Based on their archaeological findings, archaeologists have theorised that the Majiabang culture is the origin of the early fishing, hunting and gathering economy in China, and that the rice-dominant system of agriculture was developed by people living in this period.

At Caoxieshan and Chuodun, sites of the Majiabang culture, archaeologists excavated paddy fields, indicating the centrality of rice to the economy.

[6][7] In addition faunal remains excavated from Majiabang archaeological sites indicated that people had domesticated pigs.

However, the remains of sika and roe deer have been found, showing that people were not totally reliant on agricultural production.

In the lower stratum of the Songze excavation site in Shanghai's modern day Qingpu District, archaeologists found the prone skeleton of one of the area's earliest inhabitants—a 25–30-year-old male with an almost complete skull dated to the Majiabang era.

At this site, several artifacts and about 38 burials were uncovered by the archaeological team from the Changzhou Museum and the Department of Anthropology from Zhejiang University.

[13] Among those burials, 33 of them were considered as belonging to the period of the Majiabang culture, and those were found below a layer of yellow-brown, grey-brown and grey-black soil.

Inside this tomb, the archaeologists found no trace of a coffin or burial pit, instead, they only found a male skeleton lying on his back, lying at a 20-degree angle, and facing east, with a few grave objects that include stone adzes, spindle whorls and ceramic bo-bowls.

[14] In the Majiabang culture, people were already starting to make artifacts[vague] with different materials, jade and pottery in particular.

At Weisun Site, a few jade objects were found in the Majiabang Culture deposits, including hue-earrings, huang-pendants, small tube, and other ornaments.

At Weidun Site, archaeologists discovered a huge number of pottery objects, include fu-cauldrons, guan-pots, ding-tripod, dou-stemmed plates, bo-bowls, and pen-basins, most of them were fine-clay ware, and some were tempered with shell or sand.

In more detail, the legs of ding can be divided into three types, taper in shape, wide flat and long.

[33] A few objects made by bone, antler and teeth also had been discovered at Weidun site that include bone-made degrees and knives, antler-made shoe-shape tool, arrowheads, awls, needles, spears and tube.

As experts suggest that the farming of rice in the delta of the Yangzi River was beginning at the early period of Majiabang.

[39] This has been proved through the analysis of the findings from the ancient paddy fields, Luojiajiao (existing in the period 5300 to 4900 cal.

Compared with the earlier periods, the proportion of rice farming was increased, while gathering wild plant foods was decreased.