A Companion to Chinese Archaeology

A Companion to Chinese Archaeology presents an original collection of readings that focuses on the broad scope of Chinese archaeology from the Neolithic period and early Bronze Age. With contributions from international scholars and collaborative archaeological teams conducting research on the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, the essays represent an unprecedented view of the world of contemporary Chinese archaeological research. Individual chapters reveal diverse methodological and theoretical approaches to understanding China’s past, from the era of early established agricultural villages from c. 7000 B.C. through to the end of the Shang dynastic period in c. 1045 B.C. Contributors reveal the diverse pathways to social complexity in geographic areas that include northeast China, the central and lower Yellow River valley, the central and lower Yangtze River valley, south China, and Taiwan. By shifting the focus from burial remains to settlements and regions, the readings offer rich insights into the diversity of social and economic organization in ancient China. A Companion to Chinese Archaeology is an important new resource on the origins of one of the world’s oldest civilizations.

List of Figures xi Notes on Contributors xvi Notes on Translators and Other Assistants xxi Part I Current Issues in Chinese Archaeology 1 1 Introduction: Investigating the Development and Nature of Complex Societies in Ancient China 3 Anne P. UNDERHILL 2 “Despoiled of the Garments of Her Civilization:” Problems and Progress in Archaeological Heritage Management in China 13 Robert E. MUROWCHICK Part II The Northeast 35 3 Earlier Neolithic Economic and Social Systems of the Liao River Region, Northeast China 37 Gideon SHELACH and TENG Mingyu 4 Understanding Hongshan Period Social Dynamics 55 Christian E. PETERSON and LU Xueming 5 The Lower Xiajiadian Culture of the Western Liao River Drainage System 81 WANG Lixin Part III The Upper Yellow River and Upper Yangzi River Regions 103 6 The Qijia Culture of the Upper Yellow River Valley 105 CHEN Honghai 7 The Sichuan Basin Neolithic 125 Rowan FLAD 8 The Sanxingdui Culture of the Sichuan Basin 147 SUN Hua Part IV The Western Central Plain Region and Environs 169 9 The Early Neolithic in the Central Yellow River Valley, c.7000–4000 BC 171 ZHU Yanping 10 The Jiahu Site in the Huai River Area 194 ZHANG Juzhong and CUI Qilong 11 The Later Neolithic Period in the Central Yellow River Valley Area, c.4000–3000 BC 213 LI Xinwei 12 The Longshan Culture in Central Henan Province, c.2600–1900 BC 236 ZHAO Chunqing 13 The Longshan Period Site of Taosi in Southern Shanxi Province 255 HE Nu 14 Production of Ground Stone Tools at Taosi and Huizui: A Comparison 278 Li LIU, ZHAI Shaodong, and CHEN Xingcan 15 The Erlitou Culture 300 XU Hong 16 The Discovery and Study of the Early Shang Culture 323 YUAN Guangkuo 17 Recent Discoveries and Some Thoughts on Early Urbanization at Anyang 343 Zhichun JING, TANG Jigen, George RAPP, and James STOLTMAN 18 Archaeology of Shanxi During the Yinxu Period 367 LI Yung–ti and HWANG Ming–chorng Part V The Eastern Central Plain Region and Environs 387 19 The Houli and Beixin Cultures 389 WANG Fen 20 The Dawenkou Culture in the Lower Yellow River and Huai River Basin Areas 411 LUAN Fengshi 21 The Longshan Culture of Shandong 435 SUN Bo 22 A Study of Lian Sickles and Dao Knives from the Longshan Culture Site of Liangchengzhen in Southeastern Shandong 459 Geoffrey CUNNAR 23 The Eastern Territories of the Shang and Western Zhou: Military Expansion and Cultural Assimilation 473 FANG Hui Part VI The Middle Yangzi River Region 495 24 The Pengtoushan Culture in the Middle Yangzi River Valley 497 PEI Anping 25 The Qujialing–Shijiahe Culture in the Middle Yangzi River Valley 510 ZHANG Chi Part VII The Lower Yangzi River Region 535 26 The Kuahuqiao Site and Culture 537 JIANG Leping 27 Recent Research on the Hemudu Culture and the Tianluoshan Site 555 SUN Guoping 28 The Liangzhu Culture 574 QIN Ling Part VIII The Southeast 597 29 The Neolithic Archaeology of Southeast China 599 Tianlong JIAO 30 First Farmers and Their Coastal Adaptation in Prehistoric Taiwan 612 LI Kuang–ti Index 634

Anne P. Underhill is Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Yale University, and a Curator in the Anthropology Division at the Yale Peabody Museum. She initiated one of the first Sino–American collaborative archaeology projects in China and is the author of Craft Production and Social Change in Northern China .

“With no exaggeration, it can be said that both A companion to Chinese archaeologyand Ancient Central Chinaare without precedent in Chinese archaeology and that no one in the field can therefore afford to ignore them.”  ( Antiquity , 1 December 2013) “Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, professionals.”  ( Choice , 1 October 2013)