Archaeologist: Why propose handicraft archaeology? What to study?

Researcher Bai Yunxiang took a photo after an interview with the Office of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.　Photo by Sun Zifa, a reporter from China News Service

Beijing, March 13 (China News Network) Why should a sub-discipline of "handicraft archaeology" be proposed in the field of archaeology? What are the contents of archaeological research on handicraft industry? How to promote relevant research? What is unique about urban handicraft archaeology? What role can handicraft archaeology play in building archaeology with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style and Chinese style?

Bai Yunxiang, former deputy director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and chair professor of Shandong University, took the lead in proposing the concept of handicraft archaeology in the Chinese archaeological community, and published a professional paper entitled "Essentials of Handicraft Archaeology" 10 years ago, establishing that handicraft archaeology is one of the basic contents of archaeological research, which soon caused positive repercussions in the archaeological community. He was recently interviewed by a reporter from China News Agency in Beijing to explain in detail the "past and present life" and future development ideas of handicraft archaeology.

Why propose handicraft archaeology?

Bai Yunxiang said that as a general term for various traditional industries such as processing and manufacturing and mining before the modern industrial revolution, ancient handicraft industry is also "industry in the pre-industrial period", which together with agriculture constitute the two main social production areas of the entire ancient society after the birth of mankind.

The research objects of archaeology usually include two categories: relics and relics, and the vast majority of relics are products produced by handicrafts or objects directly related to handicraft activities, and at the same time, archaeology originates from the search and research of antiquities (in fact, the products of ancient handicrafts). Therefore, since the birth of modern archaeology, it has been inextricably linked to the study of ancient handicrafts, especially handicraft products.

Bai Yunxiang pointed out that in modern archaeology, the research related to ancient handicraft industry is a topic that archaeology is born with, but "handicraft archaeology" is a completely new proposition. "Such a proposition and make it gradually a sub-discipline of archaeology should be necessary for the continuous improvement of the discipline of archaeology, the gradual realization of the ultimate goal of archaeology, and even the development of the cause of cultural heritage."

He believes that the proposal of "handicraft archaeology" has a profound theoretical background and the background of the times. Archaeological research and its results to date have been somewhat associated with ancient handicrafts, to a greater or lesser extent, directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously. The reason for proposing the proposition of "handicraft archaeology" and discussing its related theoretical and methodological issues is to hope to establish a system of handicraft archaeology and promote the systematic archaeological research of ancient handicraft industry, so as to further improve the discipline system, academic system and discourse system of archaeology, and promote the prosperity and development of archaeology.

What are the main categories of handicraft archaeology?

Bai Yunxiang said that handicraft archaeology is first of all an archaeological study of various categories of ancient handicrafts, and ancient handicrafts are an industrial system with many categories.

According to archaeological findings and documentary records, according to the production content and combined with the use of products, the handicraft industry from the prehistoric era of China to the Ming and Qing dynasties can be roughly divided into stone tools, iron ware, wood, bone horn mussels, gold and silverware, leather, clothing, oil and other processing industries, ceramic firing industry, bronze smelting and casting industry, coin minting industry and lacquerware, glass, gunpowder, stationery, vehicles and ships and other manufacturing industries, as well as textile industry, salt industry, brewing industry, sugar industry, tea industry, paper industry, printing industry, weaving industry, mining industry A total of 25 categories. Some categories can also be divided into several small categories, and different categories can also be divided according to the needs of the study.

Among them, the stone tool industry is the most important handicraft category in the prehistoric era, and the stone handicraft industry such as jade processing, stone tool making and stone carving in the historical period also belongs to this large category.

The ceramic firing industry includes the firing of pottery in the prehistoric era, the firing of primitive porcelain in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and the firing of pottery and porcelain in the later dynasties of the Han Dynasty; it includes the firing of daily ceramics and the firing of architectural ceramic materials such as bricks and tiles. It is an enduring handicraft category in ancient Chinese society, especially the brick and tile firing industry after the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the porcelain firing industry after the Wei and Jin Dynasties, which is a large-scale industry.

