5/22/2007 ~ More Xi'an

On the Rio: Traffic ~ Shanghai Noodle Factory

I climbed the East Gate of the Xi'an city wall. Here are some military equipment photos.

This is a view of the local market.

Here is my guide Wendy.

I liked the little girl's hair beads.

After the East Gate, I went to Banpo Village, an archeological site from 5000 B.C., built by a late Neolithic people.

Banpo had about sixty buildings and housed over 200 people from two clans. It was a matriarchal society based on farming. The houses were thatch over wood beams while the floors were sunk 2 to 3 feet into the ground. Heat was provided by a central fire for the family. They stored food in underground caves, dug deep enough to protect it from wildlife and insects.

Art, in the form of geometric designs and human and animal figures is found on many of their pots. The village had their own pottery which produced specialized pots for drinking, storage, cooking, and burial. This is a symbolic totem at the village entrance.

Adults were buried in the cemetery outside the village, some alone, some in pairs, or in groups such as this.

Children and infants were buried alongside the huts in special clay urns. I would like to know why.

And here's a self-portrait of me on my birthday last month.