“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)
“This ambitious volume presents current archaeological research spanning China’s enormous geographic, cultural, and historical diversity. Thoughtful well-illustrated articles by major Chinese and international researchers introduce students and professionals alike to the remarkable archaeological heritage of one of the world’s most important regions.”
Carla Sinopoli, University of Michigan
“This important book encompasses the later prehistory of China, drawing upon the fieldwork and interpretive analyses of first-rate scholars from China and abroad.”
John Olsen, University of Arizona
“An exciting and thought-provoking book, eminently useful as a point of entry into a fast-developing field that is beginning to exert a major impact on anthropology. Underhill and her co-authors provide up-to-date information and expose the readership to a commendable diversity of approaches and methodologies.”
Lothar von Falkenhausen, University of California, Los Angeles
From the Inside Flap
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.
From the Back Cover
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.
About the Author
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.
Wow! eBook
