Studying Early China, To Learn Why Civilizations Rise And Fall

Science Daily ^ | 4-25-2007 | University Of British Columbia

[blam]

Source: University Of British Columbia
Date: April 25, 2007

Studying Early China, To Learn Why Civilizations Rise And Fall

Science Daily — In the Yellow River valley of northern China, Zhichun Jing digs through the remains of long-ago cities to find insights for modern survival. Over the past 10 years, Jing has been excavating the cities of the late Shang Dynasty. Flourishing between 1,200 and 1,050 BC, the Shang was one of the first literate civilizations in China and East Asia. Its last capital city was Yinxu, where the present-day city of Anyang now stands.

Zhichun Jing studies the dynamics between humans and the environment over several millenia to find sustainable models. He holds a replica of a 1,200 BC ivory cup from the Shang Dynasty of China's Bronze Age. (Credit: Photo by Martin Dee)

An assistant professor in the Dept. of Anthropology, Jing studies the relationship between human and ecological systems in early China to investigate why certain civilizations rise or fall.

“The past can shed light on how we tackle present and future problems like the sustainability of human societies and environmental conditions,” says Jing, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Asia-Pacific Archeology and will be launching a new study to further integrate archeological and ecological data.

He says that as the world’s most populous country, China faces severe environmental problems -- far surpassing any other. But to meet immediate needs, China, like many nations, will often go ahead with projects like dams that end up destroying homes, history and the irreplaceable ecology of flood plains.

“The long-term perspective may help us better understand and evaluate current environmental debates, interpretations and even policies,” says Jing. “If there is vivid data presented, we can convince people to act for long- instead of short-term benefits.”

At present, scholars who grapple with sustainability issues usually have access to data that cover one or two centuries. In contrast, archeological records span thousands of years, says Jing.

His study will peel away the layers of China’s 6,000-year history of human and environmental interactions, focusing on the Yellow River valley where Anyang numbers among many early settlements.

Starting 8,500 years ago, China’s early people witnessed the rapid growth of argricultural communities followed by the development of urban centres. Jing will assess the archeologically visible consequences of these cities, their operation as political and economic centres and their decline during China’s Bronze Age, the period between about 2,000 and 771 BC.

“We’ll be studying the people’s responses and strategies to environmental changes, either climatic or human induced,” says Jing. “We’ll also investigate the changing biodiversity.”

Using an interdisciplinary approach, Jing and his team will employ archaeology, geology, paleography, isotope chemistry and palynology (the study of pollen and spores). Tools such as high-resolution pollen analysis of lake sediments and paleobotanical study of plant remains will augment an archaeological survey of prehistoric settlements. From this, Jing says they’ll be able to witness the cycles and consequences of social and natural actions over several millennia.

“The archaeological record encodes hundreds of situations in which societies were able to develop sustainable relationships with their environments, and thousands of situations in which the relationships with their environments were mutually destructive.”

Deciphering the worldview and mindset of a specific time and place can also reveal important clues, says Jing. For example, the material evidence turned up from Shang excavations reveals that in the early years, the first cities were going gangbusters creating new technology and arts.

“The Shang people invented writing, possibly for communication among different ethnic groups. They imported horse-driven chariots from the Near East or Central Asia, and rapidly absorbed ideas from other cultures.”

However, after a century the Shang vitality slackened. The initial diversity and creativity devolved into a dull sameness. “By the end we see that things like their pottery, architecture and artwork had become standardized and simplified.”

Jing says this phenomenon in the archaeological record suggests that people had less freedom to express their individuality and became less creative.

“When a society becomes rigid and homogeneous, there’s greater potential for collapse.”

Jing’s study has received support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the B.C. Knowledge Development Fund, the National Science Foundation in the United States and the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholar Exchange. International partners for his project include the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University Of British Columbia.

[blam]

GGG Ping.

I wonder if he'll bother to mention the contribution of these folks?

