Wanyanhe cultural type in northeastern China

Evaluating the study of ethnocultural processes in the Eastern Amur Region during the Early Iron Age, the beginning of which is associated with the Urilskaya culture, and the continuation with the Poltsevskaya culture, it is necessary to bear in mind the materials of synchronous sites from the right bank of Amur, the left bank of the Ussuri River and the lower streams of the Sungari River. In this region, Chinese archaeologists are exploring a group of sites of the Wanyanhe type. The comparative analysis of the artifact complex from excavations of the Wanyanhe eponymous site, archaeological collections from more than 30 other locations showed that in terms of material it is analogous to the sites of the Poltsevskaya culture in the Russian Far East. The only excavated Wanyanhe dwelling showed both a similarity with the Poltsevskaya culture structure, and a clear specificity. It includes the design of the hearth with an air injection system. The system ofpositioning of pits for the pillars inside the dwelling made it possible to suggest its frame structure, the presence of a frame made of logs, and the external shape of a pyramid. The types of Wanyanhe ceramic vessels demonstrate parallels in the typological range of Poltsevskaya culture ceramics. The presence of vessels with a horn-shaped handle in both cultures should be particularly noted. Few Wanyanhe items include artifacts in the form of a hedgehog figurine or a falcon beak (Mingshan site). The materials from this site show the presence of ceramics, and stones with pits comparable both with the Urilskaya culture and with the Poltsevskaya culture. Materials from the Mingshan settlement can be transitional from the Urilskaya culture to the Poltsevskaya culture and to the Wanyanhe type. Chronological framework of Wanyanhe is the end of the 3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD.