Qingtang Ruins in Yingde City, Guangdong Province
The Qingtang ruins are located in Qingtang Town, Yingde City, which is under the jurisdiction of Qingyuan City in northern Guangdong Province. The site was discovered in 1959, when Qingtang Town was under the jurisdiction of Wengyuan County, Shaoguan City, so it was named The Qingtang Ruins of Wengyuan County. In the 1960s and 1980s, the Guangdong Provincial Museum and other units conducted archaeological surveys of the Qingtang site twice, and no formal archaeological excavations were carried out.
In order to fully understand the connotation of the site, establish a reliable stratigraphic sequence and chronological framework, and promote the in-depth discussion of various academic topics in the transition stage of the Neolithic period in South China-Southeast Asia, with the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, from 2016 to 2018, the Guangdong Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, together with the School of Archaeology of Peking University, the Yingde City Museum and other units, conducted active archaeological excavations of the Yingde Qingtang site. A total of 54 square meters were excavated at the four cave sites of Huangmenyan Caves 1 to 4, of which Cave 2 had the largest excavation area of 30 square meters, and a systematic survey of other surrounding limestone caves was also carried out.
According to preliminary statistics, in 2019, 8 archaeological reports, 65 bulletins, 19 monographs, 11 collections of papers, 4 translations, 26 catalogues, and 220 papers were published in 2019. The journals published are mainly cultural journals and series, and the proportion of other social science and natural science journals is low. There were 17 reported academic conferences, including 9 demonstration sessions and 8 symposiums (MQB Figure 1).
The article presents a clear bias. Archaeological discoveries account for the highest proportion, followed by biological research, macroculture research, artifact research, settlement research, environment and human-land relationship research is more balanced, and the origin of civilization is still a hot spot. Although there is a certain number of cultural properties and staging, typological research is obviously insufficient, theoretical research is weak, methodological reflection is lacking, and the study of liturgy and spiritual culture, social organization and ethnic groups is relatively neglected, reflecting the increasing caution of the academic community on the boundaries of archaeological research (see Figure 2).
Major projects such as "Chinese Civilization Exploration Project" and "Archaeological China" have achieved remarkable results, and archaeological discoveries have more highlights, but the region is unbalanced. Haidai, the Central Plains and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are making steady progress, the Hetao, Yanliao and northeast, Sichuan-Chongqing and southwest regions in the half-moon-shaped zone continue to shine brightly, and the middle and lower reaches of the Huai River, south China and northwest China are relatively few (see Figure 3).
Originally published in The Yearbook of Chinese Archaeology 2020
Edited by the Chinese Archaeological Society, published in October 2021
Illustrations and text descriptions are from the Internet, not the original text with pictures