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About 100,000 years agoChinaentered the Neolithic Age -- an age flourishing with the clan society and the beginning of Chinese ancient culture. Along with the development of agriculture, the matrilineal clan began to emerge and large communities followed. The Neolithic Age can also be referred to as the age of stone and pottery. Pottery was a prominent invention during early man's struggle with nature. An abundance of remains from the Neolithic Age were unearthed, especially pottery, which demonstrates aesthetic wisdom and talent of artistic creation.

Relics from the Chinese Neolithic Age are spread out in every corner ofChina, including items from the Peiligang Culture, Cishan Culture and Dadiwan Culture (5,500-4,800BC). Pottery of the period was primitive, with fewer categories, simple shapes and almost no decorations. Baked at low temperatures, most of the pottery was red. The Yangshao and Majiayao cultures in theYellowRiver basinbelonged to the mid-Neolithic Age. Pottery of this period displays elegant colored designs and is more practical, with a higher artistic level.

TheHuman Face andFishBodyDesignColoredPotteryBasinunearthed inBanpoVillagein 1955 consists of red clay pottery with designs of a human-face and a fish-body. The motif is novel and the designs, very vivid, indicating that primitive artists in Banpo Village generally used fish designs to decorate painted pottery.