{"title":"A new perspective on vessels usage in the Yangshao culture: Were amphorae brine purification devices?","authors":"Linlin Song, Marcella Festa","doi":"10.1007/s12520-024-02086-2","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The <i>jiandiping</i> 尖底瓶 amphora is a distinctive pottery type of the Yangshao culture (5000 − 3000 BCE), predominantly found along the middle course of the Yellow River, with a significant concentration in the Wei River Valley. Despite its widespread presence, the function of this vessel has remained elusive in scholarly discourse. This article investigates the amphora’s spatial relationship to salt deposits and examines its physical characteristics, evaluating these aspects within the context of the Yangshao population’s lifestyle in the Wei River Valley. By incorporating evidence from Shang dynasty oracle bone inscriptions and various ethnoarchaeological studies, we propose a new interpretation of the <i>jiandiping</i> amphora as a tool for salt processing. This study prompts a reevaluation of Neolithic cultural and technological practices, highlighting the Yangshao society’s potential involvement in salt exploitation in the Wei River Valley.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"16 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-024-02086-2","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ANTHROPOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The jiandiping 尖底瓶 amphora is a distinctive pottery type of the Yangshao culture (5000 − 3000 BCE), predominantly found along the middle course of the Yellow River, with a significant concentration in the Wei River Valley. Despite its widespread presence, the function of this vessel has remained elusive in scholarly discourse. This article investigates the amphora’s spatial relationship to salt deposits and examines its physical characteristics, evaluating these aspects within the context of the Yangshao population’s lifestyle in the Wei River Valley. By incorporating evidence from Shang dynasty oracle bone inscriptions and various ethnoarchaeological studies, we propose a new interpretation of the jiandiping amphora as a tool for salt processing. This study prompts a reevaluation of Neolithic cultural and technological practices, highlighting the Yangshao society’s potential involvement in salt exploitation in the Wei River Valley.
期刊介绍:
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences covers the full spectrum of natural scientific methods with an emphasis on the archaeological contexts and the questions being studied. It bridges the gap between archaeologists and natural scientists providing a forum to encourage the continued integration of scientific methodologies in archaeological research.
Coverage in the journal includes: archaeology, geology/geophysical prospection, geoarchaeology, geochronology, palaeoanthropology, archaeozoology and archaeobotany, genetics and other biomolecules, material analysis and conservation science.
The journal is endorsed by the German Society of Natural Scientific Archaeology and Archaeometry (GNAA), the Hellenic Society for Archaeometry (HSC), the Association of Italian Archaeometrists (AIAr) and the Society of Archaeological Sciences (SAS).