A jar with pointed bottom made by Banpo people. [Photo by Li Hongrui/chinadaily.com.cn]

A series of jars with pointed bottoms were discovered at Banpo. The average height is 50 cm, but some are smaller at 30-40 cm. Each has ring-shaped handles. At first these were thought to be water jars that would fill naturally when put into a pool or river. Later experiments showed that wasn’t true and found that the jars were unable to do so, and that they fell over when full of water and lifted up by a rope put through the handles. The jars’ function remains unknown.