Prehistoric Chinese religions
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Prehistoric Chinese religions are religious beliefs and practices of prehistoric peoples in China prior to the earliest intelligible writings in the region (c. 1250 BCE). They most prominently comprise spiritual traditions of Neolithic and early Bronze Age cultures in various regions of China, which preceded the ancient religions documented during early Chinese dynasties. While many of these cultures shared similar faith and practices, each developed distinct features in its religious life. Modern studies of these religions are obstructed by the absence of contemporary written records.
Neolithic cultures in China appeared in various regions across the country. An early culture was the Peiligang (c. 7000 – 5000 BCE), of which the Jiahu site was regarded as a prominent variation. Around the fifth millennium BCE, many cultures such as Yangshao appeared and left behind various sites that allow investigations into their religious life. During the fourth and third millennia BCE, the Liangzhu culture flourished in the Yangtze River valley, while the Yellow River valley saw the development of cultures such as Dawenkou, Longshan, and Hongshan. These cultures are characterized by extensive traditions which indicate beliefs reminiscent of the posterior religion of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – 1046 BCE).
Around the late third and early second millennia BCE, Bronze Age sites emerged in China. Sites such as Erlitou entered a more advanced sociopolitical system and approached the definition of a state. As social stratification was increasingly integrated, evidences for ancestor worship appeared more clearly. The Erlitou site is widely regarded among Chinese academics as the site of the Xia dynasty which upheld traditional Chinese religion, despite inadequate evidence for the conflation. Abundant evidence for human sacrificial rituals also appeared during the early Bronze Age in China.
Many religious beliefs and practices of prehistoric China are claimed to be precursors of the Shang religion, which in turn influenced Chinese civilization. Certain traits such as animism, ancestor veneration and pyromancy characteristic of the Shang are found to be existent during the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Some practices, particularly ancestor worship, were among the prehistoric traditions that influenced modern Chinese life.