U.S.-China Cooperative Research (Archaeology): Analytical/Provenance Studies of Prehistoric Chinese Pottery

明尼苏达大学的乔治·拉普和北京大学的陈铁梅的这个合作项目将分析长江中游景南市青铜时代早期遗址的陶片。利用中子活化，中国考古学家挑选的碎片将在威斯康星大学的反应堆设施中进行分析。这一分析将提供东亚文明社会发展最关键时期以来沿河社区相互作用领域的定量信息。中国的考古学正处于萌芽阶段。这项合作将通过应用中国尚未广泛使用的新技术来促进这门科学的发展。通过这次合作，美国科学家还将获得重要的考古遗址，以及未来有望在中国发现的东西。这项研究的结果可能有助于揭示公元前2世纪中期至2世纪初的早期中华文明时期复杂的互动和贸易关系。

This cooperative project between George Rapp, University of Minnesota, and Chen Tiemei, Peking University, will analyze potsherds from the Early Bronze Age site of Jingnanshi in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River valley. Using neutron activation, sherds selected by Chinese archaeologists will be analyzed at the University of Wisconsin reactor facility. This analysis will provide quantitative information on interaction spheres of the communities along the river system from the most critical time of development of civilized society in east Asia. Archaeological science in China is in its formative stages. This collaboration will contribute to advancing this science through application of new techniques not yet widely used in China. Through this cooperation, US scientists will also gain access to important archaeological sites, and to future discoveries anticipated in China. Results of this research may shed light on the complex interactions and trade relations in a period of early Chinese civilization dating from the mid- to early second millennium BC.