The Chinese Neolithic: Recent Trends in Research
- 1 December 1987
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in American Anthropologist
- Vol. 89 (4) , 807-822
- https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1987.89.4.02a00030
Abstract
Early food production, featuring at least two and probably three separate suites of plants, occurred in at least six different regions in China. Gradually, the earliest stages of village life and plant‐animal domestication are becoming clearer, and Chinese archeologists are attempting to reconstruct the societal context of these developments. Late Neolithic sites, shedding light on the indigenous evolution to state‐level societies, are now being published, and the ethnohistoric links between archeological cultures and major ethnic groups are being considered. The volume of excavation and publication makes China one of the most exciting areas of Neolithic research at the present time. A discussion of major contributions and topics of debate follows.Keywords
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