Located in the eastern outskirts of Xi’an city, Banpo Museum is the first prehistoric excavation site museum in China. Banpo (half slope) Village was a typical Neolithic Matriarchal community of the Yangshao (Respect Splendid) culture (5000-3000 BC) around 6000 years ago. The Yangshao culture was named after the first discovery of this civilization in Yangshao, Henan Province. About 400 sites of this type have been discovered around the Yellow River Basin, and the Banpo site is the largest one.
The site was discovered in 1953 during the construction of a power plant. The excavation work lasted four years, and the Banpo site was first opened to the public in 1958. Since then, two million people have visited it.
The Banpo site, occupying an area of approximately 50,000 square meters, was divided into three parts: the living area, the pottery making area and the cemetery area. Among the ruins are 46 dwellings, two domestic animal pens and over 200 storage pits, 174 adult tombs, 73 burial jars for kids, six pottery making kilns and many production and domestic tools. The site delivers visitors a vivid picture of the long ago lifestyle of the primitive Banpo people.
Banpo Museum consists of two exhibition halls and an excavation site hall. The first exhibition hall mainly displays the tools used by the Banpo people, including stone knives, sickles, fishhooks, specula and so on. These exhibits present visitors a general image of the Banpo people's activities. The showpieces in the second exhibition hall are major inventions and art items which reflect the fork culture and social life of that time. Artifacts in this hall include a fish-and-human-face-design pottery basin, a pointed-bottom bottle, a pottery steamer and children's burial jars.
The Fish-and-Human-Face-Design Painted Pottery Basin
The fish-and-human-face-design pottery basin is a colored piece of painted pottery discovered at the site. The basin is gracefully decorated with a design of fish and a human face. The hair on the head was well-pinned into a knot. A fish was held in each corner of its mouth. The design depicts a close relationship between the Banpo people and fish, which was probably very symbolic to them.
The Pointed-Bottom Bottle
The Pointed-Bottom Bottle is a characteristic pottery piece excavated from the Banpo site. It is a water-drawing device, in which the center of gravity principle is skillfully applied: when floating the bottle will automatically slant and then be filled as the lip of the bottle touches the water. When the bottle has been filled with water, the bottle will also automatically stand upright due to the shifting of the center of gravity. The device enjoys two great advantages: it is portable and can easily be carried on the back and its small mouth prevents water from spilling out.
Pottery Steamer
The Banpo people knew that steam could be used in cooking so they made pottery steamers to prepare their food.
Children's Burial Jar
When a child died, s/he was placed into a big pottery jar, which would then be covered by an earthen bowl or pottery basin. A hole was chiseled in the earthen bowl or pottery basin for religious reason. The pottery jar with the dead body in would then be buried in a pit right beside the dwelling.
