Archaeology of China

The archaeology of China is researched intensively in the universities of the region and also attracts considerable international interest on account of the region's civilizations.

Overview

The application of scientific archaeology to Chinese sites began in 1921, when Johan Gunnar Andersson first excavated the Yangshao Village sites in Henan.^[1] Excavations from 1928 at Anyang, also in northern Henan, by the newly formed Academia Sinica uncovered a literate civilization identified with the late stages of the Shang dynasty of early Chinese records. Earlier cities in northern Henan were discovered at Zhengzhou in 1952 and Erlitou in 1959. More recently prehistoric cities such as Panlongcheng and Sanxingdui have been discovered in other parts of China.

Archaeological finds

A number of Chinese artifacts dating from the Tang dynasty and Song dynasty, some of which had been owned by Emperor Zhenzong were excavated and then came into the hands of the Kuomintang Muslim General Ma Hongkui, who refused to publicize the findings. Among the artifacts were a white marble tablet from the Tang dynasty, gold nails, and bands made out of metal. It was not until after Ma died, that his wife went to Taiwan in 1971 from America to bring the artifacts to Chiang Kai-shek, who turned them over to the Taipei National Palace Museum.^[2]

In 1978 a Chinese 2500 year double edged steel sword dating to the Spring and Autumn period was found in Changsha. ^[3]

What were identified as the oldest-known noodles were found in an earthen bowl at the 4,000-year-old site of Lajia on the Yellow River in China. The noodles, discovered by Maolin Ye of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and analyzed by Houyuan Lu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and colleagues, were 50 cm long and had been made with two strains of millet.^[4]

Institutions

• Chinese Society of Archaeology
• Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

References

1. ^ Fan, Ka-wai (2004). Review of the Web Sites for Chinese Archaeology. http://www.moyak.com/papers/chinese-archaeology.pdf. 
2. ^ China archaeology and art digest, Volume 3, Issue 4. Art Text (HK) Ltd.. 2000. p. 354. http://books.google.com/?id=0UzrAAAAMAAJ&q=in+1971,+his+widow+took+them+from+America+to+Chiang+Kai-shek+in+Taiwan.+They+were+later+acquired+by+the+National+Palace&dq=in+1971,+his+widow+took+them+from+America+to+Chiang+Kai-shek+in+Taiwan.+They+were+later+acquired+by+the+National+Palace. Retrieved 2010-11-28. 
3. ^ New Scientist. Reed Business Information. Nov 16, 1978. p. 539. ISBN ISSN 0262-4079. http://books.google.com/?id=tRj7EyRFVqYC&pg=PA539&dq=qin+shi+huang+tomb+sword+chromium#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2010-6-28. 
4. ^ Houyuan Lu, Xiaoyan Yang, Maolin Ye, Kam-Biu Liu, Zhengkai Xia, Xiaoyan Ren, Linhai Cai, Naiqin Wu and Tung-Sheng Liu. "Culinary archaeology: Millet noodles in Late Neolithic China." Nature 437, 967-968 (13 October 2005). doi: 10.1038/437967a

Further reading

• Chang, Kwang-Chih (1977). The Archeology of Ancient China. Yale University Press. 
• Liu, Li (2004). The Chinese neolithic: trajectories to early states. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81184-2. 
• Loewe, Michael; Shaughnessy, Edward L., eds (1999). The Cambridge History of Ancient China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8. 
• Thorp, Robert L. (2006). China in the early bronze age: Shang civilization. University of Pennsylvania Press. 
• Treistman, Judith M. (1972). The prehistory of China: an archeological exploration. Natural History Press. 

See also

• History of China