DOCSLIB.ORG

B15social Complexity in a Long Term Perspective

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
B15social Complexity in a Long Term Perspective Social complexity in a long B15term perspective Organiser: Joaquina Soares Friday 5th (14:00 to 19:30) B07 Meeting Room XVII World UISPP Congress 2014 Social complexity in a long term perspective Burgos, 1-7 September B15 ORAL CONTRIBUTION The author mainly adopts the method of settlement analysis to analyse the settlement patterns of ORAL Baiyinchanghan site and the method of analogy to make explanations. 1. AROUND THE CATEGORY “PRESTIGE” AND THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE “SOCIAL COMPLEXITY” IN Using indigenous villages like Kejara in Rio Vermelhovalley PREHISTORIC SOCIETIES. of central Brazil in South America as an analogy, which is described as “a primitive culture society unaffected Pedraza Marín, Diego (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) by the modern civilization”and “a strong bastion of [email protected] indigenous cultures exist independently” settlements of bipartite structure like that of the Xinglongwa Culture Under the paradigms of neoevolucionism, cultural ecology, at Baiyinchanghan site are reflections of moiety which social functionalism and systemic approaches, since the middle is the same as phratry of Indians in North American in of the last century, the study of the social evolution of societies the nature of social organization. Drawing an analogy has been enriched with new methodologies and categories with ancient Chinese literature the kinship organization of analysis, for example “social complexity”, or the use of reflected in the settlement of the Xinglongwa Culture at descriptive classificatory typologies of this social evolution. Baiyinchanghan site should be “the surname family”. Ethnographers and archaeologists looked for evidence of “big men” or “chiefs”, among others, who were associated with Settlements of bipartite structure like that of the certain functions and social behaviors, as well as “prestige”. We Xinglongwa Culture at Baiyinchanghan site should argue that it is necessary to analyze the epistemological and be reflections of a village constituted by two stable ideological implications of these approaches and categories intermarriage “surname family”. in the scientific process of knowledge creation. We will also try to provide new perspectives of analysis from historical materialism and feminist studies, focusing on the category ORAL “prestige”, which is understood as a social production. THE SOCIETY OF PRE-YANGSHAO PERIOD IN CHINA(7000BC--5000BC) ORAL Jinying Cai (Anyang Normal University) caijinying12@hot- 2. KINSHIP ORGANIZATION REFLECTED FROM THE mail.com SETTLEMENT OF THE XINGLONGWA CULTURE AT BAIYINCHANGHAN SITE Pre-Yangshao period belongs to the early Neolithic age in China. Its radiocarbon dates range is 7000BC-5000BC. Xiyun, Yu (Department of Archaeology School of History During this period, there were many cultures in China. Wuhan University) [email protected] The Peiligang culture, the Cishan culture, the Laoguantai culture and the Houli culture were distributed in the Baiyinchanghan site is located in Shuangjingdian town, Yellow River Valley. The Pengtoushan culture and the Linxi County of Inner Mongolia, about 500 meters Kuahuqiao culture were distributed in the Yangtse southwest of Baiyinchanghan village on the hills, and River Valley. The Xinglongwa culture was located in the near the north bank of Xar Moron River. The settlement northern region of China. Among those cultures, the of the Xinlongwa Culture at this site consists of two Peiligang culture appeared to be the strongest. And the separate living areas (A and B)surrounded by their own society began to be complicate at this time. enclosure ditches and each living area has its own cemetery. The age of this settlement is cal.7000BP. There were many sites and cemeteries excavated in every culture. In this paper, the author mainly uses these In this paper,the author mainly uses these materials materials which had already published. Like Peiligang which had already published. Like Excavation brief report Neolithic site in Xinzheng, Henan(1978). Excavation of Baiyinchanghan Neolithic site in Linxi County,Inner of Peiligang site in 1978(1979). Wuyang Jiahu(1999). Mongolia(1993), Excavation brief report of Baiyinchanghan Excavation report of Peiligang cultural relics in Tanghu Neolithic site in Linxi County,Inner Mongolia in 1991(2002). site in 2007, Xinzheng City, Henan(2010). Excavation of Baiyinchanghan—Excavation report of the Neolithic Cishan Neolithic site in Hebei(1977). Cishan site in Wu’an, site(2004). Hebei(1981).The first and second excavation report of Houli 753 XVII World UISPP Congress 2014 Social complexity in a long term perspective Burgos, 1-7 September B15 site in Linzi, Shandong(1992).The third and fourth excavation Since Gordon Childe that economic and craft report of Houli site in Linzi, Shandong(1994).Excavation specialization has