Taking Stock and Moving Forward

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the results of the analyses conducted in this study and reevaluates the model proposed in Chap. 2 and its applicability to future studies on mortuary data from other regions. Based on these results, this chapter also discusses mechanisms of intra- and intergroup demarcations and their reflection in the archaeological record in general. It is argued that this study has reached the aim posed at the outset, namely, to advance the understanding of the prehistoric remains of the Liangshan Region and to propose and test a new scheme of burial analysis aimed at particularly complex datasets of uneven quality. As to the Liangshan Region, this study was able to identify spatial and chronological variation in several spheres of behavior related to burial remains; based on these results, this book tells the story of local prehistoric developments and the integration between human behaviors and the environment of Southwest China. The model and scheme of analysis proposed in this book have proven to be extremely useful for inferring past human behavior and identity groups from material remains. Additionally, it has become clear that the heterogeneous material from the Liangshan Region defies a categorization in neatly bounded archaeological cultures; instead, this particular set of material challenges notions of culture, group, and community, and requires considering various types of identity as constantly shifting units that may or may not be reflected in the material record.