Chinese Dawenkou Culture Terracotta Vessel

AGE: – Early Dawenkou culture 4300 – 3500 B.C.
CONSTRUCTION: – Earthenware/Terracotta
HEIGHT: – 35.5cm
Circumference:– 69cm
Base Diameter: – 13cm
WEIGHT:– 2.95 kg.
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Chinese Dawenkou Culture Terracotta Vessel dating from 4300 – 3500 BC. – Research into the patterns and artwork painted onto these neolithic vessels suggests that the triangles carved into this vessel may have evolved from the shape of the tail fin seen on fish and that the circular forms are inspired by the eyes.

The Dawenkou Culture was discovered by archaeologists in the early 1970s in Shandong, China. The Dawenkou Culture is known for its elaborate burial rituals and offerings. A vessel such as this could possibly have been of utilitarian use or placed in a burial chamber with other utilitarian-type earthenware such as this vessel in the shape of a pig.
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According to the literature regarding a similar type of vessel, it is suggested that it was possibly made on a wheel which differed from earlier handmade pottery during the Neolithic period.

Although the Neolithic Dawenkou communities lived primarily in Shandong, communities belonging to this neolithic culture also existed in Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu.

Dawenkou archaeological sites reveal a variety of different types of workshops, revealing a high level of sophistication which has given scholars a good indication of how communities interacted with one another, and insight into the initial intensification of farming and agriculture practices in China.

The pottery wheel was introduced shortly after 3000 BC., by the Longshan and Dawenkou cultures and was instrumental in helping potters make thin-walled and more evenly formed vessels with greater speed.