Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Majiayao culture" in English language version.
Four big circles are found on its belly, with the swastika pattern inside each circle.
Both a cross notation and a swastika symbol are popular decorative patterns and marks on Machang phase pottery vessels.
The long period of warm and humid climatic conditions from the Late Glacial to the Middle Holocene favoured the development and expansion of the Majiayao and Qijia cultures. This stable and agriculturally suitable climate was conducive to increased food production, which contributed to rapid population growth. However, the continuous aridification that began in the Late Holocene led to a decline in agricultural production and insufficient food and water supply, which hampered population growth and cultural development.
The early cultural exchanges between the East and the West are mainly reflected in several aspects: first, in the late Neolithic period of painted pottery culture, the Yangshao culture (5000-3000 BC) from the Central Plains spreadwestward, which had a great impact on Majiayao culture (3000-2000 BC), and then continued to spread to Xinjiang and Central Asia through the transition of Hexi corridor
The development of several key technologies in China —bronze and iron metallurgy and horse-drawn chariots— arose out of the relations of central China, of the Erlitou period (c. 1700–1500 BC), the Shang (c.1500–1046 BC) and the Zhou (1046–771 BC) dynasties, with their neighbours in the steppe. Intermediaries in these exchanges were disparate groups in a broad border area of relatively high land around the heart of China, the Central Plains. The societies of central China were already so advanced that, when these foreign innovations were adopted, they were transformed within highly organised social and cultural systems.
Zooarchaeological and genetic research shows that the earliest domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats emerged in Western Asia and Northeast Africa at ∼10,000 cal BP (Loftus et al., 1994; Bradley et al., 1998; Zeder and Hesse, 2000; Marshall and Hildebrand 2002; Tong, 2004; Daly et al., 2018, 2021). During the past few decades, archaeologists have conducted many studies concerning the dating of the earliest domestic cattle, sheep, and goats in China (Yuan, 2015, 2021; Cai et al., 2018; Brunson et al., 2020; Hu, 2021). However, the timing and paths of early dispersal for domestic cattle and caprines into China are still unclear. One view is that domestic cattle and caprines were introduced into the Gansu-Qinghai (GQ) region from the Hexi Corridor during the Majiayao culture period (5600-5000BP), and then spread to other parts of China (Yuan, 2015, 2021). Another view is that domestic cattle and caprines spread eastward through the Eurasian grasslands, first passing through the Mongolian Plateau at ∼5500-4500 cal BP before moving south into China (Jaang 2015; Cai et al., 2018; Hu, 2021).
The development of several key technologies in China —bronze and iron metallurgy and horse-drawn chariots— arose out of the relations of central China, of the Erlitou period (c. 1700–1500 BC), the Shang (c.1500–1046 BC) and the Zhou (1046–771 BC) dynasties, with their neighbours in the steppe. Intermediaries in these exchanges were disparate groups in a broad border area of relatively high land around the heart of China, the Central Plains. The societies of central China were already so advanced that, when these foreign innovations were adopted, they were transformed within highly organised social and cultural systems.
The early cultural exchanges between the East and the West are mainly reflected in several aspects: first, in the late Neolithic period of painted pottery culture, the Yangshao culture (5000-3000 BC) from the Central Plains spreadwestward, which had a great impact on Majiayao culture (3000-2000 BC), and then continued to spread to Xinjiang and Central Asia through the transition of Hexi corridor
the argument for possible Afanasievo-Xinjiang contact based on the finds at the Gumugou cemetery in the north-eastern rim of the Tarim basin would seem reasonable and needs to be kept open for the future archaeological finds. In other words, the possibility for the dispersal of early copperbased metallurgy from the Eurasian steppe into Xinjiang and further east to Gansu cannot be excluded at present and will have to be considered when further archaeological evidence becomes available.
Zooarchaeological and genetic research shows that the earliest domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats emerged in Western Asia and Northeast Africa at ∼10,000 cal BP (Loftus et al., 1994; Bradley et al., 1998; Zeder and Hesse, 2000; Marshall and Hildebrand 2002; Tong, 2004; Daly et al., 2018, 2021). During the past few decades, archaeologists have conducted many studies concerning the dating of the earliest domestic cattle, sheep, and goats in China (Yuan, 2015, 2021; Cai et al., 2018; Brunson et al., 2020; Hu, 2021). However, the timing and paths of early dispersal for domestic cattle and caprines into China are still unclear. One view is that domestic cattle and caprines were introduced into the Gansu-Qinghai (GQ) region from the Hexi Corridor during the Majiayao culture period (5600-5000BP), and then spread to other parts of China (Yuan, 2015, 2021). Another view is that domestic cattle and caprines spread eastward through the Eurasian grasslands, first passing through the Mongolian Plateau at ∼5500-4500 cal BP before moving south into China (Jaang 2015; Cai et al., 2018; Hu, 2021).
