The Economic History of Remote Antiquity Period and The Three Dynasties (Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasty)

By Li Shi

The book is the volume of “The Economic History of Remote Antiquity Period and The Three Dynasties (Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasty)” among a series of books of “Deep into China Histories”.

The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC) and the Bamboo Annals (296 BC) describe a Xia dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BC) before the Shang, but no writing is known from the period The Shang ruled in the Yellow River valley, which is commonly held to be the cradle of Chinese civilization. However, Neolithic civilizations originated at various cultural centers along both the Yellow River and Yangtze River. These Yellow River and Yangtze civilizations arose millennia before the Shang. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest civilizations, and is regarded as one of the cradles of civilization.

The Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) supplanted the Shang and introduced the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to justify their rule. The central Zhou government began to weaken due to external and internal pressures in the 8th century BC, and the country eventually splintered into smaller states during the Spring and Autumn period. These states became independent and warred with one another in the following Warring States period. Much of traditional Chinese culture, literature and philosophy first developed during those troubled times.

In 221 BC Qin Shi Huang conquered the various warring states and created for himself the title of Huangdi or "emperor" of the Qin, marking the beginning of imperial China. However, the oppressive government fell soon after his death, and was supplanted by the longer-lived Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). Successive dynasties developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the emperor to control vast territories directly. In the 21 centuries from 206 BC until AD 1912, routine administrative tasks were handled by a special elite of scholar-officials. Young men, well-versed in calligraphy, history, literature, and philosophy, were carefully selected through difficult government examinations. China's last dynasty was the Qing (1644–1912), which was replaced by the Republic of China in 1912, and in the mainland by the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Chinese history has alternated between periods of political unity and peace, and periods of war and failed statehood – the most recent being the Chinese Civil War (1927–1949). China was occasionally dominated by steppe peoples, most of whom were eventually assimilated into the Han Chinese culture and population. Between eras of multiple kingdoms and warlordism, Chinese dynasties have ruled parts or all of China; in some eras control stretched as far as Xinjiang and Tibet, as at present. Traditional culture, and influences from other parts of Asia and the Western world (carried by waves of immigration, cultural assimilation, expansion, and foreign contact), form the basis of the modern culture of China.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Li Shi
• Release date: Mar 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463961803

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The Economic History of Remote Antiquity Period and The Three Dynasties (Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasty)

Remote Antiquity Period and The Three Dynasties Economic Overview

China's Remote Antiquity Period and the economic development of The Three Dynasties society in Xia, Shang and Xi Zhou were achieved by the hard-working struggle of the Remote Antiquity Period clan and The Three Dynasties laborers in production practice. This long and long process has laid a solid foundation for the economic development of the Chinese nation, and has also made great contributions to the development of the ancient world economy and the oriental civilization.

Due to the constraints of natural conditions and the limitations of human development, the economic progress of the Remote Antiquity Period society is very slow. China's Paleolithic Age has gone through a process of millions of years. Human beings live in mountain caves, and they live in groups. They use simple and rough stone tools and sticks as tools to engage in economic activities of collecting and hunting. With the experience of fire, it is difficult to develop and rehabilitate. The productivity at that time was extremely low. At present, the sites and relics of human activities in the Paleolithic Age have been discovered in 24 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions from Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the south, Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian. Among the important sites are: Yunnan Yuanmou Shangna, Beijing Fangshan Zhoukoudian, Shanxi Yucheng Xihoudu and Luohe, Kenting Village, Shaanxi Lantian Gongwangling, Liaoning Yingkou Jinniushan, Hubei Dayeshitou, Anhui Hexian Longtan Cave, Guizhou Guanyin Cave, Shaanxi Daxie Sweet Water Ditch, Shanxi Yanggao Xuji Kiln, Guangdong Qujiang Maba, Liaoning Kazuo Pigeon Cave, Ningxia Lingwu Shuidong Ditch, etc. The common features of the Paleolithic human production tools are: stone tablets always occupy the main components, followed by gravel stone and stone stone tools; direct impact by stone hammer, one-way reverse processing stone tools; scraper, pointed Two types of tools are the most common and constitute the tradition of Chinese Paleolithic techniques. With the development of the collection and fishing and hunting economy, scrapers and sharps are processed into more complex and diverse shapes; choppers are also one of the basic tools, and various sites are commonly found; engravers appear earlier, but the number There are not many shapes; the stone balls for hunting exist from morning to night, and the processing technology is constantly improving; the hand axe is not as developed as the European continent. The discovery of many sites shows that local people use choppers instead of hand axes. Production labor. In the late Paleolithic period, the hunting economy has taken a dominant position. The technology for making stone tools has developed. Indirect methods have been used. Finally, typical fine stone tools have emerged, and techniques for scraping and grinding bone tools have been invented. Drilling techniques have been applied to some bones and teeth and tendons, and sarcophagus and callus have appeared. The invention of the bow and arrow has greatly promoted the development of the fishing and hunting economy. People can not only use the collection method to fish the mollusks in the water, but also capture larger fish, expand the food source, and expand the space of production activities. It is on the basis of this major change in economic development that many parts of mainland China have entered the Middle Stone Age.