On The Presence Of Non-Chinese At Anyang

[alloysteel]

I thought, all this time, that the forward march of civilization through the history of China was unbroken, for at least the past 5,000 years.

There have been a series of Dark Ages, even in China? Who knew?

[gcruse]

If the fall of Rome doesn’t teach us about civilizations falling, I doubt a study of the Han Dynasty will be of much use. Meanwhile, radical Isalm continues its attack against civilization without the benefit of Chinese studies or academic scrutiny.

[eyedigress]

Jing says this phenomenon in the archaeological record suggests that people had less freedom to express their individuality and became less creative

Thanks alot Liberals!

[Zeppo]

Jing says this phenomenon in the archaeological record suggests that people had less freedom to express their individuality and became less creative. “When a society becomes rigid and homogeneous, there’s greater potential for collapse.”

Or, more likely, Jing is just projecting his and other anthropologists' biases, hopes and fears, and politics onto an archaeological record that contains no such evidence...

[Dilbert San Diego]

I think this may go over the heads of the politically correct crowd. Some of them think that the history of western civilization has been one of brutality, homophobia, racism, bigotry, pollution, and other dangers. They think that our culture is only now becoming tolerable, now that we have recognition of homosexuality, have banned smoking, pushed religion out of public life, and are worshiping mother earth as never before. To them, life will be wonderful as we banish the evils of racism, bigotry, war, and global warming.

[gcruse]

Inasmuch as it isn’t liberals who equate individuality with licentiousness, and more artists are liberal than conservative, I fail to see your logic.

[Continental Soldier]

Powerful civilizations fall because they get tired — tired of what is required to prevail.

[LibWhacker]

Interesting... I’m betting that science and technology, along with our sheer size, has immunized us against many of the civilization enders of the past. For example, it’s hard to imagine a drought or a famine, or “pestilence,” doing in modern America. Supervolcanoes, meteor strike, war, are still threats, though the first two are extremely unlikely. Global warming's a joke. That leaves war, and/or a creeping barbarian invasion of the type that brought down the Roman Empire.

[eyedigress]

I was referring to the individuality of people NOT being promoted by liberals. They promote group think, It takes a village, remember?

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Blam.

"When a society becomes rigid and homogeneous, there’s greater potential for collapse."

Heh... it's been somewhat in vogue for a while to refer to "overspecialization" as the reason for the sudden collapse of this or that civilization, which is ludicrous IMHO. The fact remains that there are A) natural catastrophes, and B) invasions by outsiders.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.

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[DariusBane]

Thanks for posting this. I really don’t know anything about eastern history, (anything east of Constantinople anyway). I am sure that much can and could be learned from Asian studies.

[Fred Nerks]

http://www.kronia.com/symposium/miller.txt

Venus Worship and Ancient China

[Zhang Fei]

Article: He says that as the world’s most populous country, China faces severe environmental problems -- far surpassing any other.

China may be the world's most populous country, but it is also the third largest country around. It is less densely populated than many of its neighbors. If China were as densely populated as formerly British-run Hong Kong, it would have 60b people instead of the 1.2b it has today. And yet Hong Kong has a cleaner environment than most parts of China. China's environmental problems don't have to do with population size or density - they're a function of an incompetent leadership.

[blam]

Interesting. Oppenheimer makes a good case for one origin for east and west myths, religions and etc in his book Eden In The East

[Fred Nerks]

thanks, wish Amazon was available in Oz.

[SunkenCiv]

Booktopia is. :')

[Fred Nerks]

thanks!

[PuTiDaMo]

---

I wonder if he'll bother to mention the contribution of these folks?

On The Presence Of Non-Chinese At Anyang

---

If you mean the Caucasoids of the Tarim Basin (whose mummies the linked article discusses), he did mention that the Shang "imported horse-driven chariots from the Near East or Central Asia", the latter of which can be said to encompass the Tarim Basin as well.