Siwa culture

Map of Bronze Age China; the Siwa culture area is similar to the Qijia culture (#3)

The Siwa culture (Chinese: 寺洼文化; pinyin: Sìwā wénhuà) was a Bronze Age culture in southeast Gansu Province, China. It was discovered by Swedish geologist Johan Gunnar Andersson in 1924 at Mount Siwa (寺洼山) in Lintao County, hence its name.[1] It flourished circa 14th to 11th century BC,[2] it is tentatively attributed to the cultures of the Di (氐) and Qiang (羌) peoples.[3]

Context

The neighbouring Xindian culture was roughly contemporary with the Siwa culture, and was influenced by it. Some scholars hold that Siwa culture descended from the Qijia culture.[4]

Geography

Siwa culture is divided into two types – Siwa and Anguo. The former is distributed along the Tao River (Taohe) and the latter along the Wei River. The Siwa type is somewhat earlier than the Western Zhou dynasty, while the Anguo type is more or less contemporaneous with it.[5]

One of Siwa culture's main characteristics is pottery with saddle-shaped openings (马鞍口陶罐),[6] It is also distinguished by its bronze objects.

Since 2006, the Siwa site (寺洼遗址) is on the list of the People's Republic of China's archeological monuments.

References

  1. ↑ These sites are also called Miaopingyagou yizhi 庙坪鸦沟遗址.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
  3. ↑ 甘肃日报 [Gānsù Rìbào, Gansu Daily]. 《走进临洮县寺洼文化遗址》 [Zǒujìn Líntáoxiàn Sìwā Wénhuà Yízhǐ; "Entering Lintao County's Siwa Ruins"]. 2007. Accessed 17 Dec 2013. (in Chinese)
  4. ↑ Anne P. Underhill, ed., A Companion to Chinese Archaeology. Wiley Blackwell Companions to Anthropology. John Wiley & Sons, 2013 ISBN 1118325788
  5. ↑ An Zhimin (1996), THE BRONZE AGE IN EASTERN PARTS OF CENTRAL ASIA. (PDF) Unesco.org
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2011-01-11.

Further reading

  • Nicola Di Cosmo (1999), The Northern Frontier in Pre-Imperial China//The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC, Edited by M.Loewe and E.L.Shaughnessy. ISBN 0-521-47030-7
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