been analyzed within the historical report of Xiamengcun site in Bin County, Shaanxi(1960). process that led to the emergence of the so- called Lijiacun Neolithic site in Xixiang, Shaanxi(1961). “complex” societies. In the Iberian Peninsula, this Pengtoushan and Basidang(2006). Excavation report of topic has been preferably debated by technological Xinglongwa site in Aohanqi, Neimenggu(1985). Excavation paradigm, emphasizing the lack of economic and craft report of Baiyinchanghan Neolithic site in Linxi County, specialization during the Third Millennium BCE. In recent Neimenggu(1993). years, an intense research about the first specialized mining and metallurgy in southwestern Iberia, The research methods are mainly stratigraphy analysis, highlighting the theoretical and empirical limitations typology analysis and pedigree analysis. By using the of the postulates based on sophistication or complexity stratigraphy analysis and typology analysis, we can technological criteria. This is the opportunity to discuss understand the spatial and temporal distribution of the economic and social models of metallurgical and each culture. And by using the pedigree analysis, we can ceramic production during the Third Millennium BCE. analyze the relationships among those cultures. The analysis shows that the Peiligang culture is the ORAL strongest among those cultures in Pre-Yangshao period. Combination of the stratigraphy and typology analysis, 5. SOCIAL COMPLEXITY IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM the Peiligang culture was divided into three phases. BC IN SOUTHERN PORTUGAL By using the pedigree analysis, the Peiligang culture originated from the Jiahu culture. Because of the early Soares, Joaquina (MAEDS) [email protected] Cishan culture, the Jiahu culture transferred into the Peiligang culture. The Peiligang culture was influenced The author proposes a complex tribal organization by the Houli culture in phase ?.It affected the Houli model for communities that inherited their social cultue, the Cishan culture, the Xinglongwa culture, the kinship structure from the megalithic societies, at the Pengtoushan culture and the Laoguantai culture with first half of the III millennium BC, in Southern Portugal. varying degrees in phase ?. It had less control in phase ?. This social and economic model began to collapse in the second half of the same millennium, as a result of During Pre-Yangshao period, the Peiligang culture the development of the arsenical copper metallurgy played a very important role. It was the strongest among (copper-arsenic alloys) and craft specialisation. those cultures and It had a great impact on surrounding contemporary cultures with different degrees, especially The control of metallurgy made it possible for the elites on phase ?. The Peiligang culture were mainly distributed to legitimate the accumulation of the political power, in the central plains region. It played an important role in and gave them a coercive capacity to impose an unequal the foundation of the Chinese Civilization development. and very hierarchical social structure based on chiefdom. Judging from the development of the Peiligang culture, This theoretical construction has been tested in the we can say that the society began to be complicate at analysis of the settlement system at Triângulo da Luz (in Pre-Yangshao period. Pre-Yangshao period, especially the middle Guadiana valley), during the III millennium BC. the Peiligang culture, was a key step in the process of The stratified social organization seems to be preceded social complexity. by the chiefdom that raise in the second half of the III millennium BC and developed in the Bronze Age. ORAL By the end of this period the chiefdom society reached it’s most complex structure. In opposition with other 4. CRAFT PRODUCTION AND SPECIALIZATION authors, that defend the emergence of the state in DURING THE THIRD MILLENNIUM IN THE SOUTH- the III millennium BC with a centre based in the lower WEST OF IBERIAN PENINSULA Guadalquivir region, this paper proposes that the state took place in the South of the Iberian Peninsula only at Inácio, Nuno (University of Huelva) [email protected] early Iron Age, in the context of the orientalising process. Nocete, Francisco (University of Huelva) [email protected] Bayona, Moisés R. (University of Huelva) moises.rodriguez@ dhis1.uhu.es 754 XVII World UISPP Congress 2014 Social complexity in a long term perspective Burgos, 1-7 September B15 ORAL district (cultraro 1997) and in southern central sicily at la muculufa (mcconnel and bevan 1999) in the same 6. MATERIAL VS. IMMATERIAL EVIDENCES OF IN- chronological framework. On the other hand, buffering TERRELATIONS. POPULATION SIZE, MATING NET- zone elaborations
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Originally, the Descendants of Hua Xia Were Not the Descendants of Yan Huang