Bai Yunxiang pointed out that the classification of handicraft production is not absolute, and there is a close connection between various categories, such as bronze smelting and casting, iron industry, etc. have a direct connection with the mining industry, and the textile industry is directly related to the garment processing industry. There are also close links between various handicrafts and other industries, such as brewing, sugar, tea, weaving, etc. are directly related to agricultural production, and the vehicle and ship manufacturing industry is closely related to transportation, coin minting and commerce.

At the same time, there are many ancient processing and manufacturing activities, such as grain processing, food processing, tofu processing, printing and dyeing, etc., but they either exist as other industries or part of daily life, or do not form an independent handicraft industry, so they are not listed as a separate category of handicraft industry. In addition, the classification of handicrafts often varies according to different research perspectives, such as the classification of "weapons manufacturing", "agricultural tool manufacturing" and "non-staple food processing industry" according to different product uses.

What is the content of archaeological research on handicraft industry?

Bai Yunxiang said that ancient handicraft industry is a complex industrial system, and handicraft archaeology is also a complex research system. Handicraft archaeology is based on the study of various categories of ancient handicrafts, and there are many categories of ancient handicrafts, and there are many differences between them, from raw materials and production technologies to production methods, products and their circulation and application.

In general, handicraft archaeology mainly includes 10 aspects, such as raw material research, production tools and production facilities research, process technology and production process research, product research, product circulation and application research, producer research, production and operation mode research, industrial layout and industrial structure research, social and economic research, and social and cultural research.

Bai Yunxiang stressed that as far as the research practice of handicraft archaeology is concerned, handicraft archaeology can be a handicraft category, a study of handicraft industry in a certain era or a certain region, or it can also be a research on a certain aspect of handicraft industry, and even a case study of a workshop, a certain craft, and a certain product. As far as the archaeology of handicrafts as a whole is concerned, it should be a systematic study of various aspects of handicrafts, and even very microscopic case studies should have systematic thinking and macroscopic vision of handicraft archaeology.

How is the archaeological research of handicraft industry carried out?

Bai Yunxiang pointed out that there are many categories of ancient handicrafts, and the content of handicraft archaeology research is complex, so the most basic method of handicraft archaeology is undoubtedly the method of modern archaeology, but at the same time it must be organically combined with other disciplines, especially multidisciplinary cooperation, and also need a variety of perspectives.

He specifically analyzed that as a basic study of archaeology in handicraft archaeology, on the one hand, it obtains relics, relics and other information about handicraft industry through field archaeology, and on the other hand, it uses basic methods such as archaeological stratigraphy, typology, and cultural factor analysis to analyze, judge and interpret various physical materials.

As far as the field archaeology of handicraft archaeology is concerned, in addition to obtaining a large number of handicraft products from various cultural relics such as settlements, city sites, cellars and tombs, the most important thing is the investigation and excavation of various handicraft workshop sites (or workshop sites), including the remains of related handicrafts in city sites and settlement sites.

Bai Yunxiang proposed that handicraft archaeology has its unique disciplinary advantages, but due to the large number of ancient handicrafts, handicraft research content is extensive, not only involving raw materials, craft technology and other relevant natural science and technology fields, but also involving production, commodity exchange and other socio-economic fields, but also involving social organization structure, people's daily life and spiritual life and other fields, which requires handicraft archaeology to be based on archaeological excavations and research at the same time, must be organically combined with related disciplines, including with literature historiography, modern science and technology, A combination of scientific and technological history, anthropology, and simulation experiment research.

In addition, the archaeological research of handicraft industry involves many fields, and these fields are interrelated, which requires that in the practice of research, based on archaeological research and strengthening multidisciplinary cooperation, it should also have a broad research vision of ecological environment, history of science and technology, social production, social economy, social civilization, and cultural exchanges.

