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Academic freedom, political correctness, and early civilisation in Chinese archaeology: the debate on Xia-Erlitou relations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Li Liu
Li Liu*
Affiliation:
*Archaeology Program, La Trobe University, Victoria 3086, Australia (Email: [email protected])
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Extract

The interpretation of archaeology is inevitably affected by the social, cultural and intellectual background of researchers. This is certainly the situation in the study of early Chinese civilisations and their material remains, particularly in regard to the Erlitou culture in the middle Yellow River region in China (c. 1900-1500 BC). The spatial and temporal definitions of the Erlitou culture are partially coincident with those of the Xia dynasty as recorded in ancient texts. The type-site of Erlitou, in Yanshi, Henan province, has revealed much evidence indicating the development of a large and complex political centre there. But the historical or dynastic affiliation of the Erlitou site/culture has generated much debate among archaeologists and historians in recent years. A general tendency in the debate, as seen in publications, is that most Chinese archaeologists and historians believe that the Erlitou site represents the material culture of an early dynasty, Xia or Shang, while most scholars in the West have reservations regarding such interpretations (Liu & Chen 2003: 26-35; Liu 2004: 223-38; Liu & Xu 2007).

Type
Debate
Information
Antiquity , Volume 83 , Issue 321 , September 2009 , pp. 831 - 843
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2009

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