http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/325/5943/930
Science 21 August 2009:
Vol. 325. no. 5943, pp. 930-935
DOI: 10.1126/science.325_930
Archaeology in China:
Beyond the Yellow River: How China Became China
Andrew Lawler
Archaeologists have long thought that Chinese civilization was born along the central plains of the Yellow River. But dramatic discoveries across China in the past 2 decades are challenging long-held views. From Manchuria in the north, to the Chengdu plain to the west, and to the coastal cities of the south, excavations are revealing a host of complex and distinct ancient cultures, each with its own artifacts and traditions. Striking carved faces found in Liangzhu are one example; other cultures developed enormous bronze statues, large stone ceremonial complexes, and a golden, whirling sun motif. Yellow River sites like Erlitou, believed since its discovery in 1959 to have been the long-lost first capital of China (see sidebar), remain key to understanding the first true urban centers in China. But other, far-flung cultures also contain the seeds of Chinese traditions.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-08/21/content_8596840.htm
More light shed on China’s ancient past
By Lin Shujuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-21 07:17
...Some are now even questioning the existence of a legendary Chinese dynasty, the Xia (about 2100 BC-1600 BC), according to a collection of news reports in today’s issue of the journal Science... Though boasting 5,000 years of civilization, the widely acknowledged beginning of the civilization with historical records could be dated to the Shang Dynasty (1600 BC-1100 BC), thanks to the discovery of oracle bones. With the inscriptions on the oracle bones, the earliest characters in China, archaeologists outlined what the society was like in the Shang Dynasty. But there are still 1,000 years unaccounted for in China’s 5,000-year civilization, making it essential for the archaeologists to find out what the pre-Shang society was like... Recent archaeological discoveries show that there were many advanced cultures in the valleys of several major rivers in China about 4,000 to 5,000 years ago.
I detest this new sensibility that although we track our years from the time of Christ, we can't actually acknowledge Christ as the reason.
link only due to rules:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/sciencefair/2009/08/chinas-founding-legend-may-not-be-true.html
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To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. |
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Sorry, couldn’t read anything after you misspelled “B.C.”
How soon people forget that 'xia' is usually spoken in Teochew and Hakka as "Ch"...
The XIA dynasty scientists are also credited with the invention and development of the Xia Pet, which over time became Chia Pet.