In this article we argue that several of the dominant narratives concerning the political economy... more In this article we argue that several of the dominant narratives concerning the political economy of the Chinese Bronze Age are in need of major revision, including its chronological divisions and assumptions of unilineal development. Instead, we argue that for many parts of China, the Bronze Age should begin in the third millennium BC and that there was significant political economic heterogeneity both within and between regions. Focusing on the issues of centralization and commercialization, we argue that, in spite of the tendency in the Chinese archaeological literature to equate complexity with centralization and hierarchy and to posit top-down redistributive economic models, there is little evidence of such institutions. To the contrary, our survey of nearly 2000 years of development turns up significant investment in public goods, especially before the Anyang period, as well as ample evidence of horizontal exchange and increasing commercialization.
Explanations for the use of pots as practical domestic tools permeate the literature of technolog... more Explanations for the use of pots as practical domestic tools permeate the literature of technological adoption and change. While many arguments focus on the economic merits of pots, few have attempted to trace the conditions that promote or deter the adoption of pottery. This is especially true for the use of pottery by mobile peoples. We adapt an established model of technological investment to draw attention to three key variables affecting pottery adoption: manufacturing time, utility, and use time. We use the logic of this model to examine how social and environmental contexts, specifically residential mobility in marginal environments, impacts use of and investment in ceramic technology. We further illustrate how the model can be used to reveal seasonal patterns of behavior from the spatial distribution of pottery discarded by mobile foragers and herders.
Explanations for the use of pots as practical domestic tools permeate the literature of technolog... more Explanations for the use of pots as practical domestic tools permeate the literature of technological adoption and change. While many arguments focus on the economic merits of pots, few have attempted to trace the conditions that promote or deter the adoption of pottery. This is especially true for the use of pottery by mobile peoples. We adapt an established model of technological investment to draw attention to three key variables affecting pottery adoption: manufacturing time, utility, and use time. We use the logic of this model to examine how social and environmental contexts, specifically residential mobility in marginal environments, impacts use of and investment in ceramic technology. We further illustrate how the model can be used to reveal seasonal patterns of behavior from the spatial distribution of pottery discarded by mobile foragers and herders.
This research examines development of early complex societies in the middle Yangzi River valley o... more This research examines development of early complex societies in the middle Yangzi River valley of China during the late Neolithic (c. 3100 – 2000 BCE). The most conspicuous marker of these societies are large and densely-populated walled settlements that emerged across the region in the late fourth millennium BCE. Settlement survey of a region encompassing two such walled towns, Taojiahu and Xiaocheng, has shown that for over a thousand years, nearly all inhabitants of the region lived together in tightly nucleated communities within the walled enclosures. This distinctive settlement pattern highlights the presence of strong and persistent sociopolitical forces that drew together and integrated these communities.
This dissertation investigates the degree to which controlling, managing, or profiting from the production and distribution of basic goods contributed to the ability of aspiring leaders at Taojiahu and Xiaocheng to project their political authority. More specifically, it examines how changes in utilitarian economic networks corresponds with the centralization and decentralization of these walled towns. Geochemical analysis of 1,150 pottery sherds collected during the Taojiahu-Xiaocheng regional settlement survey were used to reconstruct the organization of ceramic exchange networks during the Qujialing (3100 – 2500 BCE) and Shijiahe (2500 – 2000 BCE) periods.
Results of this analysis indicate that late Neolithic pottery was made by several distinct producer groups based out of different areas of the study area. Ceramic vessels were circulated through open, unrestricted networks that linked together households in different neighborhoods and in different towns. The organization of these networks was surprisingly stable through time despite population growth and centralization at Xiaocheng and population decline and decentralization at Taojiahu, suggesting that economic control was not a source of political power for local elites. The longevity and robustness of economic ties between the two towns finally offers evidence that relations between the communities was based more strongly in cooperation than conflict.
This chapter introduces the material evidence of the making of riverine communities in the Greate... more This chapter introduces the material evidence of the making of riverine communities in the Greater Jiang Han Region in prehistoric central-southern China and their uniquely emplaced social dynamics of collaborating with both the landscape and with one another. By focusing on two types of material remains—hydraulic “landmarks” and special classes of pottery—at the Shijiahe site complex in the Jiang Han Basin that brought together people and place, this chapter demonstrates how these communities integrated the natural and the social through collective activities of place-making and ritualized practices of community building. The chapter argues that these activities all foreground a common set of social values of shared labor, community participation, and an intimate connection to the landscape that persisted through millennia in this region. Ultimately, the chapter advocates shifting attention to the deep-time pattern of living in the Jiang Han region at the local level and seriously considering the alternative path of social development—characterized by heterarchy rather than hierarchy—that was emplaced in the co-evolving socio-natural landscape and integral to the long-term social resilience of the Jiang Han riverine communities.
