Machang Pottery

Machang phase, Majiayao culture, 2350-2050 BC
Gansu Provincial Museum

Machang is a late phase of the third-millennium Late Neolithic Majiayao culture that flourished in Gansu and Qinghai (map). Its distinctive "frog" line-decoration (second pot from the right) is often taken as typical. However, the display case in this photo shows that a wide variety of decoration is actually found in this phase.

Gansu Museum is located in Lanzhou, the provincial capital.