    E-Leader Brno 2019 Originally, the Descendants of Hua Xia were not the Descendants of Yan Huang Soleilmavis Liu, Activist Peacepink, Yantai, Shandong, China Many Chinese people claimed that they are descendants of Yan Huang, while claiming that they are descendants of Hua Xia. (Yan refers to Yan Di, Huang refers to Huang Di and Xia refers to the Xia Dynasty). Are these true or false? We will find out from Shanhaijing ’s records and modern archaeological discoveries. Abstract Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas ) records many ancient groups of people in Neolithic China. The five biggest were: Yan Di, Huang Di, Zhuan Xu, Di Jun and Shao Hao. These were not only the names of groups, but also the names of individuals, who were regarded by many groups as common male ancestors. These groups first lived in the Pamirs Plateau, soon gathered in the north of the Tibetan Plateau and west of the Qinghai Lake and learned from each other advanced sciences and technologies, later spread out to other places of China and built their unique ancient cultures during the Neolithic Age. The Yan Di’s offspring spread out to the west of the Taklamakan Desert;The Huang Di’s offspring spread out to the north of the Chishui River, Tianshan Mountains and further northern and northeastern areas;The Di Jun’s and Shao Hao’s offspring spread out to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, where the Di Jun’s offspring lived in the west of the Shao Hao’s territories, which were near the sea or in the Shandong Peninsula.Modern archaeological discoveries have revealed the authenticity of Shanhaijing ’s records.
    [Show full text]
  • Adaptation and Invention During the Spread of Agriculture to Southwest China
    Adaptation and Invention during the Spread of Agriculture to Southwest China The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation D'Alpoim Guedes, Jade. 2013. Adaptation and Invention during the Spread of Agriculture to Southwest China. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11002762 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Adaptation and Invention during the Spread of Agriculture to Southwest China A dissertation presented by Jade D’Alpoim Guedes to The Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Anthropology Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts March 2013 © 2013 – Jade D‘Alpoim Guedes All rights reserved Professor Rowan Flad (Advisor) Jade D’Alpoim Guedes Adaptation and Invention during the Spread of Agriculture to Southwest China Abstract The spread of an agricultural lifestyle played a crucial role in the development of social complexity and in defining trajectories of human history. This dissertation presents the results of research into how agricultural strategies were modified during the spread of agriculture into Southwest China. By incorporating advances from the fields of plant biology and ecological niche modeling into archaeological research, this dissertation addresses how humans adapted their agricultural strategies or invented appropriate technologies to deal with the challenges presented by the myriad of ecological niches in southwest China.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise of Agricultural Civilization in China: the Disparity Between Archeological Discovery and the Documentary Record and Its Explanation
    SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS Number 175 December, 2006 The Rise of Agricultural Civilization in China: The Disparity between Archeological Discovery and the Documentary Record and Its Explanation by Zhou Jixu Center for East Asian Studies, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Chinese Department, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan Victor H. Mair, Editor Sino-Platonic Papers Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305 USA [email protected] www.sino-platonic.org SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS is an occasional series edited by Victor H. Mair. The purpose of the series is to make available to specialists and the interested public the results of research that, because of its unconventional or controversial nature, might otherwise go unpublished. The editor actively encourages younger, not yet well established, scholars and independent authors to submit manuscripts for consideration. Contributions in any of the major scholarly languages of the world, including Romanized Modern Standard Mandarin (MSM) and Japanese, are acceptable. In special circumstances, papers written in one of the Sinitic topolects (fangyan) may be considered for publication. Although the chief focus of Sino-Platonic Papers is on the intercultural relations of China with other peoples, challenging and creative studies on a wide variety of philological subjects will be entertained. This series is not the place for safe, sober, and stodgy presentations. Sino-Platonic Papers prefers lively work that, while taking reasonable risks to advance the field, capitalizes on brilliant new insights into the development of civilization. The only style-sheet we honor is that of consistency. Where possible, we prefer the usages of the Journal of Asian Studies.
