The three grand cultural spheres of the Holocene Eurasian Continent

Abstract Based on the typology of ceramic wares and analysis of the spatial distribution, origin, and dispersal of other categories of archaeological remains, it can be determined that three grand cultural spheres existed on the Holocene Eurasian Continent prior to the rise of the Silk Road. These were the Early Eastern Cultural Sphere, centered around the Yellow River valley and the Yangtze River valley; the Early Western Cultural Sphere, centered around the Tigris-Euphrates River valley (Mesopotamia); the Early Northern Cultural Sphere, located to the north of the Eastern and Western Cultural Spheres. Due to cultural interactions, collisions, and exchanges, there were large intersection zones between the three grand cultural spheres.