The Archaeology of Early China

This volume aims to satisfy a pressing need for an updated account of Chinese archaeology. It covers an extended time period from the earliest peopling of China to the unification of the Chinese Empire some two thousand years ago. The geographical coverage includes the traditional focus on the Yellow River basin but also covers China''s many other regions. Among the topics covered are the emergence of agricultural communities; the establishment of a sedentary way of life; the development of sociopolitical complexity; advances in lithic technology ceramics and metallurgy; and the appearance of writing large-scale public works cities and states. Particular emphasis is placed on the great cultural variations that existed among the different regions and the development of interregional contacts among those societies.