Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
Located around Xiaotun Village in Yindu District, northwest of Anyang City, Henan, Yin Ruins is the site of the capital of the late Shang Dynasty in China.
The ruins of the Yin Ruins Tombs, together with the ruins of the Yin Ruins Palace Ancestral Temple and the Huanbei Shangcheng Ruins, constitute a large-scale and imposing Yin Ruins site. The site was discovered in the early 20th century for the excavation of oracle bones, and archaeological excavations officially began in 1928.
The Yin Ruins are the first documented ruins in Chinese history to be verified by archaeology and oracle bones. In 2006, Yin Ruins was inscribed on the World Heritage List.
The picture shows Bu Jia on display at the Yin Ruins Museum in Henan.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li An
The small-mouth pointed-bottom pottery vase exhibited at the Yangshao Cultural Museum in Miaodigou. Photographed by Zhao Xiaoxia, a reporter of this newspaper
Since the first excavation of the Yangshao village site, archaeologists have carried out a total of 4 archaeological excavations. The fourth archaeological excavation, which is underway since August 2020, has achieved a multidisciplinary combination and deepened the understanding of Yangshao culture.
The picture shows the site of the fourth archaeological excavation at the site of Yangshao Village.
Photographed by Zhao Xiaoxia, a reporter of this newspaper
The staff worked at the site of the fourth archaeological excavation at the Yangshao Village site. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Yanan
The picture shows the leaf-patterned faience pot exhibited at the Yangshao Cultural Museum in Miaodigou. Photographed by Zhao Xiaoxia, a reporter of this newspaper
The picture shows the four-petaled petal pattern faience clay pot exhibited at the Yangshao Cultural Museum in Miaodigou. Photographed by Zhao Xiaoxia, a reporter of this newspaper
The picture shows the swirling faience pot exhibited at the Yangshao Cultural Museum in Miaodigou. Photographed by Zhao Xiaoxia, a reporter of this newspaper
In front of the large relief wall of "Archaeological Centenary" next to yangshao culture museum in Sanmenxia City, Henan, along the timeline marked, from 1921 to "start", walk through the ruins of Yangshao Village in Henan Shichi, the ruins of Zhoukoudian in Beijing, and the ruins of Xiyin Village in Xia County, Shanxi... Search for Jia Lanpo, Yuan Fuli, Guo Baojun, Liang Siyong, Li Ji, Xia Nai and other scholars who have shone in China's century-old archaeological history, and the footsteps of history echo here.
As the preface on the relief wall states: "Beginning with the excavation of the site of Yangshao Village in Shichi, Henan in 1921, modern archaeology came into being in China. Generations of archaeologists have worked diligently on the land of China to pass on the torch and establish a Chinese archaeological system. ”
It started in Yangshao
Before 1921, Yangshao was just an unknown village in the Yang of Shaoshan Mountain in Shichi, Henan, far beyond the vision of Chinese intellectuals eager to reconstruct China's prehistoric history with modern archaeology. 1921 was a crucial turning point.
In April 1921, the legendary Swedish geologist Anderson discovered some pottery pieces and stone tools that had been washed away by flowing water and exposed to the ground about 1 km south of the village of Yangshao, and became interested. Later, he recorded this experience in the book "Children of the Yellow Earth", writing that "lying in bed at night and thinking about the mystery of Yangshao Village..." He decided to carry out a scientific excavation at this site.
In October of the same year, with the approval of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce of the Beiyang Government and the Institute of Geological Survey, Anderson, who was employed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce of the Beiyang Government, and Yuan Fuli, a young geologist who had just returned from studying in the United States, came to Yangshao Village to carry out archaeological excavations, kicked off the prelude to Chinese field archaeology, discovered the prehistoric culture characterized by grinding stone tools and painted pottery, and named it "Yangshao Culture". Among them, the "Topographic Map of Yangshao Village Ruins" drawn by Yuan Fuli has become the earliest field archaeological work in the history of Chinese archaeology, and the scientific excavation method has laid the foundation for the development of field excavation technology in Chinese archaeology.
Chen Xingcan, member of the Faculty of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and director of the Institute of Archaeology, said that the Yangshao culture is the first archaeological culture named in the history of modern Chinese archaeology, and it is also the first Neolithic culture in China that has been scientifically understood, and its emergence overturns the conclusion that China's non-stone age culture has been overturned. The excavation of Yangshao Village marks the beginning of Chinese Neolithic archaeology and the birth of modern Chinese archaeology.
On October 17, 2021, at the site of the fourth archaeological excavation of the Yangshao Village site, the person in charge of the excavation site was humorously describing the life of the ancestors of Yangshao Village to the delegates of the 100th Anniversary of the Discovery of Yangshao Culture and the Birth of Modern Chinese Archaeology: "Clad in silk and stepping on the 'concrete' floor..."
