 Area map of the Siwa culture, with main sites (  ): Ya’er, Lanqiao, Xujianian, Jiuzhan... Also shown: the Chinese capital ofXi'an ( ) and theWestern Zhou frontier outpost ofBaicaopo ( ) | |||||||
| Geographical range | upperYellow River | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Bronze Age | ||||||
| Dates | c. 1300 – c. 600 BCE | ||||||
| Preceded by | Majiayao culture Qijia culture | ||||||
| Followed by | Ordos culture Shajing culture Han dynasty | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 寺洼文化 | ||||||
| |||||||
TheSiwa culture (Chinese:寺洼文化;pinyin:Sìwā wénhuà, ca. 1350-650 BCE)[1] was aBronze Age culture in southeastGansu Province, China. It was discovered by Swedish geologistJohan Gunnar Andersson in 1924 at Mount Siwa (寺洼山) inLintao County, hence its name.[2] It flourished circa 14th to 11th century BC,[3] it is tentatively attributed to the cultures of theNorthern Di,Qiang, andXunyu peoples.[4][5]
The archaeological culture is divided into two phases: the early phase associated with the sites at Lintao, Zhuoni, Lintan, and Heshui; and, the final phase during the late Shang and proto-Zhou periods associated with the Jiuzhan, Xujianian, and Lanquiao sites.[6] Siwa culture is known for producing a type of pottery that had saddle-shaped mouths.[6]
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The Siwa culture followed the disintegration of theQijia culture.[8] This opened a period of interaction and conflict between the Siwa and the people of theCentral Plains.[8]
The Siwa culture has often been associated with the tribes appearing in Chinese historical sources, such as the Rong (Xirong,Shanrong,Quanrong...) or theQiang.[1] These tribes, whose captives sometimes were sacrificed inShang dynasty rituals, ultimately toppled theWestern Zhou dynasty in 771 BCE.[1] The Siwa people produced relatively abundant ceramics, reflecting a rather varied diet.[1]
The neighboringXindian culture was roughly contemporary with the Siwa culture and was influenced by it. Some scholars hold that Siwa culture descended from theQijia culture.[9] There are also those who believe that the culture was a remnant of Xunyu, which is associated with theXianyun people. However, questions are raised against this theory since Siwa sites are small with low subsistence levels.[10] According to Feng Li, these could not have sustained an advanced society like the Xianyun.[10] The debate remains open.[11]
The Siwa culture was followed by the appearance of Eurasian steppe cultures, particularlySaka cultures such as theOrdos culture, which again interracted in various ways with theCentral Plains.[8]
Siwa culture is divided into two types – Siwa and Anguo. The former is distributed along theTao River (Taohe) and the latter along theWei River. The Siwa type is somewhat earlier than theWestern Zhou dynasty, while the Anguo type is more or less contemporaneous with it.[12]
One of Siwa culture's main characteristics is pottery with saddle-shaped openings (马鞍口陶罐),[13] It is also distinguished by its bronze objects.
Since 2006, the Siwa site (寺洼遗址) is on the list of the People's Republic of China's archeological monuments.
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The Siwa archaeological culture (ca. 3350 and 2650 cal yr BP) has often been associated with the tribes referenced in textual sources as Qiang and Rong: prized captives commonly sacrificed by the Shang and marauding hordes who toppled the Western Zhou dynasty. In early Chinese writings, food plays a key role in accentuating the 'sino-barbarian' dichotomy believed to have taken root over 3000 years ago, with the Qiang and Rong described as nomadic pastoralists who consumed more meat than grain and knew little of proper dining etiquette. (...) the Siwa community of Zhanqi. Use-wear analysis shows that Zhanqi community members were sophisticated creators of ceramic equipment, the ma'an cooking pot, which allowed them to prepare a wide number of dishes with limited fuel. These findings support recent isotope studies at Zhanqi as well as nuance the centrality of meat in the Siwa period diet.
There is research on the ethnic image of the northern nomadic people of the Altaic language family. It may be that this is the image of the Xianyun tribe that once posed a serious military threat to the northern border of the Zhou Dynasty. They were called "Ghost people" (Guifang) because they looked different from the Chinese. 有考证系阿尔泰语系的北方游牧民族人种形象。可能是曾经对周朝北方边境构成严重军事威胁的猃狁部族，因相貌异于华夏，被称作"鬼方"。
The archaeological culture in this area became more complex after the disintegration of the Qijia Culture. The collision-integration initially occurred between native Siwa Culture and Central Plains cultures, followed by Eurasian steppe cultures and indigenous cultures that later converged and exchanged again (Li et al., 1993; Wang, 2012).
Li argues that the Xianyun cannot be identified with the archaeological remains of the Siwa culture because all the sites that are associated with this archaeological culture are small and simple, whereas the activities of the Xianyun suggest a much more complex society (p. 187). While this observation makes sense, it may have more to do with the problematic definition of the archaeological "culture" rather than with Xianyun society. Pushing the location of the Xianyun further north and identifying them with a vaguely defined "Northern Zone" tradition (p. 188) certainly does not advance our under standing of the Xianyun society.