With the extinction of the last glaciers and the changes in climate and rivers and lakes, the economy of China's Remote Antiquity Period has developed to the Middle Stone Age around 12,000 to 890 years ago . At this stage, the socio-economic form of the clan is mainly the fishing and hunting economy, and the collection activity is transformed into a large-scale intensity collection and reduced to a secondary position. The stone-making device was changed from the thick and bulky of the Paleolithic Age to the fine and exquisite. The invention of the bow and arrow and the stone knives and the domestication of the dog are the great achievements of the production activities at this stage. The long-distance trek to chase the herd is the Middle Stone Age economy. Characteristics of the event. This stage of stone manufacturing technology is called the fine stone craft tradition. The remains of the hunters in the Middle Stone Age in mainland China, from the northeast, north China, northwest to southwest, are generally crescent-shaped, with sporadic discoveries in Shandong, Henan, and northern Jiangsu.

Regarding the existence of the Middle Stone Age in China, the archaeological community still has different views. Most scholars believe that China's Remote Antiquity Period society has experienced the development stage of the Middle Stone Age as the European and American continents and Africa and Oceania, mainly based on the following considerations:

1 The concept of Medium Stone Age determined by European scholars based on archaeological discoveries of the Old World has universal significance. However, due to the limitations of the times, it is impossible to fully summarize the full connotation and characteristics of the cultural relics in the same stage in other regions. Therefore, the content of this concept needs to be supplemented and improved according to the new archaeological findings;

2 China has discovered a large number of Paleolithic remains before the late Pleistocene, and has discovered many early Neolithic sites earlier than the Yangshao culture. There is a clear transition between the two;

3 In mainland China, which has the same area as Europe, the natural environment is complex, and human development has different economic regional characteristics, a large number of relics with the characteristics of human activities in the Middle Stone Age have been discovered, but this does not mean that every region must have experienced this. a stage of development;

4 It is necessary to re-examine the previous archaeological findings and refer to the research results of the Middle Stone Age of Europe to make necessary restrictions on the connotation and characteristics of the Chinese Middle Stone Age culture in order to establish the development sequence of the Chinese National Remote Antiquity Period culture;

5 China is one of the earliest areas of primitive agriculture in the world. The early stage of the agricultural economy in the Neolithic Age is still not very clear, and its origin should be explored in the transitional stage of the Middle Stone Age.

To this end, most scholars believe that the Middle Stone Age has existed in many parts of mainland China. Like all the developments in the Middle Stone Age of the world, China's Middle Stone Age economic development direction is also facing two different futures: First, the hunters found some river valleys in the process of constantly migrating and chasing the herd. The sloping land has a better environment and is willing to fix the camp frequently. In this environment, the intensity harvesting has fostered the cultivation of certain plants and began to domesticate some animals into livestock, thus producing a relatively stable settlement life and primitive agriculture and animal husbandry, becoming the first Neolithic instrument to appear on the Chinese land. The second generation is that some safaris have always lived on the grasslands and in the mountains and rivers, and they have continued to expand their range of pursuit of beasts. Although it may eventually learn to domesticate certain animals, there has been no invention of agriculture and no stable settlement. In this way, these clan tribes have prolonged the production and lifestyle of the Middle Stone Age, and even did not fundamentally change in the late Neolithic period.

In the above context, China's early agriculture first occurred in the Yellow River Basin and the Yangtze River Basin. About 10,000 years ago, China entered the Neolithic Age.