Since the first excavation in 1921, archaeologists have carried out a total of 4 archaeological excavations on the site of Yangshao Village. The fourth archaeological excavation, which is underway since August 2020, has deepened the world's understanding of Yangshao culture through comprehensive scientific exploration and fine archaeological excavations.
Looking back at the discovery and research process of Yangshao culture, Chen Xingcan believes that "it reflects the century-long course of modern Chinese archaeology to explore the source and reveal the development context and brilliant achievements of Chinese civilization from the side".
A century-long journey
Chinese archaeologists set out from Yangshao, and for hundreds of years they have been bathed in wind and rain and the blue wisps of the road.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of modern Chinese archaeology, and Wang Wei, member of the Faculty of chinese Academy of Social Sciences and chairman of the Chinese Archaeological Society, divides the century-old archaeology into six stages: the initial development period, the stagnation period and the recovery period, the rapid development period, the vigorous development period, and the golden development period. He believes that the study of Paleolithic archaeology explores "where I came from"; the study of Neolithic archaeology, from the revelation of the cultural landscape of the prehistoric period to the traceability of its cultural origins, proves that the Chinese prehistoric culture is the indigenous origin.
Anderson traced the origins of faience culture to the west, proposing a western view of Chinese prehistoric culture. Through the excavation of sites such as Xiyin Village, Chengziya, and Yin Ruins, Chinese archaeologists have realized that there are three cultural relics, including faience pottery culture, black pottery culture, and gray pottery culture. Archaeologist Liang Siyong solved the relative age of these three cultures through the discovery of the Hougang Triassic Layer. Through the efforts of archaeologists, the discovery of the Peiligang culture, Magnetic Hill culture, Beixin culture and Hemudu culture dating back to 9,000 to 7,000 years ago proves that Chinese prehistoric culture is of indigenous origin. Wang Wei said.
The excavation of the Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan, which began in 1928, opened the prelude to the archaeology of the Chinese historical period. Wang Wei believes that archaeology in the historical period focuses on two major academic research topics - the formation and development of a unified multi-ethnic state and the formation of a Chinese national community.
At the opening ceremony of the "Third Chinese Archaeological Conference", the site of Beijing Zhoukoudian, the site of Xiyin Village in Xia County, Shanxi, the site of Niuheliang in Chaoyang, Liaoning, the ruins of Yuyao Hemudu in Zhejiang, the ruins of Liangzhu in Yuhang, Zhejiang, the site of Shuanghuai tree in Gongyi, Henan, the site of Yanshi Erlitou in Henan, the ruins of Yin ruins in Anyang, Henan (including the ruins of Huanbei Shangcheng and Hougang), the cemetery of Yuguo in Sanmenxia, the tomb of Marquis Zenghou in Suizhou, Hubei, the tomb of Mawangduihan in Changsha, Hunan, the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu, the Dulan Hot Water Tombs in Qinghai, and the shipwreck of "Nanhai I" in Guangdong. Beijing Mingding Mausoleum and other "100 Years of Archaeological Discoveries", from the perspective of the breakthrough achievements in archaeology, combing the century-old archaeology, these projects reflect the achievements of Chinese archaeology in the past century in the origin of human beings, the origin of agriculture, the formation and development of the origin of Chinese civilization, the birth of the early Chinese state, the formation and development of a unified multi-ethnic state and other important academic research results, all of which have solved major academic problems in their respective fields and achieved new breakthroughs.
Over the past hundred years, Chinese archaeology has revealed the cultural genealogy of China's million-year human history, 10,000-year cultural history, and 5,000-year civilization history with solid archaeological materials, extending the historical axis, enhancing historical credibility, empirically verifying the origin and development of Chinese civilization, and demonstrating the contribution of Chinese civilization to world civilization.
"The archaeology of Chinese style is not how grand the excavation area is, how spectacular the excavation scene is, nor how rich and beautiful the excavated cultural relics are, but through archaeological methods and meticulous theories, it is necessary to comprehensively and systematically reveal the face of ancient Chinese society and the law of historical evolution, and provide Chinese cases and Chinese wisdom for the development of today's society." Song Xinchao, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said.
Technology helps
"The excavations began on October 27 and ended on December 1 and lasted 36 days. The tools used, such as hand shovels, brushes, iron pickaxes, iron hooks, leather rulers, tape measures, etc., were brought from the United States by the Sino-American and Central Asian expeditions... At the time, this set of excavation tools was the most advanced tool in archaeological excavations. Archaeologist Gong Qiming recorded in the book "Yangshao Culture" the tools used by Anderson to preside over the excavation of the site of Yangshao Village in 1921.
After 100 years, with the continuous progress of science and technology, the role of new technologies in the archaeological research of our country has become increasingly significant. Archaeological excavations make comprehensive use of archaeological stratigraphy, environmental archaeology, animal archaeology, plant archaeology, geological archaeology, metallurgical archaeology, etc., so that archaeological discoveries present more scientific.
