EXCAVATIONS AT MAN KOK TSUI
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The impressed designs on the pottery were geometric and appeared to have been stamped onto the pot with a die or paddle as over-printing was often noted. The patterns on the soft pots differed from those on the hard pots being, on the whole simpler and cruder. A 'string' pattern, running vertically up the sides of the pot and overprinting in criss-cross on the base was the commonest on the soft pottery, and 'zig-zag chevron' and basket-like designs also occurred. On the hard pottery the commonest pattern was a 'net' design of differing fineness, which sometimes covered the whole pot or was used in conjunction with one of the more elaborate hard pot designs: and 'lozenge', 'circle', and 'double-f' motifs; or with horizontal parallel lines, and the pricked stitch pattern described by Fr. Finn.
4
Many of the hard pots had, either on the base or the lip, a distinctive incised mark of dots or parallel lines—perhaps a potter's or owner's mark. None of these marks were alike.
One spindle whorl made of stone and two made of pottery were found in the central valley at Man Kok Tsui, also many roughly fashioned rings of stone and pottery which may have been used as weights for fishing nets.
CONCLUSIONS:
44
Although it is known that the sea level was higher and that primary forest covered the Colony in prehistoric times, it seems reasonable to suppose that the factors making an area desirable for settlement (for example: a reliable source of fresh water, shelter from the worst prevailing weather, good landing beaches for small boats, etc.) would still apply in historic times and up to the present day. This limits the possibility of undisturbed and "diggable" sites in Hong Kong, as many existing villages may be built on top of older settlements. We were lucky enough to find at Man Kok Tsui remains of a Neolithic culture, over-laid with very few traces of later habitation and to have a record of the cultivation and settlement of the valley in recent years. In spite of this little information was gained about where or how the people lived, except what could be gleaned from their tools and pottery—the fine workmanship in stone, the few pieces of bronze, the fish-hook, the presumptive net weights and spindle whorls. The heavy rains and high humidity of this area, and the acid nature of the soil may account for the complete absence of traces of animal and human bones, clothing and dwellings.
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