The Archaeology of Early China From prehistory to the Han Dynasty 1st Edition by Gideon Shelach Lavi 0521196892 9780521196895

The Archaeology of Early China From prehistory to the Han Dynasty 1st Edition by Gideon Shelach Lavi – Ebook PDF Instant Download/Delivery: 0521196892, 9780521196895

Full download The Archaeology of Early China From prehistory to the Han Dynasty 1st Edition after payment

Product details:

ISBN 10: 0521196892 

ISBN 13: 9780521196895

Author: Gideon Shelach Lavi

This volume aims to satisfy a pressing need for an updated account of Chinese archaeology. It covers an extended time period from the earliest peopling of China to the unification of the Chinese Empire some two thousand years ago. The geographical coverage includes the traditional focus on the Yellow River basin but also covers China’s many other regions. Among the topics covered are the emergence of agricultural communities; the establishment of a sedentary way of life; the development of sociopolitical complexity; advances in lithic technology, ceramics, and metallurgy; and the appearance of writing, large-scale public works, cities, and states. Particular emphasis is placed on the great cultural variations that existed among the different regions and the development of interregional contacts among those societies.

Table of contents:

1 The Geographic and Environmental Background
Defining “China”
The Topography of China
The Climate of China
Vegetation and Economic Potential
Ancient Climatic and Geographic Changes and Their Effects

2 Before Cultivation: Human Origins and the Incipient Development of Human Culture in China
Archaeological Evidence for Early Human Occupation in China
The Chronological Setting
The Earliest Sites
Early Paleolithic Sites
Middle and Late Paleolithic Sites
The Study of Hominin Remains and the Origins of Human Populations in China
The “Out of Africa” Model
The Origins of Homo Sapiens and Modern Human Population in China
Stone Tools and the Spread of Human Culture

3 The Transition to Food Production: Variability and Processes
What Is Agriculture?
Hunter-Gatherers vs. Agriculturalists: How Different Are They?
Archaeological Evidence for the Transition to Agriculture in China
North China
Late Pleistocene Sites
Early Holocene Sites
Central and South China
Late Pleistocene Sites
Early Holocene Sites
Are We There Yet? Plant and Animal Domestication during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene
Why Agriculture? Models Explaining the Transition to Agriculture in China
Climatic Changes and the Transition to Agriculture
Social and Economic Strategies and the Transition to Agriculture
One Center, Two Centers, Multiple Centers: Geographic Diversity, Interregional Interaction, and the Transition to Agriculture

4 The Development of Agriculture and Sedentary Life in North China
The Material Culture of Early Neolithic Societies in North China
Settlement Patterns and Village Organization
Domestic Structures
Cemeteries, Burials, and Religious Structures
The Production of Artifacts
The Economic Adaptation of Early Neolithic Societies in North China
Domesticated Plants
Domesticated Animals
The Economic Base of Early Neolithic Societies
The Sociopolitical and Economic Organization of Early Neolithic Villages in North China
Hierarchy and Social Complexity during the Early Part of the Early Neolithic Period
The Economic Organization of Villages during the Early Part of the Early Neolithic
The Emergence of Stratification, Social Complexity, and Regional Polities during the Late Phases of the Early Neolithic
Regional Variability and Interregional Interactions during the Early Neolithic Period in North China

5 The Shift to Agriculture and Sedentism in Central and South China
The Material Culture of Early Neolithic Societies in Central and South China
Settlement Patterns and Village Organization
Domestic Structures
Cemeteries, Burials, and Religious Structures
The Production of Artifacts
The Economic Adaptation of Early Neolithic Societies in Central and South China
Domesticated Plants
Domesticated Animals
The Economic Base of Early Neolithic Societies
The Sociopolitical and Economic Organization of Early Neolithic Villages in Central and South China
Settlement Hierarchy and Social Complexity
Economic Organization, Stratification, and Social Complexity
Regional Variation and Interregional Interactions during the Early Neolithic Period in Central and South China
Long-Range Interactions
Explaining the Advent of Agriculture and the Origins of Social and Economic Change