    [Show full text]
  • Peopling of Tibet Plateau and Multiple Waves of Admixture of Tibetans Inferred from Both Modern and Ancient Genome-Wide Data
    bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.03.185884; this version posted July 3, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. 1 Peopling of Tibet Plateau and multiple waves of admixture of Tibetans 2 inferred from both modern and ancient genome-wide data 3 4 Mengge Wang1,*, Xing Zou1,*, Hui-Yuan Ye2,*, Zheng Wang1, Yan Liu3, Jing Liu1, Fei Wang1, Hongbin 5 Yao4, Pengyu Chen5, Ruiyang Tao1, Shouyu Wang1, Lan-Hai Wei6, Renkuan Tang7,#, Chuan-Chao 6 Wang6,# , Guanglin He1,6,# 7 8 1Institute of Forensic Medicine, West China School of Basic Science and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan 9 University, Chengdu, China 10 2School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang, 639798, Singapore 11 3College of Basic Medicine, Chuanbei Medical University 12 4 Belt and Road Research Center for Forensic Molecular Anthropology, Key Laboratory of Evidence 13 Science of Gansu Province, Gansu University of Political Science and Law, Lanzhou 730070, China 14 5Center of Forensic Expertise, Affiliated hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China 15 6Department of Anthropology and Ethnology, Institute of Anthropology, National Institute for Data 16 Science in Health and Medicine, and School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China 17 7Department of Forensic Medicine, College of Basic Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, 18 Chongqing, China 19 20 *These authors contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors. 21 22 #Corresponding author 23 Renkuan Tang 24 Department of Forensic Medicine, College of Basic Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, 25 Chongqing, China 26 Email: [email protected] 27 Chuan-Chao Wang 28 Affiliation: Department of Anthropology and Ethnology, Institute of Anthropology, National Institute for 29 Data Science in Health and Medicine, Xiamen University, 30 Xiamen, China.
    [Show full text]
  • Settlement Patterns, Chiefdom Variability, and the Development of Early States in North China
    JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 15, 237±288 (1996) ARTICLE NO. 0010 Settlement Patterns, Chiefdom Variability, and the Development of Early States in North China LI LIU School of Archaeology, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia Received June 12, 1995; revision received May 17, 1996; accepted May 26, 1996 In the third millennium B.C., the Longshan culture in the Central Plains of northern China was the crucial matrix in which the ®rst states evolved from the basis of earlier Neolithic societies. By adopting the theoretical concept of the chiefdom and by employing the methods of settlement archaeology, especially regional settlement hierarchy and rank-size analysis, this paper introduces a new approach to research on the Longshan culture and to inquiring about the development of the early states in China. Three models of regional settlement pattern correlating to different types of chiefdom systems are identi®ed. These are: (1) the centripetal regional system in circumscribed regions representing the most complex chiefdom organizations, (2) the centrifugal regional system in semi-circumscribed regions indicating less integrated chiefdom organization, and (3) the decentral- ized regional system in noncircumscribed regions implying competing and the least complex chief- dom organizations. Both external and internal factors, including geographical condition, climatic ¯uctuation, Yellow River's changing course, population movement, and intergroup con¯ict, played important roles in the development of complex societies in the Longshan culture. As in many cultures in other parts of the world, the early states in China emerged from a system of competing chiefdoms, which was characterized by intensive intergroup con¯ict and frequent shifting of political centers.
