Nellie Ryberg, age 16, of Mesa, Ariz., for her question:

CAN YOU EXPLAIN YANG SHAG CULTURE?

Yang shao culture was a Neolithic or late Stone Age culture that flourished in China about 3950 B.C. until about 1700 B.C. Originating in Western China, it was a civilization of farmers who used the slash and burn method.

Living in semi permanent villages of wattle and daub structures, the people raised millet and wheat and seem also to have practiced an early form of silkworm cultivation.

People in the Yang shao culture kept pigs and dogs and to a lesser extent sheep, goats and cattle. Most of their food, however, came from hunting and fishing. Their stone age tools were polished and highly specialized.

At least two classes existed: the rulers and the ruled. There is also evidence of emerging craft specialization.

Typical of Yang Shao artistic production is the fine white, red and black painted pottery for which the culture is sometimes named the Painted Pottery Culture. Handmade without benefit of a potter's wheel, the pottery is distinguished by geometric design patterns. It may have been used primarily for gifts to the dead.