Settlement Patterns in the Chifeng Region by the Chifeng International Collaborative Archaeological Research Project (review)

This volume reports the result of six seasons of archaeological field survey in a delineated region near Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, China, carried out between 1999 and 2007. The book comprises five chapters: “Introduction”; “Stratigraphic Testing, Ceramics, and Chronology”; “Environment”; “Settlement Analysis”; and “Sequence of Social Change.” The two appendices are “Glossary of Chinese Characters” and “Electronic Access to Color Illustrations and the Full Database.” Many useful tables, graphs, and figures are included, but I recommend accessing them electronically to view them in color, which substantially improves their readability.

This is a specialized volume, essentially an analysis of the survey in English. This is not a synthetic overview of the archaeological cultures of the region, nor is it intended to be. Contributors include Chinese, American, and Israeli authors who participated in the survey. The statistics and graphs describe distributions of the data collected and assessments of the resulting settlement patterns of the Chifeng region from about 6000 b.c.e.to 1000 c.e.As such, it will be important reading not only for other researchers in Chinese archaeology but also those who plan similar surveys in other regions of China or elsewhere in the world. It is an outstanding example of careful explanations of why certain methods of surveying and collecting data were selected and how they were applied, problems encountered, and statistical interpretations of the data.

The introductory chapter by Katheryn Linduff, of the University of Pittsburgh, and Ta La, of the Inner Mongolian Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, describes the Chifeng project and how the collaboration came about. The early development of this region, independent from the Central Plain of China, has been long understood by archaeologists in northern China. It is well documented by the data collected in this project. It is, therefore, of particular importance to researchers of ancient China, historians as well as archaeologists.

Chapter 2 is divided into five parts: “Introduction”; “Stratigraphic Testing, Ceramics, and Chronology”; “Environment”; “Settlement Analysis”; and “Sequence of Social Change.” The sections are largely descriptions of these categories of data. The surface survey data are augmented by subsurface data from two excavated sites to compare the relationship of the surface scatters with the subsurface remains. The test excavations provided new carbon-14 dates that refined the time periods used by Chinese archaeologists. The subsequent analysis uses compromise dates between the dates currently in use in China and the new dates from the excavations: Xinglongwa period, about 6000–5250 b.c.e.; Zhabaogou period, 5250–4500 b.c.e.; Hongshan, about 4500–3000 b.c.e.; Xiaoheyan, 3000–2000 b.c.e.; Lower Xiajiadian, 2000–1200 b.c.e.; Upper Xiajiadian, 1000–600 b.c.e.; Zhanguo-Han, 600 b.c.e.–200 c.e.; and Liao, 200–1300 c.e.This sequence, previously established by Chinese archaeologists, was based largely on pottery chronology. The survey was based on pottery types, which are described and illustrated. While the final results modify the dates for these periods, the sequence of cultures remains in place. The ceramic chronology has a tendency to reify the cultures, but for long-term analysis of change through time, the series makes a useful framework. Stone and bone tools and floral and faunal analyses described in this chapter add more precision to previous chronology. An important finding from the test pits is that most of the botanical samples were domesticated species and most of the bones analyzed came from domesticated animals. While archaeologists who know this region are aware of the extent of the very early and continuous domestication of plants and animals, the notion that nomads were the main occupants continues to appear in writings that privilege the texts of Chinese history over archaeological discoveries. Thus, the finding that villages with domesticated plants and animals dominate in alltime periods is important.

Chapter 3 discusses the environment, with sections on the...