Title:
Reassessing the emergence of early village life in North China: process and variability
Speaker:
Dr. Tu Dongdong (ShanghaiTech University)
Date/Time:
October 18, 2024 (Friday) 14:30-15:30 (HKT)
Venue:
Room 201, May Hall, The University of Hong Kong (Map), or Via Zoom
Language:
English
Enquiry:
ihss@hku.hk
ABSTRACT
The transition from mobile foraging societies to settled agricultural communities is a critical period in human history. In this talk, I try to examine abundant archaeological evidence and demonstrate the long process of emergence of early village life in North China. I argue that several material traits including grinding stones, microliths and pottery appeared in the Terminal Pleistocene and they supported the economic subsistence of resource intensification. These new traits were entangled with hearths and houses and generated the rapid movement towards sedentism. However, the domestication of plants and animals were gradual rather than rapid events. The well-planned villages also emerged rapidly in the early Holocene and fundamental changes in economic strategies, social interaction and ideology took place. In order to integrate the community as a whole, various strategies were carried out. I use the Chahai site as an example and indicate that public ritual activities played an important role.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dr. Tu Dongdong is a tenure track assistant professor in the Institute of Humanities at ShanghaiTech University. He received bachelor's degree in archaeology from Sun Yat-sen University, then he was trained at the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and got master’s degree. In 2021, he received his Ph.D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research interests include the origins of agriculture in China, household archaeology and the development of complex societies. He is the author and co-author of several peer-reviewed papers published on Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, Archaeological Research in Asia and Archaeological and Anthropological Science etc.
ABOUT THE SERIES
The Archaeology Talk Series aims to provide a platform for scholars, students, and enthusiasts to discuss and share knowledge about archaeology, its importance, recent discoveries, research methods, and its significance in understanding the past. The series aims to promote awareness, education, and appreciation for archaeology among academia and the general public and foster a sense of curiosity and interest in exploring our shared human history.
