A 4,800-year-old piece of colored pottery bearing designs of
plowing was recently unearthed at Lintao County in northwest
China's Gansu
Province.
Chinese archaeologists believe the pottery, which is 30-cm-tall
and 34-cm in width, belongs to the Majiayao culture, a historical
period in about 3300 BC to 2050 BC.
The picture on the pottery vividly portrays a scene of plowing
in simple black lines. Beside the farmland is a river, painted in
several zigzag lines.
Wang Zhi'an, president of the Gansu Provincial Majiayao Culture
Society, said the design reflects the production and life of people
in that period. It is rare in China to discover a picture depicting
men plowing in fields.
Discovery of the cultivation design suggests that agricultural
civilization was present in China as long as 4,800 years ago.
The design also proved that figure painting in the country can
be traced back to 4,800 years ago.
(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2004)