From the birth of agriculture to the emergence of the country more than 4,000 years ago, the economy of China's Remote Antiquity Period has undergone more and more changes, and the speed of economic development has been accelerating. In the Neolithic Age, China's economy was dominated by agriculture. The fishing and hunting economy was a supplement to agriculture and still occupied an important position. This era can be divided into two major economic systems: the maize farming in the Yellow River Basin and the rice farming in the Yangtze River Basin. It is also the North and South Systems . According to different natural conditions and production development characteristics, certain economies can be specifically divided. region. In view of the fact that the economic situation of the Remote Antiquity Period relies mainly on the material cultural relics buried underground, according to archaeological findings, these economic regions mainly have the following:

The 1泾渭 area is dominated by the Lishui and Lishui river basins, and the west reaches the upper reaches of the Yellow River and its tributaries, Lishui and Daxiahe, and the east reaches the lower reaches of the Lishui River and the western Henan area. In this region, the development of agricultural economy, animal husbandry and handicraft industry, through the Baijia culture of Shaanxi and the Dadiwan culture of Gansu, developed to the type of Banpo of Yangshao culture, the type of temple bottom ditch, the type of historian, and the type of Xiwangcun. Longshan culture is closely related to the origin of the Zhou people;

2 Heluo District is dominated by the middle reaches of the Yellow River and its tributaries, Yihe and Luohe Rivers, including Zhengzhou, Kaifeng and Xuchang in the east of Lushan Mountain. In this region, the agricultural economy develops rapidly, from the early Ligang culture in the Neolithic Age to the type of the Yanghe Village in the Yangshao culture and the Wangwan type in the Longshan culture. It has a certain relationship with the origin of the merchants;

3 Haishu District is mainly in the lower Yellow River and the Wenhe, Weihe, Weihe and Weihe River basins, east and sea, south to northern Jiangsu and Huaibei. The center is around Mount Tai and Yimeng Mountain. In this region, from the Qingliangang culture at the early stage of the Neolithic Age, the Dawenkou culture to the typical Longshan culture in the late period, and even the Yueshi culture in the Bronze Age, the economic development has always been a system of its own, unique. Dongyi is an important area for economic development in mainland China and one of the origins of civilization;

4 The northeastern region is dominated by the Liaohe River and its upstream Xilamulun River, Laoha River and Jiaolai River Basin, as well as the Liaodong Mountain and Songhua River and Nenjiang Plain. The economic shape of this vast region presents a relatively complex appearance. The agricultural economy in the Liaohe River Basin is relatively advanced, but some tribes dominated by animal husbandry and hunting are active. In the remote north, the agricultural economy appears very late, and the clan settlements are also not much. Inner Mongolia’s Xinglong Culture, Hongshan Culture and even the Bronze Age Xiajiadian culture have played a significant role in local economic development;

5 Jianghan District is centered on the lower reaches of the Han River and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. It is on the north bank of the Dongting Lake in the south and the Tongbai Mountain and Dabie Mountain in the north. In this area, from the Daxi culture in the Three Gorges and some of the remains, to the tribe remains of the Qujialing culture and the Longshan culture period, it eventually evolved into the Shijiahe culture in the early Bronze Age, on the Yangtze River basin. The development of rice farming plays a vital role and laid the foundation for the three seedlings and Jingchu civilization, an important part of the Chinese nation;

6 Wuyue District includes the Ningzhen area in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, around Taihu Lake, south to the Ningshao Plain south of Hangzhou Bay, and north to Jianghuai. In this region, from Hemudu Culture, Majiatun Culture, and Zhangze Culture to the end of the Neolithic Age and the Liangzhu Culture in the early Bronze Age, the series is self-contained and clearly reflects the Remote Antiquity Period Society in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces. Economic development is booming. In this system, there is also the independent color of the Beiyin Yangying culture in the Ningzhen area and the Xuejiagang culture in the Chaohu area, thus forming the Baiyue culture with obvious commonalities and different characteristics, and is also an important part of the Central Pacific cultural circle;

7 Xiangyu District mainly includes the Xiangjiang River Basin to the south bank of Dongting Lake, the Lancang River Basin to the southern part of Poyang Lake, the west to the Lancang River Basin, the east to the south of Huaiyu Mountain, and the south to the hilly area of northern Guangdong. In this area, the site of the Jiangxi Wannian Xianren Cave in the early Neolithic Age was discovered. There is also a late mountain culture and Shixia culture. In general, due to the natural environment and many alpine forests, the landform is complex and the agricultural economy is not developed enough. The fishing and hunting economy continues, and productivity is relatively low compared to other economic zones;

