The Yellow River culture was one of the four early civilizations along with the Mesopotamians, the Harappan or Indus Valley civilization, and the ancient Egyptians. It grew in the valley along the Huang He River in China. The Yellow River culture predated the preliterate Xia Dynasty (regarded in Chinese history as the beginning of China) and is thus known only through archaeology. The Huang He culture was one of very many ethnic groups in what is now China which covers a very large area.
The Yellow River culture has evolved into the Han ethnic group in modern China, and thus forms one of the oldest cultures still in existence. Agriculture began around 4000 BCE around the southern bend of the Yellow River. These groups cultivated millet; rice-growing began later and to the south. They kept domesticated animals (mainly pigs and dogs) but hunted heaily as well.
The Huang He civilization was neolithic beginning around 12000 BCE. They engaged in tribal warfare and may have practiced ancestor worship, but little else is known. Silk was known to the Yellow River people as was pottery-making; in fact, the distinct types of pottery made are helpful in differentiating between groups.
According to traditional Chinese history, during the pre-Xia period, semi-mystical heroes taught and ruled over the Han people. First were the Three Augusts or San-Huang, who existed apparently between 2800-2600 BCE: Fu Xi, who taught writing, hunting, and fishing; Shen Nong, who invented agriculture; and Sui Ren who introduced fire. Next came the Five Emperors: the Yellow Emperor, Zhuanxu, Ku, Yao, and Shun, who founded the Xia Dynasty. These kings were held to have ruled with perfect virtue and justice, in contrast to many of China's later rulers.
Although little is known about Chinese history until perhaps 3500 years ago, the Yellow River culture was one of the four great early civilizations, developing agriculture independently as well as philosophy and tradition that endure today. | 
