The Yangshao Culture painted pottery is mainly painted, with exquisite colorful patterns painted on the utensils. Banpo painted pottery depicts animals that people came into contact with at that time. Lively dots and lines are interspersed between the curved surfaces of the Miaodigou painted pottery, making the patterns distinct and rhythmic. Majiayao culture has a high proportion of painted pottery, and its inner color is particularly developed, etc.
The Yangshao Culture dates back about 7,000 years and was the most prosperous period of my country's Neolithic painted pottery. It is located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, centered on the Loess Plateau, and covers Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Hebei, Ningxia and other places. The pottery technology of the Yangshao Culture is quite mature, and the utensils are neat and exquisite. Most of them are fine clay red pottery and sand-filled red pottery. Gray pottery and black pottery are relatively rare. The decoration is mainly painted, with exquisite colorful patterns painted on the utensils, reflecting part of people's lives and the ingenuity of artistic creation at that time. There are also polishing, printing, and other decorative techniques. Due to differences in time span and geographical distribution, Yangshao culture must be classified and distinguished, mainly including Banpo type and Miaodigou type.
Banpo painted pottery was first discovered in Banpo, Xi'an and has a history of 7,000 years. It is a type of painted pottery culture with an earlier history, outstanding characteristics and greater influence in my country. The early decorations on Banpo painted pottery were mostly scattered dots. In other words, on a vessel, decoration often only occupies a small part of the surface, and the patterns are generally reproductions of natural forms. The lovely image of the Banpo pattern expresses the innocence of human childhood and the intimate relationship with nature. If you appreciate it carefully, the feeling of being one with nature can be said to be a record of the primitive life of the Banpo people. The decorative images mainly depict the animals that people came into contact with at that time. There are also some simple patterns such as fold lines, triangles, net patterns, etc.
Miaodigou type painted pottery mainly includes basins, bowls, jars, etc. There were also gourd-shaped bottles similar to Banpo in the early and middle periods. Miaodigou painted pottery is much more mature than Banpo. The points, lines, and surfaces are properly matched, and the space is clear and bright. Lively dots and lines are interspersed between the curved surfaces, giving the pattern a distinct rhythm and a strong sense of rhythm. The continuous organizational structure of the two sides is the embodiment of the beat, which gives it a strong musical effect. This reflects the original tranquility and quiet mentality.
The pottery industry of the Majiayao Culture is very developed. Its painted pottery inherits the hearty style of the Miaodigou type of the Yangshao Culture, but the expression is more refined, forming a gorgeous and elegant artistic style, which is better than that of the Yangshao Culture. With further development, artistic achievement reached its pinnacle. The development of painted pottery is a remarkable feature of the Majiayao culture. Among all the painted pottery cultures found in my country, the Majiayao culture has the highest proportion of colored pottery, and its inner colors are also particularly developed, and the patterns have very distinctive characteristics of the times.
Painted pottery originated in the Neolithic Age about 10,000 years ago. In the Neolithic Age, humans invented the pottery-making technology along with the relatively settled farming culture. The Guanzhong area had relatively developed pottery during the Laoguantai culture period around 6000 BC. Some bowl-shaped vessels were decorated with a wide ribbon on the mouth, which was the germ of painted pottery.
Chinese painted pottery was discovered relatively late, about 84 years ago, but the birth of painted pottery has a history of 8,000 years. Painted pottery records information on economic life, religious culture and other aspects of the initial period of human civilization.
The origin of Chinese painted pottery has always been controversial. The 51 cm diameter painted pottery round bottom fish pattern basin discovered in Dadiwan is the largest fish pattern basin in China. It is completely different from the Yangshao culture in the strata above. The texture of the pottery sherds is brittle and the color is uneven. There are almost no large pieces of pottery sherds. Most of the funerary objects in the tombs have been broken. The excavators vividly called these pottery sherds "pastry". This phenomenon can explain that at that time The pottery making technology is relatively primitive.
The Dadiwan painted pottery is almost synchronized with the Mesopotamia and Central Asia where painted pottery first appeared in the world, indicating that Chinese painted pottery originated from the Weihe River Basin in northwest my country.