8 North China mainly refers to the area around Taihang Mountain, including Yanghe River, Sanggan River, Yongding River, Weihe River and Fuyang River Basin, north to Weihe River and south to the banks of the Weihe River. In this area, there are the magnetic mountain culture in the early Neolithic Age and the Hougang type of the Yangshao culture, the type of Dashang Village, and the Hougang type in the Longshan period. The ruins of the gully have already shown the disintegration of the clan system. face;

9 Chuanyu District This area includes the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and its tributaries Jinsha River, Yalong River, Dadu River, Minjiang River, Lancang River, Lancang River, Jialing River Basin, west to the Hengjiang Mountains, the Nujiang River and the Lancang Mountains, and the east to the Daba Mountain. Hey. In this area, the mountains and ridges are undulating, the canyons are deep and the waters are rushing. Many clan still live the life of collecting, fishing and hunting. They only have a certain scale of agricultural production in a few areas such as the Chengdu Plain;

10 South China mainly includes Fujian's Lancang River Basin, Guangdong, Guangxi's Xijiang River Basin, Dongjiang River Basin and the South China Sea coast. The Remote Antiquity Period clan culture in this region has few cultural relics, and the agriculture is underdeveloped and has the characteristics of a marine economy.

In each of the above regions, the emergence and initial development of agriculture has not been clearly clarified by archaeological data, but there are only a few discoveries in some areas, such as some cave sites in South China. About 8,000 years ago, the early Neolithic agricultural tribes of the Yellow River Basin, the Yangtze River Basin and the Bohai Bay region began to appear, but they have gone a long way from the Middle Stone Age. In the middle of the Neolithic Age, six or seven thousand years ago, the Majiayao culture in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, the Yangshao culture in the middle reaches, and the Dawenkou culture in the lower reaches show the prosperity of the clan society and the animation of human economic activities; the Yangtze River Basin Daxi culture, Qujialing culture and Majiatun culture reflect different colors with the economic production of the Yellow River Basin; the red mountain culture in the north is closer to the characteristics of the Yellow River Basin, and the Shixia culture in Lingnan is similar to the Yangtze River basin. Together they constitute the basic framework of the agricultural economy in mainland China.

Around 5,000 years ago, China's economic development entered the late Neolithic period, that is, the Longshan culture stage. During this period, local clan tribe groups marched toward the city-state of the Military Democratic Alliance, and the Remote Antiquity Period society reached the legendary era of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors. In the Yellow River Basin and the Yangtze River Basin, the achievements in pottery and jade craftsmanship are particularly outstanding. The round black pottery of Shandong Longshan Culture and the jade processing of the tribes of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River have reached a level of skill. In most economic regions, the handicraft industry has gradually become a specialized industry for clan members with different technologies, thus promoting the development of material exchange as a commodity, and the emergence of the urban economy has emerged in the market trade. The political structure of the society is violently turbulent on the basis of economic changes. The exchange and integration of different cultures around the country has accelerated the pace and made the identity of the cultural landscape increasingly obvious. In the great transformation, the agricultural economy in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River is in a leading position, laying a solid foundation for the emergence of the Bronze Age.

Around the 22nd century BC, Chinese history entered the Xia Dynasty. The material culture created by the Xia people who lived in the western part of Henan Province and the southern part of Shanxi Province for a long time, the archaeological community called summer culture. After the establishment of the Xia Dynasty, the history of the Xia Dynasty was not only the history of the Xia, but the common history of different tribes across China. Xia's jurisdiction is mainly in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, surrounded by large and small city-states. The Xia Dynasty's economy developed rapidly in the late period of Longshan culture. Archaeological findings indicate that a number of large-scale urban sites appeared in the Xia Dynasty. Many relics unearthed from settlements and public cemeteries reflect agriculture, animal husbandry and handicrafts. With greater development, the emergence of science and technology such as astronomy, calendar, and copper smelting has increased social productivity, while looting and mergers have also made wealth more concentrated in the hands of a few. Prisoners of war and slaves are the main creators of material wealth. The rich pottery, jade, and the art of decorative arts and decorative arts show the designer's ingenuity and reflect human progress and civilization.