    [Show full text]
  • Volksrepublik China. Prähistorische Chronologie in China: Neue Perspektiven Durch Bayesische Modellierung
    https://publications.dainst.org iDAI.publications ELEKTRONISCHE PUBLIKATIONEN DES DEUTSCHEN ARCHÄOLOGISCHEN INSTITUTS Dies ist ein digitaler Sonderdruck des Beitrags / This is a digital offprint of the article Mayke Wagner – Tengwen Long – Pavel E. Tarasov Volksrepublik China. Prähistorische Chronologie in China: neue Perspektiven durch Bayesische Modellierung. Die Arbeiten der Jahre 2016 und 2017 aus / from e-Forschungsberichte Ausgabe / Issue 2 • 2017 Seite / Page 69–77 https://publications.dainst.org/journals/efb/1990/6182 • urn:nbn:de:0048-journals.efb-2017-2-p69-77-v6182.6 Verantwortliche Redaktion / Publishing editor Redaktion e-Jahresberichte und e-Forschungsberichte | Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Weitere Informationen unter / For further information see https://publications.dainst.org/journals/efb Redaktion und Satz / Annika Busching ([email protected]) Gestalterisches Konzept: Hawemann & Mosch Länderkarten: © 2017 www.mapbox.com ©2017 Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Zentrale, Podbielskiallee 69–71, 14195 Berlin, Tel: +49 30 187711-0 Email: [email protected] / Web: dainst.org Nutzungsbedingungen: Die e-Forschungsberichte 2017-2 des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts stehen unter der Creative-Commons-Lizenz Namensnennung – Nicht kommerziell – Keine Bearbeitungen 4.0 International. Um eine Kopie dieser Lizenz zu sehen, besuchen Sie bitte http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Terms of use: The e-Annual Report 2017 of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut is published under the Creative-Commons-Licence BY – NC – ND 4.0 International. To see a copy of this licence visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org) 69 VOLKSREPUBLIK CHINA Prähistorische Chronologie in China: neue Perspektiven durch Bayesische Modellierung Die Arbeiten der Jahre 2016 und 2017 Außenstelle Peking der Eurasien-Abteilung des DAI von Mayke Wagner, Tengwen Long und Pavel E.
    [Show full text]
  • Early “Neolithics” of China: Variation and Evolutionary Implications
    Boise State University ScholarWorks Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations Department of Anthropology Summer 2017 Early “Neolithics” of China: Variation and Evolutionary Implications Shengqian Chen Renmin University of China Pei-Lin Yu Boise State University This document was originally published by University of Chicago Press in Journal of Anthropological Research. Copyright restrictions may apply. doi: 10.1086/692104 Early “Neolithics” of China: Variation and Evolutionary Implications SHENGQIAN CHEN, School of History, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872 PEI-LIN YU, Department of Anthropology, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA. Email: [email protected] The growth and significance of scientific research into the origins of agriculture in China calls for fresh examination at scales large enough to facilitate explanation of cultural evolutionary processes. The Paleolithic to Neolithic transition (PNT) is not yet well-understood because most archaeo- logical research on early agriculture cites data from the more conspicuous and common early Neo- lithic sites. In this, the first of two papers, we synthesize a broad range of early Neolithic archae- ological data, including diagnostic artifacts, settlement patterns, site structure, and biological remains, to consider agriculture as a system-level adaptive phenomenon. Although farming by this period was already well-established in much of North China and the middle Yangtze River basin, echoes of the foraging past can be found in the persistence of hunting-related artifacts in North China’s Loess Plateau and aquatic-based intensification and vegeculture in South China. Our analysis of the growing body of Chinese data and projections using Binford’s hunting and gathering database indicate that agriculture was differentially developed, adopted, or resisted by foragers according to measurable, predictable initial conditions of habitat that influenced diet breadth.