Archaeological excavation module, integrated excavation platform, multi-functional excavation operating system... A variety of modern scientific and technological means used in the archaeological excavation of the Guanghan Sanxingdui site in Sichuan have become the focus of attention; the Zhaoguo Cave Site in Gui'an New District, Guizhou, which was selected as one of the top ten archaeological discoveries in the country in 2020, spans the entire late Paleolithic age and neolithic age, and the environmental archaeological work adopts the method of stratigraphic sediment substitution index and stalagmite paleoenvironment substitution index, which directly collects stalagmites in the paleoanthropological cave site for paleoclimate restoration, which is the first time in China...
It is worth mentioning that anthropological research from the perspective of ancient DNA is an emerging international frontier and interdisciplinary discipline. On the morning of October 18 this year, Fu Qiaomei, a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, appeared at the Third Chinese Archaeological Conference, and she made a keynote speech on the theme of "Paleogenome Mapping Chinese Population Genetic Evolution Atlas". In her view, directly studying past populations brings more possibilities for cracking anthropologically related problems. On the afternoon of the same day, in the group discussion of the Professional Committee of Human Skeleton Archaeology, under the topic of ancient DNA research, three scholars, including Fu Qiaomei, shared relevant information. Professor Wang Chuanchao of the Institute of Anthropology of Xiamen University shared the migration and language transmission of people from the perspective of paleogenomics online, believing that ancient DNA research provides a very valuable reference for the origin, evolution and migration history of human beings, and also provides new research methods for agricultural origin and transmission, language diffusion, etc.
Professor Yu Xiyun of the School of History of Wuhan University said that the large-scale entry of technology into archaeological research is a prominent feature of the past 20 years. "X-fluorescence technology, isotope technology, DNA research, etc., let archaeology move towards microscopic research, surveying and mapping technology, big data, etc., so that archaeology to macroscopic research." Among them, DNA research is particularly worth looking forward to, but the study of revealing the human biological lineage through DNA will not completely replace the research of revealing the cultural lineage through the remains, but will learn from each other, confirm each other, complement each other, and jointly deepen and improve the understanding of human history. ”
Passing on the torch
Since the excavation of the yangshao village site in 1921, modern Chinese archaeology has gone through a century of ups and downs, and generations of Chinese archaeologists have eaten and slept in the open, green lights and yellow scrolls, so that countless sites have seen the light of day and the fog of history can be lifted.
The Sanxingdui site, which has aroused widespread concern in 2021, is behind the continuous efforts of generations of archaeologists. In 1986, the archaeological excavation of the No. 1 and No. 2 "Sacrifice Pits" at the Sanxingdui site attracted the world's attention, "waking up to the world", but the excavation conditions at that time were very simple, "in order to minimize the impact of wind and sun on cultural relics, archaeologists worked day and night for 24 hours"; as a key site for studying the early national form of China and exploring the demarcation of the Xia-Shang Dynasty, the Yanshi Erlitou Site in Henan Has condensed the sweat of several generations of archaeologists for more than 60 years since its discovery in 1959...
"When I came, I was not afraid of the wind and rain on the road, and my young dreams were crazy. When I returned, it was cool in autumn a few degrees, and my sideburns were like frost. Endless life, the light of China. You use candles to illuminate the four directions..." An MV that pays tribute to Chinese archaeologists is a portrayal of generations of archaeologists who have cut through thorns, searched up and down, and forged ahead, and have touched the heartstrings of many archaeologists.
Nowadays, more and more young people are joining the archaeological team. At the site of the fourth archaeological excavation at the Yangshao Village site, young archaeologists in blue uniforms cleaned up the formation in the exploration party; there were more than 200 archaeologists involved in the excavation of 6 newly discovered "sacrificial pits" in Sanxingdui, more than 1/2 of which were "post-90s"...
More and more young people are about to step into the door of archaeology because they love this profession. Wang Na, a senior in international economics and trade at Beijing Forestry University, is working hard to transfer to a graduate student majoring in Literature and Science. "Every time I visit a museum or a heritage park, I want to find out the ins and outs of every cultural relic and every monument, and I think that although the times have changed and the seas have changed, through the study of these physical objects, I can also talk to people millions of years ago, get close to the pulse of their times, explore the production and lifestyle of that time, and then reveal the development law of human society step by step, which is very attractive." Wang Na said that she hopes to take archaeology as a matter of mission and participate in the inheritance and protection of the achievements of human civilization.
As Wang Wei wrote in the afterword on the large-scale relief wall of "A Hundred Years of Archaeology": "We must adhere to the study style of seeking truth from facts and rigorously administering studies pioneered by archaeologists of the older generation; the spirit of daring to explore and pioneering and innovating; the feeling of tireless hard work and dedication; the will to persevere in the face of difficulties; unity as one, overcome difficulties, and constantly forge ahead, strive to build archaeology with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese style, and make unique contributions to Chinese archaeology for the development of world archaeology and the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." ”