Some of the first inventions of Neolithic, prehistoric China include semilunar and rectangular stone knives, stone hoes and spades, the cultivation of millet , rice and the soybean , the refinement of sericulture , the building of rammed earth structures with lime -plastered house floors, the creation of the potter's wheel , the creation of pottery with cord-mat-basket designs, the creation of pottery tripods and pottery steamers, and the development of ceremonial vessels and scapulimancy for purposes of divination .