    [Show full text]
  • Banana Cultivation in South Asia and East Asia: a Review of the Evidence from Archaeology and Linguistics
    Banana Cultivation in South Asia and East Asia: A review of the evidence from archaeology and linguistics Dorian Q. Fuller and Marco Madella Research Abstract South Asia provides evidence for introduced banana cul- the present and what can be suggested for the early and tivars that are surprisingly early in the Indus Valley but mid Holocene from palaeoecological reconstructions. Ar- late elsewhere in India. Although phytolith data are still chaeological evidence for bananas in these regions re- limited, systematic samples from fourteen sites in six re- mains very limited. Our purpose in this contribution is to gions suggest an absence of bananas from most of Neo- situate those few data points of prehistoric banana phyto- lithic/Chalcolithic South Asia, but presence in part of the liths and seeds within the history of appropriate sampling Indus valley. Evidence from textual sources and historical (e.g., for phytoliths) that might have provided evidence for linguistics from South Asia and from China suggest the bananas, thus highlighting the potential for more inten- major diffusion of banana cultivars was in the later Iron sive future efforts. We also review some evidence from Age or early historic period, c. 2000 years ago. Never- historical linguistics and textual historical sources on the theless Harappan period phytolith evidence from Kot Diji, early history of bananas in India and China. suggests some cultivation by the late third or early second millennium B.C., and the environmental context implies Cultivated and Wild hybridization with Musa balbisiana Colla had already oc- Bananas in South Asia curred. Evidence of wild banana seeds from an early Ho- locene site in Sri Lanka probably attests to traditions of There is hardly a cottage in India that has not its grove utilisation of M.
    [Show full text]
  • The Occurrence of Cereal Cultivation in China
    The Occurrence of Cereal Cultivation in China TRACEY L-D LU NEARL Y EIGHTY YEARS HAVE ELAPSED since Swedish scholar J. G. Andersson discovered a piece of rice husk on a Yangshao potsherd found in the middle Yel­ low River Valley in 1927 (Andersson 1929). Today, many scholars agree that China 1 is one of the centers for an indigenous origin of agriculture, with broom­ corn and foxtail millets and rice being the major domesticated crops (e.g., Craw-· ford 2005; Diamond and Bellwood 2003; Higham 1995; Smith 1995) and dog and pig as the primary animal domesticates (Yuan 2001). It is not clear whether chicken and water buffalo were also indigenously domesticated in China (Liu 2004; Yuan 2001). The origin of agriculture in China by no later than 9000 years ago is an impor­ tant issue in prehistoric archaeology. Agriculture is the foundation of Chinese civ­ ilization. Further, the expansion of agriculture in Asia might have related to the origin and dispersal of the Austronesian and Austroasiatic speakers (e.g., Bellwood 2005; Diamond and Bellwood 2003; Glover and Higham 1995; Tsang 2005). Thus the issue is essential for our understanding of Asian and Pacific prehistory and the origins of agriculture in the world. Many scholars have discussed various aspects regarding the origin of agriculture in China, particularly after the 1960s (e.g., Bellwood 1996, 2005; Bellwood and Renfrew 2003; Chen 1991; Chinese Academy of Agronomy 1986; Crawford 1992, 2005; Crawford and Shen 1998; Flannery 1973; Higham 1995; Higham and Lu 1998; Ho 1969; Li and Lu 1981; Lu 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002; MacN eish et al.
    [Show full text]
  • The Neolithic Ofsouthern China-Origin, Development, and Dispersal
    The Neolithic ofSouthern China-Origin, Development, and Dispersal ZHANG CHI AND HSIAO-CHUN HUNG INTRODUCTION SANDWICHED BETWEEN THE YELLOW RIVER and Mainland Southeast Asia, southern China1 lies centrally within eastern Asia. This geographical area can be divided into three geomorphological terrains: the middle and lower Yangtze allu­ vial plain, the Lingnan (southern Nanling Mountains)-Fujian region,2 and the Yungui Plateau3 (Fig. 1). During the past 30 years, abundant archaeological dis­ coveries have stimulated a rethinking of the role ofsouthern China in the prehis­ tory of China and Southeast Asia. This article aims to outline briefly the Neolithic cultural developments in the middle and lower Yangtze alluvial plain, to discuss cultural influences over adjacent regions and, most importantly, to examine the issue of southward population dispersal during this time period. First, we give an overview of some significant prehistoric discoveries in south­ ern China. With the discovery of Hemudu in the mid-1970s as the divide, the history of archaeology in this region can be divided into two phases. The first phase (c. 1920s-1970s) involved extensive discovery, when archaeologists un­ earthed Pleistocene human remains at Yuanmou, Ziyang, Liujiang, Maba, and Changyang, and Palaeolithic industries in many caves. The major Neolithic cul­ tures, including Daxi, Qujialing, Shijiahe, Majiabang, Songze, Liangzhu, and Beiyinyangying in the middle and lower Yangtze, and several shell midden sites in Lingnan, were also discovered in this phase. During the systematic research phase (1970s to the present), ongoing major ex­ cavation at many sites contributed significantly to our understanding of prehis­ toric southern China. Additional early human remains at Wushan, Jianshi, Yun­ xian, Nanjing, and Hexian were recovered together with Palaeolithic assemblages from Yuanmou, the Baise basin, Jianshi Longgu cave, Hanzhong, the Li and Yuan valleys, Dadong and Jigongshan.