After the Xia Dynasty, Chinese history reached the Shang Dynasty at the end of the 17th century BC. The merchants have combined the agricultural and handicraft production experience of the eastern coastal areas with the science and technology of the Central Plains, and at the same time developed their own commodity trading expertise in a broader space, thus making the social economy more active. Due to the expansion of the geographical area of the Shang Dynasty and the larger scale of production, there have been relatively fixed production bases for mining, smelting and casting bronzes. A large number of bronze vessels with various shapes and solemn patterns have become the treasures of ancient Chinese culture; the improvement of agricultural production tools and the promotion of new farming techniques have not only increased grain output, but also made the sericulture, textile and animal husbandry industries Progress; the development of the car and shipbuilding industry has promoted the development of land and water transportation, and also contributed to the exchange of materials, the dissemination of production technology and the exchange of goods; the handicrafts of jade, bamboo and wood, lacquerware and bone anglers in the Shang Dynasty. The comprehensive development has brought the social economy to a prosperous situation. On the basis of economic development and continuous improvement of building technology, more and more majestic cities have emerged on both sides of the Yellow River and the north and south of the Yangtze River. Although due to the constraints of natural conditions, there are still clan tribes in the Bianbu region with low productivity and only knowing how to fish and fish, but in general, China, ruled by the Shang Dynasty, has become the most powerful slave country in the world.

In the Western Zhou Dynasty established in the 11th century BC, economic development created conditions for greater national integration. The economic system of the Western Zhou Dynasty has been relatively perfect, and the country's agricultural and handicraft production has been integrated into the track of the ruler's macro-control. The implementation of the minefield system has made agricultural production a large-scale and well-organized collective labor, and has bound slaves and free people on the land. Agriculture is still the main economic activity of people; the production scale of animal husbandry and various handicrafts is in the Shang Dynasty. On the basis of continued expansion, the products are more abundant; the bronze smelting and casting technology not only extends to the Yangtze River basin, but also the products have been distributed to the northeast and southwestern countries; the western Zhou’s commercial economy is more developed, and the currency has become more and more widely exchanged. Circulation, and become a symbol of wealth, market management has formed a system, and some of the ruling group's characters have participated in market operations and trade activities, and business and industry have become a social force with certain influence. In the situation of the economic development of the Yellow River Basin and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the struggle within the ruling group has become increasingly fierce. In 770 BC, the Zhou Dynasty moved eastward, and Chinese history entered the era of the Spring and Autumn Warring States.

Second, the Paleolithic and Middle Stone Age economy

(1) The emergence of human society and the Paleolithic age

The history of China's Remote Antiquity Period society began with the discovery of ancient human fossils and Paleolithic. Remote Antiquity Period The human economic activities of the society began to form and hunt in the middle and late Paleolithic era, dating back hundreds of thousands of years.

In the 1920s, Zhoukoudian in the southwestern suburbs of Beijing discovered the Beijing monks and cavemen. After the 1950s, archaeological investigations and excavations in the Paleolithic era flourished. By the 1990s, nearly 400 Paleolithic sites were discovered, covering nearly 100 counties and cities in more than 20 provinces and regions in the mainland, including Yunnan Yuanmou. The upper Paleolithic remains of the Shangnao, the Xihoudu and the Weihe River in Shanxi, the Xiaochangliang of Yangyuan in Hebei, the Gongwangling in Lantian, Shaanxi, the Guanyin Cave in Guizhou, and the Jinniushan in Yingkou, Liaoning; Dashi Village in Shaanxi, Dingcun in Shanxi and Xujiayao in Yanggao, Maba in Qujiang, Guangdong, Tonglu in Guizhou, Changyang in Hubei, Kazuo in Liaoning, and the Middle Ages of the Paleolithic Age; Lingwu Shuidonggou, Shanxi The remains of the Paleolithic culture, such as the 峙峪 of the county, the Xiaonanhai of Anyang, Henan, and the Hutouliang of the Yangyuan of Hebei. In these sites, a large number of human-made stone tools, human skeleton fossils, animal bone fossils and other relic remains were unearthed. The cultural relics of the Paleolithic era show the production and living conditions of the residents of the Remote Antiquity Period in mainland China about 1 million years ago .

Human economic activities in the Paleolithic era were mainly collection and hunting. At that time, people lived in caves or partially lived in trees, using the fruits, nuts and rhizomes of some plants as food, while collectively hunting wild animals and fishing rods in rivers and lakes to maintain their lives. The remains and relics in the caves have been left a lot, but it is difficult to leave any traces in the life of the trees. From the ancient literature, you can find the shadow of the tree and collection of the Remote Antiquity Period . From the late Paleolithic to the Middle Stone Age, human life was characterized by caves or nests, gathering and hunting.

