The earliest writing? Sign use in the seventh millennium BC at Jiahu, Henan Province, China
Top Cited Papers
- 1 March 2003
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Vol. 77 (295) , 31-44
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00061329
Abstract
Early Neolithic graves at Jiahu, Henan Province, China, include tortoise shells which are incised with signs – some of which anticipate later Chinese characters and may be intended as words. Is this the earliest writing? The authors decide rather that the signs in this very early period performed as symbols connected with ritual practice, but they presage a long period of sign use which led eventually to a writing system.Keywords
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- Shamanism as Neurotheology and Evolutionary PsychologyAmerican Behavioral Scientist, 2002
- Oldest playable musical instruments found at Jiahu early Neolithic site in ChinaNature, 1999
- Notes on the recent discovery of ancient cultivated rice at Jiahu, Henan Province: a new theory concerning the origin of Oryza japonica in ChinaPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,1998
- Current issues in Chinese Neolithic archaeologyJournal of World Prehistory, 1997
- Yangtze Seen as Earliest Rice SiteScience, 1997
- Shamans and Other “Magico‐Religious” Healers: A Cross‐Cultural Study of Their Origins, Nature, and Social TransformationsEthos, 1990
- The Chinese Neolithic: Recent Trends in ResearchAmerican Anthropologist, 1987
- 5. The Ch'ing-lien-kang Culture and the Chinese NeolithicPublished by University of California Press ,1983
- 9. Further Evidence to Support the Hypothesis of Indigenous Origins of Metallurgy in Ancient ChinaPublished by University of California Press ,1983
- The Earliest Precursor of WritingScientific American, 1978