A Comparative Study on the Burial Customs and Related Social Phenomena of the Xiaoheyan Culture and Surrounding Culture

Abstract

The Xiaoheyan Culture, the Xueshan Phase I Culture and the Nanbaoligaotu Type, as three adjacently distributed Neolithic archaeological cultures, share similar ages and pottery characteristics, with excavated relics focusing on tombs. Based on the collation of the burial materials, this paper makes a transverse comparison of the burial customs and related social phenomena between the Xiaoheyan Culture and the two surrounding cultures. Through comparison, we find that the commonness between the Xiaoheyan Culture and the Nanbaoligaotu Type tombs is reflected in the abstract spiritual connotation, while the commonness between the Xiaoheyan Culture and the Xueshan Phase I Culture is mainly reflected in the material existence of the appearance seen in archaeological excavation. The commonness in these two aspects is related to the worship concept tradition and spiritual and cultural strength of the special way of fishing and hunting, the interactive dissemination of culture and the movement and migration of people.