Li Liu - The Chinese Neolithic. Trajectories to Early States (New studies in archaeology) [Retail].pdf

(6896 KB) Pobierz

This page intentionally left blank

The Chinese Neolithic

This book studies the formation of complex societies in prehistoric China during the Neolithic

and early state periods,

7000–1500 BC. Archaeological materials are interpreted through

anthropological perspectives, using systematic analysis of settlement and burial patterns.

Both agency and process are considered in the development of chiefdoms and in the emer-

gence of early states in the Yellow River region. Interrelationships between factors such as

mortuary practice, craft specialization, ritual activities, warfare, exchange of elite goods,

climatic ﬂuctuations, and environmental changes are emphasized. This study offers a critical

evaluation of current archaeological data from Chinese sources, and argues that, although

some general tendencies are noted, social changes were affected by multiple factors in no

pre-determined sequence. In this most comprehensive study to date, Li Liu attempts to re-

construct developmental trajectories toward early states in Chinese civilization and discusses

theoretical implications of Chinese archaeology for the understanding of social evolution.

L I L I U is Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at La Trobe University. She has published various

articles on the Chinese Neolithic and is the author of

State Formation in Early China

(with

Xingcan Chen) (2003).

NEW STUDIES IN ARCHAEOLOGY

Series Editors

Wendy Ashmore,

University of Pennsylvania

Clive Gamble,

University of Southampton

John O’Shea,

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Colin Renfrew,

University of Cambridge

Archaeology has made enormous advances reccently, both in the voume of discoveries and in

its character as an intellectual discipline: new techniques have helped to further the range and

rigour of the inquiry, and have encouraged inter-disciplinary communication.

The aim of this series is to make available to a wider audience the results of these devel-

opments. The coverage is worldwide and extends from the earliest hunting and gathering

societies to historical archaeology.

For a list of titles in the series please see the end of the book.

LI LIU

The Chinese Neolithic

Trajectories to Early States