He stressed that the archaeology of handicraft industry should not be limited to handicraft production itself, but should be studied as a "social existence", an "industrial system" and a "cultural factor", and from this point of view, a broader and more in-depth discussion of handicrafts and people, handicrafts and natural environment, handicrafts and science and technology, handicrafts and social production and social economy, handicrafts and social evolution, handicrafts and ancient civilization, and then explore the status and role of handicrafts in the process of historical development of human society and their laws.

Why mention urban handicraft archaeology?

On the basis of proposing and establishing the sub-discipline of archaeology of handicraft archaeology, Bai Yunxiang recently put forward the proposition of "urban handicraft archaeology" based on the background of today's times and combined with the development trend of Chinese archaeology.

He said that any city is inseparable from economic life, and the economic life of ancient cities is mainly handicraft production and commercial activities, especially in the historical background of "heavy agriculture and suppressing commerce" in ancient China, handicraft industry is the main component of urban economic life. There is no doubt that handicraft archaeology is the proper meaning of urban archaeology, and has its unique status and role.

Bai Yunxiang pointed out that urban handicraft archaeology refers to the archaeological excavation and research of handicraft remains within and outside the ancient city site (including the city site itself and its suburban area), and from the practice of urban archaeology in various places, handicraft remains have been found in the archaeology of city sites in previous dynasties. Handicraft industry is an organic part of the social production and social life of ancient cities, handicraft remains are important material cultural relics of ancient city sites, and archaeological excavation and research of handicraft remains is one of the basic tasks of urban archaeology.

As far as the industrial layout of ancient Chinese handicrafts or the spatial distribution of handicrafts are concerned, although the distribution characteristics are different from the times and industries, and the workshop sites of the same handicraft category are often found in various places, there are two types of concentrated distribution areas that are commonly found in various places: one is a centralized distribution area centered on the origin of raw materials, that is, an industrial agglomeration formed by the origin of raw materials; the other is a centralized distribution centered on the city, that is, an industrial agglomeration with the city as the carrier. Obviously, the city was an important industrial agglomeration of ancient handicrafts.

More importantly, the handicraft industry in the ancient city was not only diverse, but also often the gathering place of high-tech industries at that time, as well as the concentration of high-end goods production. For example, from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, the iron industry belonged to high-tech industries and was a pillar industry, and the capitals of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the capitals of the Qin and Han Dynasties, and the counties and counties and counties often found iron works; the coin minting industry, which is related to the lifeblood of the national economy, was concentrated in the capital and outside the capital or in the counties and counties. Therefore, the archaeology of urban handicraft industry has an irreplaceable position and role in the study of high-tech industries and high-end handicrafts at that time.

He said that the handicraft industry in ancient cities is not only diverse, but more importantly, the gathering place of high-tech industries and high-end handicrafts, in a sense, urban handicrafts are the representative and "epitome" of the development level of handicrafts at that time, and the archaeological excavation and research of urban handicrafts is undoubtedly one of the focuses of handicraft archaeology.

Urban handicraft archaeology is not only a part of urban archaeology, but also one of the key points of handicraft archaeology, its research object is the handicraft industry of ancient cities, industrial structure and its changes, industrial layout and its relationship and change with the urban layout structure, production and operation mode research, that is, the nature and ownership of handicraft production, these are the main points of urban handicraft archaeology, "supply chain" and "industrial chain", is the two important perspectives in urban handicraft archaeology.

Bai Yunxiang concluded that urban handicraft archaeology, as a cross-research field of urban archaeology and handicraft archaeology, is not only the need to deepen urban archaeology, but also the need to promote handicraft archaeology. Today, when China's urban archaeology has made great progress and handicraft archaeology is in the ascendant, the proposal and continuous advancement of urban handicraft archaeology has positive significance in both theory and practice, and will play an important role in the archaeological construction of Chinese characteristics, Chinese style and Chinese style, and make due contributions. (End)