Xi'an - Banpo Museum Banpo Bowuguan

This museum lies 4km/2.5mi east of Xi'an on a site where, in the 1950s, archaeologists unearthed a 6000 year-old village which had operated on a matriarchal structure. About 500 people would have lived in the village, which was surrounded by a ditch 6m/20ft wide and equally deep. The houses, all facing south, were square or round in plan and arranged around a large house 160sq.m/1720sq.ft in area.

Corn and other supplies were kept in the store rooms. Adults would have been buried in graves outside the living area, while children were interred near the houses.

Visitors can see the remains of 45 houses, 2 stables, more than 200 cellars, 6 kilns and about 250 graves. Tools and equipment made of stone, terracotta and bone have also been found. The pottery items, which are attributed to the Yangshao culture, are frequently decorated with fishes and have marks scratched on them which are probably the forerunners of a form of writing.