Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Tables
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Chinese archaeology: Past, present, and future
- Chapter 2 Environment and ecology
- Chapter 3 Foragers and collectors in the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (24,000–9000 cal. BP)
- Chapter 4 Domestication of plants and animals
- Chapter 5 Neolithization: Sedentism and food production in the early Neolithic (7000–5000 BC)
- Chapter 6 Emergence of social inequality – The middle Neolithic (5000–3000 BC)
- Chapter 7 Rise and fall of early complex societies: The late neolithic (3000–2000 BC)
- Chapter 8 Formation of early states in the Central Plain: Erlitou and Erligang (1900/1800–1250 BC)
- Chapter 9 Bronze cultures of the northern frontiers and beyond during the early second millennium BC
- Chapter 10 The late shang dynasty and its neighbors (1250–1046 BC)
- Chapter 11 Chinese civilization in comparative perspective
- Appendix Horse bones in faunal assemblages from Neolithic and early Bronze Age sites in north China
- Glossary
- References
- Index
Preface
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Tables
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Chinese archaeology: Past, present, and future
- Chapter 2 Environment and ecology
- Chapter 3 Foragers and collectors in the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (24,000–9000 cal. BP)
- Chapter 4 Domestication of plants and animals
- Chapter 5 Neolithization: Sedentism and food production in the early Neolithic (7000–5000 BC)
- Chapter 6 Emergence of social inequality – The middle Neolithic (5000–3000 BC)
- Chapter 7 Rise and fall of early complex societies: The late neolithic (3000–2000 BC)
- Chapter 8 Formation of early states in the Central Plain: Erlitou and Erligang (1900/1800–1250 BC)
- Chapter 9 Bronze cultures of the northern frontiers and beyond during the early second millennium BC
- Chapter 10 The late shang dynasty and its neighbors (1250–1046 BC)
- Chapter 11 Chinese civilization in comparative perspective
- Appendix Horse bones in faunal assemblages from Neolithic and early Bronze Age sites in north China
- Glossary
- References
- Index
Summary
The development of early Chinese civilization occupies a unique position in world history, and new archaeological discoveries from China in recent decades have made Chinese archaeology a fascinating topic for both academic circles and the general public. Nevertheless, because of the linguistic, cultural, and social obstacles that have historically existed between China and the Western world, comprehensive studies of Chinese archaeology published in English for Western readers have been lacking.
The most widely used book on Chinese archaeology in English has so far been The Archaeology of Ancient China by the late Professor Kwang-chih Chang. It covers periods from the Paleolithic to early dynasties and was continuously revised during the course of twenty-three years, published in four editions in 1963, 1967, 1977, and 1986. It is a rich sourcebook for scholars and students interested in Chinese archaeology, but its last edition was published twenty-five years ago, and much of the information available then should be updated. As former students of K.-c. Chang, we are responsible for carrying on the mission to which he devoted much of his professional life.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Archaeology of ChinaFrom the Late Paleolithic to the Early Bronze Age, pp. xix - xxiiPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2012