Part One: Late Prehistoric China Table of Contents | Start Section
More about Archaeology, Jade, Early Pottery Production
More about Archaeology
The basic premise of modern archaeology is stratigraphy. Already in the eighteenth century Thomas Jefferson realized that soil was deposited in distinct layers and that objects found in the same layer can be assumed to date together, those in lower layers being older than those in layers above. As excavators dig, they make careful note of changes in the color and texture of the soil, the presence of large or small stones, and other factors. Archaeology has little in common today with the dashing image of Indiana Jones. It is a slow and methodical process. Digging proceeds layer by layer, with careful documentation -- notes, photographs, drawings, and depth measurements -- at every stage. Much of the daily activity consists of taking and recording measurements. Artifacts are carefully drawn and precise information about their find-spots is noted. Without context, an object can often tell us very little. |
Pottery, which survives in large amounts and is often decorated with styles particular to different periods and cultures, is a mainstay of archaeology, especially important for dating in prehistoric periods. Well-studied stylistic and technical changes allow for very close dating of ceramics produced in many cultures.
Today, many scientific dating methods are available, including radiocarbon dating for organic material and thermoluminescence (TL) dating, which measures the natural radiation a pottery object has received since it was fired in a kiln. Very exact dates have been linked to long sequences -- going back six thousand years in some cases -- of growth rings in trees (dendrochronology).
Scientific techniques assist archaeologists in other ways as well. Isotopic analyses can help identify the provenance of marbles and other stones, and various remote sensing techniques and satellite imagery can locate the presence of walls and other structures underground. Archaeology is not confined to archaeologists, and input is needed from a variety of other scientific disciplines, including botany, geology, conservation, and chemistry, to give us a complete picture.
For thousands of years the Chinese have collected and prized the artifacts of their early history, both as objects of beauty and as venerable relics of the past. But very little was known about their context or meaning until this century. Modern archaeology has contributed greatly to our understanding, but it is a continuing process of discovery and interpretation. Archaeology can answer many questions about the early history of China, but it also raises new ones.
There are some limitations to keep in mind about what we can learn from archaeology and from the objects in this packet:
The archaeological record does not provide a complete picture of the past. It is affected by accidents of survival. Durable materials such as bronze, jade, and pottery, for example, survive more often and in greater number than perishable materials such as silk, bamboo, lacquer, and wood. Our understanding is also skewed by the fact that many of the best-studied monuments are those of the ruling and aristocratic classes. The objects in this packet do not provide as much direct information about the lives of the less privileged in ancient China.
Most of the objects were buried with individuals or used in grave ritual. They were not necessarily the same as those used in everyday life, or viewed by contemporary society in the same way. Our picture of the living is perhaps overly dependent on the dead.
None of these objects was originally intended for display in a museum, and most were not created as "art" per se. They were made for a variety of reasons -- to indicate status or prestige, to honor ancestors, to commemorate special events, for ritual use, or specifically for use in the tomb.
Archaeologists usually name cultures after the sites where they are first identified (type site). This name is then applied to other groups that share distinct cultural features. Note that these names are modern, and we do not know what people called themselves until the historical period in the Bronze Age.
Late Prehistoric China | Bronze Age China | Chu and Other Cultures | Early Imperial China
Teaching Activities | Resources | Chronology | Pronunciation Guide/Glossary