi province and flows east into Henan province, where it eventually joins the Yellow River at the city of Gongyi...

 in Henan Province, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. The culture existed from 7000 BC to 5000 BC. Over 70 sites have been identified with the Peiligang culture. The culture is named after the site discovered in 1977 at Peiligang (in Xinzheng

Xinzheng

Xinzheng is a small county-level city of Zhengzhou in the south of Henan province of Central China. The city has a population of 600,000 people and covers an area of .-History:...

 county). Archaeologists think that the Peiligang culture was egalitarian, with little political organization.

The culture practiced agriculture in the form of cultivating millet

Millet

The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...

 and animal husbandry in the form of raising pig

Pig

A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...

s. The culture is also one of the oldest in ancient China to make pottery

Pottery

Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...

.

The site at Jiahu

Jiahu

Jiahu was the site of a Neolithic Yellow River settlement based in the central plains of ancient China, modern Wuyang, Henan Province. Archaeologists consider the site to be one of the earliest examples of the Peiligang culture. Settled from 7000 to 5800 BC, the site was later flooded and abandoned...

 is one of the earliest sites associated with this culture.

See also

• List of Neolithic cultures of China
• Yangshao culture
  Yangshao culture
  The Yangshao culture was a Neolithic culture that existed extensively along the central Yellow River in China. The Yangshao culture is dated from around 5000 BC to 3000 BC. The culture is named after Yangshao, the first excavated representative village of this culture, which was discovered in 1921...
  
  
• Longshan culture
  Longshan culture
  The Longshan culture was a late Neolithic culture in China, centered on the central and lower Yellow River and dated from about 3000 BC to 2000 BC...
  
  
• Prehistoric Beifudi site
  Prehistoric Beifudi site
  The Beifudi prehistoric site, near Yi County in Hebei Province, China, is the excavation of a recently discovered prehistoric Neolithic village that Chinese archaeologists say is one of the most important sites found so far...
  
  
• Jiahu symbols
  Jiahu symbols
  Jiahu symbols refer to the 16 distinct markings on prehistoric artifacts found in Jiahu, a neolithic Peiligang culture site found in Henan, China, and excavated in 1999 C.E...