Shanma culture
The Shanma culture was an ancient culture in the Hexi Corridor from 1000 to 200 BCE. It succeeded the Siba culture in the area, and preceded the Shajing culture, and the expansion of the Han dynasty in the region.
The area of the Shanma culture is broadly identical with that of the preceding Siba culture. It corresponds to the western area of the Hexi Corridor and Inner Mongolia, from Yangguan in the west to Yumen in the east, with the Shajing culture not far beyond to the southeast.
The Shanma culture is known to have used jade, from the Hanxia deposit, and later from the Mazongshan deposit, or from the Jingbaoer jade mine in the Mazong Mountain.
The Shanmas had agricultural activities and grew barley, wheat, and millets. But their livestock indicate a tendency towards nomadic pastoralism, as they had animals better suited for long-distance travel such as dogs, ovicaprids, horses, cattle, and camels, but they had no pigs.
The Shanma culture may have been associated with the Wusun tribes of Chinese history.