新石器 (xīn shí qì) — Neolithic period; New Stone Age

Definition

新石器 ('new stone tools') names the Neolithic period — used almost exclusively in archaeological and historical writing, paired with 时代 to form 新石器时代.

noun
Neolithic periodNew Stone Age

Examples

  • 新石器。
    xīn shí qì Shí dài de rén lèi kāi shǐ shǐ yòng mó zhì de shí zhì gōng jù.
    Humans in the Neolithic period began using polished stone tools.
  • 新石器。
    Kǎo gǔ xué jiā zài zhè ge dì qū fā xiàn le xǔ duō xīn shí qì yí zhǐ.
    Archaeologists have discovered many Neolithic sites in this area.
  • 新石器。
    xīn shí qì Wén huà biāo zhì zhe rén lèi cóng yóu mù zǒu xiàng dìng jū.
    Neolithic culture marks the transition from nomadic to settled life for humans.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

新xīnnew
石器stone tool
石shístone器qìtool
偏正Modifier + head

The term pairs 新, meaning new, with 石器, stone tools, to name the New Stone Age.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
斤斤jīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn新xīn
Same sound today

The shape originally paired 斤, for chopping wood, with 辛 for sound. It was borrowed for its sound to write 新, so the chopping-wood parts are unrelated to 'new'.

Open 新 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

Open 石 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The origin of 器 is uncertain; one traditional account reads the whole shape as a scene of guarding over four vessels.

Open 器 →

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