Archaeological studies

Since 2002, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has issued an annual honors list of the six most important archaeological finds in China last year.

In this year's list, experts said the Mengxihe Site in Ziyang, Sichuan province, stood out as a Paleolithic site with especially rich material and remains of human activity. A series of Neolithic sites along the coast of Fujian province indicated the origins of Austronesian peoples. Excavations at the Qujialing Site in Jingmen, Hubei province, enriched understanding of prehistoric people's water management systems.

Moreover, the large-scale Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC) tombs at the Zhaigou Site in Qingjian county, Shaanxi province, revealed possibilities of the existence of local states, which coexisted with the central Shang regime. Nestorian temple ruins at the Xipang Site in Turpan, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, are evidence of cultural exchanges on the ancient Silk Road. Excavation at a large architectural site south of the Shangjing city ruins of the Liao Dynasty (916-1125) promoted understanding of the Liao capital.

These sites were chosen from 265 active archaeological excavations and 1,367 excavations in preparation for urban construction projects carried out in the last year, according to Chen Xingcan, a member of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC. He is also the head of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Archaeology.

"The six programs have a large time span and wide geographical ranges. We chose them according to their academic significance. For example, the Mengxihe Site is a rare example not only in China's Paleolithic archaeology, but also in that of the whole world. The origin of Austronesian peoples is not only important for China, but has worldwide significance," said Chen Xingcan.

According to him, in the last year, major programs like Archaeology China and a program to trace the origins of the Chinese civilization continued to yield new progress. Studies on "the formation and development of China as a country with multiple ethnic groups" continued to deepen.

"The pace of 'going global' in China's archaeology is increasingly solid and steady, with rapid developments in archaeometry (scientific methods and technology used in archaeological study), and underwater archaeology. Moreover, a number of high-quality TV programs on archaeology have been produced and broadcast, expanding its social influence," said Chen Xingcan.

Technologies used to analyze human bones have unveiled the historical landscape of the formation, development and integration of various ethnic groups in ancient China. Their use in zooarchaeology constructs a framework for understanding the origins of domesticated animals in China and the ways in which animal resources were obtained and utilized, he added.

Important progress has been made in underwater archaeology after Chinese archaeologists explored two shipwrecks deep in the South China Sea last year, unveiling commercial and cultural exchanges along the ancient Maritime Silk Road during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), according to Song Jianzhong, a researcher at the National Center for Archaeology.

"China has built up its strength in archaeology. This has driven innovations in China's archaeological theories and technical capacities, established the disciplinary, academic and discourse systems for Chinese archaeology, and offered archaeological wisdom and strength to the construction of modern Chinese civilization," said Liu Guoxiang, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of History.