Exploratory Research: Systematic, Regional Survey in Southeastern Shandong Province, China

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下。安妮·昂德希尔、加里·费曼和他们的同事将在位于中国黄河流域的山东省东南部进行考古调查。这个为期一个月的实地考察季的目标是对该地区进行初步评估，确定地表物质存在的程度，并建立一个美中长期合作研究项目。此前在该地区的工作已经揭示了大量新石器时代晚期的遗迹，包括可能是定居等级中心的大型围墙遗址，表明社会分化的墓地，以及制作精美的手工艺品，如玉器饰品和精致的陶器。鉴于这些遗址出现的时间较早，该地区长期以来一直被认为可能是复杂社会发展的中心。然而，迄今为止的研究主要集中在个别地点，并没有试图将这些地点置于更广泛的区域背景下。目前尚不清楚这些中心地区是如何与周围腹地相互作用或扩展其权力的。对世界其他地区复杂社会的研究表明，只有从更广阔的角度看待个别遗址，才能获得充分的了解。Drs。Underhill和Feinman将使用在中美洲开发并广泛应用的测量技术，并测试其在山东地区的可行性。他们将对50平方公里的区域进行系统调查，结果将为设计更大规模的项目提供基础。考古学家希望了解在史前世界的许多地方复杂的社会是如何产生和维持的。通过对个案的比较，他们希望发现潜在的一般过程。很明显，复杂的社会在中国是独立发展起来的，虽然有许多遗址被挖掘出来，但它们并没有被置于必要的区域背景中。昂德希尔-费曼的研究很重要，因为它将实现这一点。它将向中国介绍一种新的考古方法，并进一步促进中美科学家之间的合作。

With National Science Foundation support Drs. Anne Underhill, Gary Feinman and their colleagues will conduct an archaeological survey in southeastern Shandong province which is located in the Yellow River region of China. The goal of this one month field season is to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the region, determine the extent of surface materials present, and establish a program of long term collaborative U.S. - Chinese research. Previous work in the region has revealed the presence of abundant remains from the late Neolithic Period, including large walled sites that were probably centers of settlement hierarchies, cemeteries indicating social differentiation and finely made craft goods such as jade ornaments and elaborate pottery vessels. Given the early dates for these sites, the region has long been recognized as a likely center for the development of complex societies. Research to date however has focused on individual sites and has not attempted to set these into a broader regional context. It is not known how such central places interacted with or extended their power over surrounding hinterlands. Research into complex societies in other parts of the world has demonstrated that full understanding can be gained only when individual sites are viewed from this broader perspective. Drs. Underhill and Feinman will use survey techniques which were developed and have been broadly applied in Middle America and test their feasibility in the Shandong region. They will conduct a systematic survey of a 50 km square region and the results will provide the basis to design a larger scale project. Archaeologists wish to understand how complex societies arose and were maintained in many parts of the prehistoric world. Through the comparison of individual cases they hope to discern underlying general processes. While it is clear that complex societies developed independently in China, and while many sites have been excavated, they have not been set into the necessary regional contexts. The Underhill-Feiman research is important because it will accomplish just this. It will introduce a new archaeological approach to China and further collaboration between Chinese and American scientists.