This study reviewed the relationship between the supply of the pigment and the coloring focusing on the colored pottery of the relics of Dawenkou in Shandong and Liuwan in Qinghai. That is, it reviewed the economic power and the pigment foundation as the factor confining the use of the pigment and studied about what effect it made to the coloring space and the expression way.
The study result shows that the use of the pigment relied absolutely on the economic power of the grave's owner. That is, the colored pottery was found mainly in the large size grave and the quantity of the colored pottery is so various in proportion to the size of the grave. Furthemore the thickness of the pigment’s layer put in the grave as one of the funeral ceremonies shows the deviation according to the economic power of the grave's owner.
Between Dawenkou sites and Machang type(馬廠類型) of Liuwan sites, the pigment foundation of Liuwan sites is shown to have been much better. In the ease of the large size grave of Liuwan sites, among 70 to 30 potteries the colored pottery amounts Lo 95 percent, which satisfied well enough the desire to own the colored pottery. But as for the large size grave of Dawcnkou sites, the colored pottery is only a few among Lens of potteries, that shows the use of the pigment was confined considerably.
The limitation of the use of the pigment appears in that the possession of the colored pottery could not be made in the case of quite a number of the large size graves and that the economic power of the grave owner couldn't make any deviation of the quantity of the colored pottery and that though the pottery and other items of the grave increased with the Lime, the number of the colored pottery was confined to a few pieces.
Besides the pigment foundation, the coloring space varies considerably. Though as for the colored pottery of Machang type of Liuwan sites, the coloring was usually put on from the entering to the middle part of the bowl, the colored pottery of Dawenkou sites has the coloring only on the upper part and the size of the pottery shows a big difference between two relics so that the deviation is getting larger.
In the way of the expression, the big difference appears. Machang type of Liuwan sites uses the expression way mainly with the coloring and the space Liuwan sites uses the patterns in detail whereat; Dawcnkou sites uses the expression way with the line drawing to express the patterns simply. That is, Machang type of Liuwan sites uses the expression way that spends a considerable amount of pigment whereas Dawenkou sites uses the expression way that doesn't spend lob of pigment.
The differences shown in the coloring decoration of the pottery of the Neolithic era couldn't be said to have been made only from the deviation of the pigment foundation. Rut when it came to Qijia culture(齊家文化) to period in which the pigment foundation shrank greatly, the pottery of Liuwan sites had the coloring move up to the upper part and had the expression way with the line drawing around so that the way reviewing the various types of coloring with the supply of the pigment may not be excluded.