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A History of Chinese Archaeology

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Handbook of East and Southeast Asian Archaeology

Abstract

The birth of modern Chinese archaeology in the early twentieth century was an outcome of the introduction of Western scientific methods, the rise of nationalism , and the search for the cultural origins of the nation. These three factors have had a continuing influence on the development of the discipline, with the consequence that archaeology in China has been firmly placed in the general field of history. Its research orientations and interpretations have been significantly affected by different political agendas of the nation—especially the ever-changing concept of nationalism in particular eras. In many cases, archaeology has been driven by the contemporary trend toward a more multiethnic concept of nationalism and used as an instrument to support, rather than to evaluate, particular theoretical themes or political agendas. In other situations, it has provided independent data for creating new paradigms, which changed traditional perspectives toward Chinese national history. This chapter reviews the developmental trajectory of Chinese archaeology, and discusses its contribution to our knowledge of Chinese history and prehistory.

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  1. Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Li Liu

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  1. Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA

    Junko Habu

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Peter V. Lape

  3. School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA

    John W. Olsen

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Liu, L. (2017). A History of Chinese Archaeology. In: Habu, J., Lape, P., Olsen, J. (eds) Handbook of East and Southeast Asian Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6521-2_4

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