| The detail above shows the outline of one of the circular houses found at the Banpo Neolithic site in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. The sign at the far left indicates a door. You can see the holes where support beams were placed for the walls. Most of the dwellings were circular, but during the last part of the Neolithic Era and just before the Banpo site was abandonned two large square structures were built in the village. It is speculated that they were meeting halls, evidence of group activity such as religious ceremonies or clan government.
A second view of a round house is shown below. The threshold is in the foreground, the sign for the door just behind that, followed by the fire pit in the center..
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