史前聚落考古的豐富研究成果表明,龍山社會在家戶形態、經濟生活、社會分層、政體形態等層面展現出豐富內涵與重要變化。在此時期,核心家庭上升為社會基本單位的主體,并與社會和生活的諸多變化息息相關。活躍的經濟活動建立在集約化之上的專業化生產和社會化傾向開始的基礎之上,得到了依托于各級聚落的貿易網絡(尤其是區域中心所在城市)的支持。當時社會已出現政治權力意義上的分化,社會分層在層級化的區域社會聚落層面也有著清晰反映,并且可能已經出現了相當集中的政治權力。圍繞一個城市形成的區域社會在當時已普遍出現,這種社會具有比較清晰的邊界,相互獨立,其政體形態當為城邦。

As shown by the fruitful archaeological work on prehistoric settlements,Longshan society displays rich contents and important changes in family form,economic life,social stratification,form of polity,etc.During this period,the nuclear family rose to be the main body of the basic social unit,and was closely related to many changes in society and people’s lives.Economic activity intensified thanks to trends toward specialized production and socialization,receiving support from trade networks that relied on the settlements(especially in cities that were regional centers).At that time,social differentiation emerged in terms of political power;social stratification was clearly reflected at the level of hierarchical regional settlements,and political power may have been quite centralized.Regional societies formed around cities were common.These societies took the form of the city-state polity;they had relatively clear boundaries,and remained independent of each other.