Banpo Neolithic Village Museum gets its name from the remains of Banpo village which is loaacted east of Xian . The remains were discovered in 1953. The village was inhabited from about 4500 B.C. to 3750 B.C. The museum was constructed in 1958. When you enter the museum, there are the hall containing the ruins, the cultural relics, and also the clay cave ruins. A Banpo Lady Statue on the rock in the garden pond has a physical resemblance to the early Banpo people.
It is recorded that about 6000 years ago, a village was set up by a late Neolithic people. There were about 500 villagers who lived in the village. Visitors can still see the remains of over 40 houses, over 200 cellars, 6 kilns. At that time it was a matriarchal society built on farming. The houses were made of thatch over wood beams while the floors were dug two to three feet into the ground. Heat was offered by a fire in the center of the house. Food was kept in underground caves, deep enough to protect from wildlife or infected by insects.
The Banpo peple worked together. They dug a trench around the whole village both for protection and for drainage. There was a big meeting venue in the middle of the village and a site for central storage. Most of the tools were made of stone, but some tolls were of bone. The stone tools seem very sharp, but it was still lucky that the Banpo lived in a place where the soil was loose and easily dug.
In terms of Art, the pots are found with the form of geometric designs and human and animal figures. Some of the pots have marks scratched on them that may be a form of writing. The village produced the pots for the use of drinking, storage, cooking, and burial.
Address: Banpo Road, N.01, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province
Tel: 86-29-83512375 Transport: Bus 11 15 42 105 230 Open time: Daily 9:00am to 5.30:00pm; Admission: RMB 15 per person
and also the clay cave ruins. A Banpo Lady Statue on the rock in the garden pond has a physical resemblance to the early Banpo people.
The Banpo peple worked together. They dug a trench around the whole village both for protection and for drainage. There was a big meeting venue in the middle of the village and a site for central storage. Most of the tools were made of stone, but some tolls were of bone. The stone tools seem very sharp, but it was still lucky that the Banpo lived in a place where the soil was loose and easily dug.