    [Show full text]
  • Antiquity Lijiagou and the Earliest Pottery in Henan Province, China
    Antiquity http://journals.cambridge.org/AQY Additional services for Antiquity: Email alerts: Click here Subscriptions: Click here Commercial reprints: Click here Terms of use : Click here Lijiagou and the earliest pottery in Henan Province, China Youping Wang, Songlin Zhang, Wanfa Gu, Songzhi Wang, Jianing He, Xiaohong Wu, Tongli Qu, Jingfang Zhao, Youcheng Chen and Ofer Bar-Yosef Antiquity / Volume 89 / Issue 344 / April 2015, pp 273 - 291 DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2015.2, Published online: 08 April 2015 Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0003598X15000022 How to cite this article: Youping Wang, Songlin Zhang, Wanfa Gu, Songzhi Wang, Jianing He, Xiaohong Wu, Tongli Qu, Jingfang Zhao, Youcheng Chen and Ofer Bar-Yosef (2015). Lijiagou and the earliest pottery in Henan Province, China. Antiquity, 89, pp 273-291 doi:10.15184/aqy.2015.2 Request Permissions : Click here Downloaded from http://journals.cambridge.org/AQY, IP address: 129.234.252.65 on 09 Apr 2015 Lijiagou and the earliest pottery in Henan Province, China Youping Wang 1,∗, Songlin Zhang2,WanfaGu2, Songzhi Wang2, Jianing He1, Xiaohong Wu1, Tongli Qu1, Jingfang Zhao1, Youcheng Chen1 & Ofer Bar-Yosef3 Research 0 km 2000 It has long been believed that the earliest ceramics in the central plain of China N were produced by the Neolithic cultures of Jiahu 1 and Peiligang. Excavations at Lijiagou in Henan Province, dating to Beijing the ninth millennium BC, have, however, revealed evidence for the earlier production Lijiagou of pottery, probably on the eve of millet and wild rice cultivation in northern and southern China respectively. It is assumed that,asinotherregionssuchassouth- west Asia and South America, sedentism preceded incipient cultivation.
    [Show full text]
  • Spatiotemporal Distribution Patterns of Archaeological Sites In
    HOL0010.1177/0959683616641743The HoloceneHosner et al. 641743research-article2016 Research paper The Holocene 2016, Vol. 26(10) 1576 –1593 Spatiotemporal distribution patterns of © The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav archaeological sites in China during the DOI: 10.1177/0959683616641743 Neolithic and Bronze Age: An overview hol.sagepub.com Dominic Hosner,1 Mayke Wagner,1 Pavel E Tarasov,2 Xiaocheng Chen1 and Christian Leipe1,2 Abstract A total of 51,074 archaeological sites from the early Neolithic to the early Iron Age (c. 8000–500 BC), with a spatial extent covering most regions of China (c. 73–131°E and c. 20–53°N), were analysed over space and time in this study. Site maps of 25 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, published in the series ‘Atlas of Chinese Cultural Relics’, were used to extract, digitalise and correlate its archaeological data. The data were, in turn, entered into a database using a self-developed mapping software that makes the data, in a dynamic way, analysable as a contribution to various scientific questions, such as population growth and migrations, spread of agriculture and changes in subsistence strategies. The results clearly show asynchronous patterns of changes between the northern and southern parts of China (i.e. north and south of the Yangtze River, respectively) but also within these macro-regions. In the northern part of China (i.e. along the Yellow River and its tributaries and in the Xiliao River basin), the first noticeable increase in the concentration of Neolithic sites occurred between c. 5000 and 4000 BC; however, highest site concentrations were reached between c.
    [Show full text]