Painted pottery in Majiayao culture
It’s widely believed that there are, in order of time, three types of painted pottery featuring Majiayao culture, namely Majiayao (3,300-2,900 BC), Banshan (2,900-2,350 BC), and Machang (2,350-2,050) types. Banshan and Machang types are named after the Banshan Village in Linxia, Gansu Province, and Machang Village in Minhe County, Qinghai Province.
In Majiayao painted pottery, there are many rippling and rotary designs drawn with smooth and balanced strokes to engender a quiet and gentle mood. These designs shed precious light on life in primitive Chinese society, with men fishing and hunting, and women doing housework and collecting vegetables and fruits.
In the Banshan and Machang painted pottery, which were a little later than the Majiayao, the designs changed. More saw-tooth, circling and frog-shaped strokes appeared, which look wild, bold and enigmatic.
More painted pottery wares have been discovered in recent years. For instance, in March 2005, it was announced that a 4,500-year-old pot with patterns of genitalia was discovered in Lintao, Gansu Province. Archaeologists identified it as belonging to the Banshan type of Majiayao culture and pointed out that this pot is the first Banshan type work to be found with patterns of both male and female genitalia.
By Dong Jirong
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