9781422283523

Exploring China

J. G. Anderson One of the most famous foreign

archaeologists to work in China was the Swede, J. G. Anderson (1874-1960). When Anderson was young, he took part in expeditions to the North and South Poles. In 1914, Anderson went to China to work as a geologist. Later, he became more interested in archaeology. Anderson discovered the Neolithic village of Yangshao in Henan province and worked at Zhoukoudian, where Peking Man was found.

T hese modern-day rice farmers grow and harvest rice in the same way as their ancestors did thousands of years ago. Rice-growing in the South People in North China grew millet while people in South China grew rice. Chinese archaeologists have found a 7,000-year-old settlement at Hemudu near Hangzhou Bay, where wooden houses were built above the ground on stilts. The people of Hemudu were among the earliest rice farmers in the world and some of the objects they made from bone are beautifully carved with images of birds and plants. The early inhabitants of North and South China are the ancestors of modern-day Chinese people. The people of these two areas had very different life-styles and yet they traded goods with each other and learned about each others’ culture. These people made beautiful carvings on stone, jade and bones

and painted their pottery with distinctive designs. Together, the early humans of North and South China created the beginnings of Chinese civilization.

T his is the reconstructed head of Peking Man. He has high eyebrows and a pointed mouth.

7