Ethnography also reflects the living of human beings in the Stone Age. The history document of the Yi nationality, Southwestern Zhizhi records: People did not live on the ground at the beginning, the beasts were spotted and ran in the forest; people lived in the trees, the beasts were in the same place ; The Savage Jingpo clan, Ru Mao drinking blood, staying on the tree ; Guizhou Tongzhi records that a few Miao ancestors once framed a nest like a bird's nest ; the ancient Sushen people in the northeast also had nested in the summer, winter the caves " . Although these ethnic minorities have long since escaped the economic life of collecting and hunting, their nesting lifestyles have consistently shown that the Remote Antiquity Period has had such an experience for a long period of time.

In the early Paleolithic ruins, there were a large number of traces of mammalian fossils and human fires coexisting with the scorpion fossils. In addition to the rough and clumsy stone tools, there are processed antlers and chopped bones. The economic activities of human beings during this period were in an extremely primitive stage of germination.

About ten to twenty-three thousand years ago, equivalent to the late Pleistocene in geological history, that is, in the middle and late Paleolithic period of archaeology, human economic activities have gradually become active. At that time, islands such as Taiwan and Japan were connected to the mainland by land bridges. In the northeastern part of Asia, the Bering Strait also had land access to North America. The climate in mainland China is relatively dry and cold, and thick loess is accumulated in the northwest plateau and the north China. During this period of the interglacial period, most of the vegetation in the mainland is forest grassland or semi-arid grassland, and the natural conditions are relatively bad. It is in this harsh environment that mankind seeks to survive, to be exercised and developed, and finally to break away from the animal world and become a modern person. In the middle and late Paleolithic period that geologists called the loess period, anthropologists called it the Homo sapiens stage. Clan organizations have been widely distributed in the Yellow River Basin, the Yangtze River Basin, the Northeast Region, and South China. The medium improvement tool invented the friction and fire, thus promoting the development of the original economy.

In the initial economic activities, human beings only collected, hunt and fished for survival. These activities were first discovered, and stone balls that could be used for hunting were found in the site of the Weihe River in the early Paleolithic period, indicating that the germination of the hunting economy had occurred at that time. In the Paleolithic era, collecting and preying small animals was always the people. The main economic activity. Collective hunting of large animals often costs a lot.

In the middle of the Paleolithic period, the technology of making stone tools was improved compared with the early stage. Dingcun people have more types of stone tools, various types of choppers, scrapers, triangular sharps and stone balls unearthed in the site. Some shapes are quite regular. Explain the differentiation of the function of stone tools. Compared with Dingcun people, Xujiayao people have higher hunting skills. From the unearthed stone tools, they not only knock the stone fragments around the edge of the stone core table, but also make more small pointed shapes. , engraver, small stone drill and small chopper. A turtle-shaped scraper and a short round-head scraper, the edge of which has been carefully processed, has initially created the style of fine stone craftsmanship, representing the progressive factors of the Paleolithic culture. As an effective weapon stone for hunting large animals, thousands of them were found in the camps of Xujiayao people, vividly showing the high development of this clan hunting economy. Stone leaves that prevailed in the late Paleolithic and Middle Stone Ages have also appeared here. This tool is closely related to hunting and eating meat. The total number of bones in the remains of Xujiayao was in tons, but no complete individual was found. Even a complete skull was not found, indicating that it was basically a discard of people after eating meat. They are also good at machining the bone angles of animals into shovel tools, triangular tips and scrapers. The Xujiayao people lived 40,000 years ago, and their hunting economy represented a high level at that time.

Two or three thousand years ago, it was the late stage of the Paleolithic Age in China. The primitive economy, which was mainly based on collection and supplemented by hunting, had a faster development in various places. Judging from the stone tools and relics found in the important sites, Xiaonanhai and Hutouliang, the production level at that time was continuously improving and improving. With the invention of bow and arrow as the symbol, the hunting economy has been further developed.

The site of the Shanxi dynasty excavated in 1963, as far as 28,000 years ago, there were as many as 15,000 pieces of stone materials, and a composite tool such as stone arrows and small stone knives was unearthed. When the Xiaonanhai cave was first discovered in 1960, more than 7,000 pieces of stone products were unearthed within 10 square meters. It can be seen that the stoneware manufacturing industry has been quite large. At the Hutouliang site in Yangyuan, Hebei Province, archaeologists cleared three bonfire remains. The ash contained burnt bones and ostrich egg skins, surrounded by large pieces of stone, stone chips and large gravel used as stone anvils. This is obviously a camp for hunters.

In the primitive society, human production activities were greatly restricted by natural conditions. The stone tools were