Neolithicc. 10,000 years ago–2070 BC

Neolithic: Timeline of Events (c. 10,000 years ago–2070 BC)

Polished stone tools, pottery, farming and settled villages appear

Events in this period

• The Neolithic Age Beginsc. 10,000 years ago

  About 10,000 years ago China entered the Neolithic: people settled down, made pottery and polished stone tools, and farming and animal husbandry gradually arose.

• Domestication of Rice and Milletsc. 10,000 years ago

  Around 10,000 years ago, people along the middle and lower Yangtze began growing rice, and northern farmers grew foxtail and broomcorn millet; the world's earliest such crops are from China.

• Jiahu SiteOver 8,000 years ago

  The Jiahu site in Wuyang, Henan, over 8,000 years old, yielded charred rice grains, bone flutes and incised symbols; the flutes are among the world's earliest.

• Hemudu Culturec. 7,000 years ago

  The Hemudu site in Yuyao, Zhejiang, c. 7,000 years old, shows rice farming, stilt houses and wooden wells, and is a major representative of Yangtze River civilization.

• Banpo Site (Yangshao Culture)c. 6,000 years ago

  The Banpo site in Xi'an, c. 6,000 years old, belongs to the Yangshao culture: its people lived in semi-subterranean houses, grew millet, raised animals and made fine painted pottery.

• Liangzhu Ancient Cityc. 5,300–4,300 years ago

  The Liangzhu city in Yuhang, Hangzhou, c. 5,300–4,300 years ago, with palaces, inner and outer cities and a huge water system, shows an early state on the lower Yangtze.

• Dawenkou Culturec. 5,000 years ago

  The Dawenkou culture of Shandong, c. 5,000 years ago, had advanced farming and crafts, and sharply unequal grave goods point to growing social inequality.

• Yan–Huang Alliance and the Battle of ZhuoluLegendary era (5,000–6,000 years ago)

  Legend says the Yellow Emperor beat the Yan Emperor at Banquan, allied with him, then defeated Chiyou at Zhuolu; their tribes formed the Huaxia, hence “descendants of Yan and Huang.”

• Majiayao culture2600 BCE

  Majiayao communities produced distinctive painted pottery.

• Longshan CultureOver 4,000 years ago

  The Longshan culture, over 4,000 years ago, is known for black pottery, including “eggshell” ware under 1 mm thick; walled towns multiplied and social divisions deepened.

• Taosi Capital Sitec. 4,300–4,000 years ago

  The Taosi site in Xiangfen, Shanxi, c. 4,300–4,000 years ago, has a palace city, large tombs and a possible observatory; some scholars think it may be “Yao's capital Pingyang.”

• Shijiahe site2300 BCE

  Shijiahe was a Neolithic center in the Yangtze region.

• Abdication of Yao, Shun and YuLegendary era

  Legend says Yao, Shun and Yu led the tribal alliance in turn, passing leadership to the worthy by abdication, which later Confucians saw as the ideal form of rule.

• Yu the Great Controls the FloodLegendary era

  Learning from his father Gun's failed damming, Yu controlled the floods by dredging, “passing his door three times without entering,” and ended the disaster after over ten years.