6 The Emergence and Development of Sociopolitical Complexity
The Material Culture of Late Neolithic Societies in China
Settlement Patterns and Site Structure
Domestic and Public Structures
Cemeteries, Burials, and Ritual Activity
Craft Production and Technology
Regional Variation and Interregional Interactions during the Late Neolithic Period
Regional Variation
Regional and Interregional Interactions
The Rise of Economic, Social, and Political Complexity and Stratification during the Late Neolithic
Levels and Forms of Sociopolitical Hierarchy during the Late Neolithic
The Road to Stratification: Models for the Development of Stratification during the Late Neolithic
The “Origins of Chinese Civilization” and the Transmission of Cultural Attributes through Time

7 Stepping into History
Stepping into History: Are We There Yet (1)?
The Collapse (or Not?) of Late Neolithic Society
The Archaeology of the Early Second Millennium BCE
The Central Yellow River Basin
Northwest China and the Ordos Region
Northeast China
Other Regions
The Earliest State in Chinese History: Are We There Yet (2)?
Models of the State and Their Archaeological Correlates
The Erlitou State Reexamined
Interregional Interactions during the First Half of the Second Millennium BCE

8 The Shang Dynasty: The Emergence of the State in China
Stepping into History: Historic, Epigraphic, and Archaeological Sources for the Study of the Shang
The Archaeology of the Shang Polity
Chronology of the Shang
Settlement Patterns and Site Structure
City Organization and Public Structures
Cemeteries, Burials, and Ritual Activity
Craft Production and Technology
The Oracle Bone Inscriptions
Shaman or Technocrats? The Religious Functions and Leadership Strategies of Shang Kings
The Structure and Evolution of the Shang State
The State Economy of the Shang Polity
Power, Institution, and Legitimation: A Model of the Shang State
The Formation of Chinese Culture during the Shang Period

9 Regional Variation and Interregional Interactions during the Bronze Age: “Center and Periphery” or “Interaction Spheres”?
The Archaeology of Regions Outside the Shang Political Sphere
Chronological Issues
The Archaeological Record
Northeast China
North and Northwest China
The Lower and Central Yangzi River Basin
The Sichuan Basin
Areas to the West and South of the Yangzi River Basin
Regional Variation and Interregional Interactions
Models of Interregional Interaction
Economic Adaptation of Societies in Northeast and Northwest China
Economic Exchange and Interregional Interaction
Other Types of Exchange and Interregional Interaction
Effects of Interregional Interactions
Long-Range Interactions
Tarim Basin “Mummies” and East-West Contact during the Bronze Age

10 The Societies and Cultures of the Zhou Period: Processes of Globalization and the Genesis of Local Identities
Historical Background
The Zhou Administration and the Fall of the Western Zhou
The Eastern Zhou: A Multistate System
The Archaeology of the Western and Eastern Zhou
Settlements and the Development of Cities
Public Buildings
Long Walls
Ritual Structures and Paraphernalia
Craft Production and Technology
Economic Changes and Their Effects
The Evolution of Coins and a Monetary System
Regional Identity and Cross-Regional Integration

11 The Son of Heaven and the Creation of a Bureaucratic Empire
Historical Background
Qin Unification and Collapse
The Founding of the Han Dynasty and the Stabilization of the Imperial System
Centralization and Expansion during the Reign of Han Wudi
Monuments of Unification: The Archaeology of the Qin Unification Policies
Communication and Publicity
Measures of Standardization
The “Great Wall”
The Burial Complex of the First Emperor
Unification, Cultural Integration, and Regional Variation
Cultural Integration under the Qin and Its Fate during the Han and Later Periods
Regional Variation and Resistance to the Unified Culture
By Way of a Personal Conclusion: The Jade Dragon as an Emblem of Local and National Identity

People also search:

oldest archaeological site in china

china archaeology

china archeology

the archaeology of early china

china archaeological discovery

Tags: Gideon Shelach Lavi, Archaeology, Early, prehistory