Vase. China, Neolithic period, 4th millennium BC. Polychrome ceramic with geometric motifs. Measurements: 8 x 12 cm. Chinese vase from the Neolithic period, dated to the 4th millennium BC, decorated with a dark pigment composing geometric motifs. It is decorated with a wide band between the handles, where zigzag and lattice motifs can be seen, below a row of almond-shaped forms. The inside of the mouth and the handles are also decorated. By the Neolithic period, the culture in China was sedentary and agricultural, which favoured the production and consumption of pottery. From this period onwards, therefore, pottery will play a fundamental role in Chinese culture. The special pottery skills of this people are also related to the existence of very rich quarries in central and southern China, which provided excellent materials for this art. Thus, from very early on, good firing kilns, complex glazes, etc. were developed in China. The first sign of civilisation can be found in the Yangshao culture, settled in the middle reaches of the Yellow River between 5000 and 2000 BC, whose matriarchal clans are the origin of Chinese ceramics. Even at this early date we find engobes applied before firing, generally dark in colour, and both utilitarian and funerary pieces.