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Concept
Liangzhu culture
Summary
The Liangzhu culture or Liangzhu civilization (ˈljɑːŋˈdʒuː; 3300–2300 BC) was the last Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta of China. The culture was highly stratified, as jade, silk, ivory and lacquer artifacts were found exclusively in elite burials, while pottery was more commonly found in the burial plots of poorer individuals. This division of class indicates that the Liangzhu period was an early state, symbolized by the clear distinction drawn between social classes in funeral structures. A pan-regional urban center had emerged at the Liangzhu city-site and elite groups from this site presided over the local centers. The Liangzhu culture was extremely influential and its sphere of influence reached as far north as Shanxi and as far south as Guangdong. The primary Liangzhu site was perhaps among the oldest Neolithic sites in East Asia that would be considered a state society. The type site at Liangzhu was discovered in Yuhang County, Zhejiang and initially excavated by Shi Xingeng in 1936.
On 6 July 2019, Liangzhu was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Liangzhu culture flourished around 2500 BC, but disappeared from the Taihu Lake area after around 2300 BC . Almost no traces of the culture were found from the following years in this area.
Recent research has shown that rising waters interrupted the development of human settlements several times in this area. This led researchers to conclude the demise of the Liangzhu culture was brought about by extreme environmental changes such as floods, as the cultural layers are usually interrupted by muddy or marshy and sandy–gravelly layers with buried paleo trees. An alternative scenario proposes that extremely heavy monsoon rains during this period resulted in massive flooding which destroyed dams and the culture's settlements. This theory was backed by a study in 2021, suggesting that a decades-long period of high precipitation (between 4345 ± 32 years and 4324 ± 30 years B.P.
Official source
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