6. Exhibition Hall

The Banpo community existed during the Neolithic era of human history, which represents the final phase of the Stone Age. Here we see the use of gradually improved stone tools, and also the beginning of agriculture. We call this period the "Agricultural Revolution." It is one of the major turning points in human history because it signaled the end of hunting-and-gathering lifestyles and the beginning of settled, agricultural communities. Many scholars who have examined the Banpo artifacts believe that this Stone Age community was matriarchal in its social organization. This means that in family relations mothers were the head of the family, and family descent was traced through the maternal line.