Archaeological culture · c. 4700–2900 BCE
Hongshan culture
The Hongshan culture of northeast China, in western Liaoning and southeastern Inner Mongolia, is known for its carved jades, including some of the earliest jade 'pig-dragons', and for the ritual complex at Niuheliang with its 'Goddess Temple', altars and stone cairn tombs. Elite burials with jades show a ranked society with shared religious beliefs.
See Hongshan culture on the map in 4700 BCE
- On the map
- 4700–2900 BCE
How we know
No writing existed; sites from Inner Mongolia to Liaoning are dated by radiocarbon.
Sites
- Niuheliang c. 3500–3000 BCE