﻿470 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  194 
  3 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  warmer 
  months, 
  which 
  comprised 
  the 
  period 
  of 
  growth 
  

   and 
  also 
  the 
  rainy 
  season, 
  these 
  pit 
  dwellings 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  

   temporarily 
  deserted 
  for 
  huts 
  built 
  in 
  trees 
  or 
  on 
  piles 
  and 
  aptly 
  likened 
  

   to 
  "nests," 
  situated 
  near 
  the 
  cultivated 
  patches. 
  

  

  No 
  signs 
  of 
  fortification 
  of 
  any 
  sort 
  have 
  been 
  found 
  ; 
  and 
  in 
  general 
  

   the 
  Neolithic 
  peoples, 
  in 
  northern 
  China 
  at 
  least, 
  seem 
  not 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  

   very 
  warlike. 
  

  

  Villages 
  of 
  these 
  underground 
  huts 
  were 
  not 
  occupied 
  continuously 
  

   over 
  very 
  many 
  years. 
  On 
  the 
  contrary, 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  the 
  soil 
  of 
  the 
  vi- 
  

   cinity 
  had 
  lost 
  its 
  fertility 
  through 
  the 
  wasteful 
  mode 
  of 
  cultivation 
  

   then 
  used, 
  and 
  which 
  included 
  clearing 
  the 
  ground 
  with 
  the 
  aid 
  of 
  

   fire, 
  villages 
  were 
  shifted 
  to 
  other 
  localities 
  with 
  unexhausted 
  soil. 
  

  

  Tillage. 
  — 
  Cultivation 
  was 
  probably 
  carried 
  on 
  in 
  common, 
  perhaps 
  

   mainly 
  by 
  the 
  women 
  for 
  magical 
  reasons 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  idea 
  of 
  

   fertility. 
  The 
  implements 
  used 
  were 
  digging 
  sticks, 
  hoes, 
  mattocks, 
  

   sickles, 
  and 
  perhaps 
  spades, 
  shod 
  with 
  stone 
  or 
  shell. 
  (See 
  pi. 
  3, 
  fig. 
  1, 
  

   and 
  fig. 
  3.) 
  The 
  staple 
  crop 
  was 
  common 
  millet 
  {Panicum 
  milia- 
  

  

  ft 
  h 
  

  

  Figure 
  2. 
  — 
  Modern 
  and 
  ancient 
  forms 
  of 
  Chinese 
  character 
  for 
  hsiieh 
  

   (a 
  den 
  or 
  pit 
  dwelling). 
  

  

  ceum) 
  , 
  and 
  many 
  mullets 
  and 
  mealing 
  stones, 
  used 
  in 
  preparing 
  this 
  

   grain 
  for 
  human 
  consumption, 
  have 
  been 
  found. 
  Rice 
  also 
  was 
  being 
  

   grown 
  in 
  the 
  Yellow 
  River 
  basin 
  in 
  Neolithic 
  times 
  ; 
  and 
  there 
  is 
  some 
  

   slight 
  (though 
  doubtful) 
  indication 
  that 
  sorghum 
  (kaoliang 
  or 
  giant 
  

   millet 
  — 
  now 
  an 
  important 
  food 
  crop) 
  was 
  also 
  known 
  then. 
  

  

  Beer, 
  brewed 
  from 
  millet 
  and 
  perhaps 
  also 
  from 
  rice, 
  may 
  likewise 
  

   have 
  been 
  made. 
  The 
  method 
  used 
  in 
  early 
  times 
  to 
  set 
  up 
  fermenta- 
  

   tion 
  was 
  that 
  of 
  chewing 
  the 
  grain 
  and 
  then 
  steeping 
  it 
  in 
  water. 
  

  

  Animal 
  husbandry. 
  — 
  In 
  its 
  variety 
  of 
  domestic 
  animals 
  during 
  this 
  

   cultural 
  stage, 
  China 
  was 
  far 
  poorer 
  than 
  was 
  the 
  Occident. 
  The 
  lat- 
  

   ter 
  then 
  had 
  the 
  ox, 
  sheep, 
  goat, 
  pig, 
  and 
  dog. 
  China, 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  

   hand, 
  had 
  only 
  the 
  two 
  last, 
  though 
  toward 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  period 
  the 
  

   ox, 
  sheep 
  and 
  goats, 
  and 
  even 
  the 
  horse 
  may 
  have 
  appeared 
  (the 
  horse, 
  

   however, 
  perhaps 
  not 
  as 
  a 
  domestic 
  animal). 
  

  

  Implements 
  and 
  clothing. 
  — 
  Supplies 
  of 
  the 
  right 
  kind 
  of 
  stone 
  for 
  

   making 
  tools 
  and 
  implements 
  have 
  always 
  been 
  of 
  vital 
  importance 
  to 
  

   Neolithic 
  man 
  everywhere. 
  The 
  most 
  common 
  implement 
  in 
  China, 
  as 
  

   in 
  other 
  lands, 
  was 
  the 
  ground 
  and 
  polished 
  stone 
  celt, 
  which 
  occurs 
  in 
  

   two 
  forms, 
  the 
  ax 
  and 
  the 
  adz. 
  A 
  rectangular 
  or 
  semilunar 
  stone 
  

   knife 
  had 
  a 
  very 
  wide 
  distribution, 
  being 
  found 
  not 
  only 
  in 
  northern 
  

  

  