Keywords: riverine community, social–natural landscape, Greater Jiang Han Region, Shijiahe site complex, hydraulic “landmarks,” special potteries, place-making, community-building, ritualized practice, collaboration, heterarchy, social resilience
In this article we argue that several of the dominant narratives concerning the political economy... more In this article we argue that several of the dominant narratives concerning the political economy of the Chinese Bronze Age are in need of major revision, including its chronological divisions and assumptions of unilineal development. Instead, we argue that for many parts of China, the Bronze Age should begin in the third millennium BC and that there was significant political economic heterogeneity both within and between regions. Focusing on the issues of centralization and commercialization, we argue that, in spite of the tendency in the Chinese archaeological literature to equate complexity with centralization and hierarchy and to posit top-down redistributive economic models, there is little evidence of such institutions. To the contrary, our survey of nearly 2000 years of development turns up significant investment in public goods, especially before the Anyang period, as well as ample evidence of horizontal exchange and increasing commercialization.
Explanations for the use of pots as practical domestic tools permeate the literature of technolog... more Explanations for the use of pots as practical domestic tools permeate the literature of technological adoption and change. While many arguments focus on the economic merits of pots, few have attempted to trace the conditions that promote or deter the adoption of pottery. This is especially true for the use of pottery by mobile peoples. We adapt an established model of technological investment to draw attention to three key variables affecting pottery adoption: manufacturing time, utility, and use time. We use the logic of this model to examine how social and environmental contexts, specifically residential mobility in marginal environments, impacts use of and investment in ceramic technology. We further illustrate how the model can be used to reveal seasonal patterns of behavior from the spatial distribution of pottery discarded by mobile foragers and herders.
Explanations for the use of pots as practical domestic tools permeate the literature of technolog... more Explanations for the use of pots as practical domestic tools permeate the literature of technological adoption and change. While many arguments focus on the economic merits of pots, few have attempted to trace the conditions that promote or deter the adoption of pottery. This is especially true for the use of pottery by mobile peoples. We adapt an established model of technological investment to draw attention to three key variables affecting pottery adoption: manufacturing time, utility, and use time. We use the logic of this model to examine how social and environmental contexts, specifically residential mobility in marginal environments, impacts use of and investment in ceramic technology. We further illustrate how the model can be used to reveal seasonal patterns of behavior from the spatial distribution of pottery discarded by mobile foragers and herders.
This research examines development of early complex societies in the middle Yangzi River valley o... more This research examines development of early complex societies in the middle Yangzi River valley of China during the late Neolithic (c. 3100 – 2000 BCE). The most conspicuous marker of these societies are large and densely-populated walled settlements that emerged across the region in the late fourth millennium BCE. Settlement survey of a region encompassing two such walled towns, Taojiahu and Xiaocheng, has shown that for over a thousand years, nearly all inhabitants of the region lived together in tightly nucleated communities within the walled enclosures. This distinctive settlement pattern highlights the presence of strong and persistent sociopolitical forces that drew together and integrated these communities.
This dissertation investigates the degree to which controlling, managing, or profiting from the production and distribution of basic goods contributed to the ability of aspiring leaders at Taojiahu and Xiaocheng to project their political authority. More specifically, it examines how changes in utilitarian economic networks corresponds with the centralization and decentralization of these walled towns. Geochemical analysis of 1,150 pottery sherds collected during the Taojiahu-Xiaocheng regional settlement survey were used to reconstruct the organization of ceramic exchange networks during the Qujialing (3100 – 2500 BCE) and Shijiahe (2500 – 2000 BCE) periods.
Results of this analysis indicate that late Neolithic pottery was made by several distinct producer groups based out of different areas of the study area. Ceramic vessels were circulated through open, unrestricted networks that linked together households in different neighborhoods and in different towns. The organization of these networks was surprisingly stable through time despite population growth and centralization at Xiaocheng and population decline and decentralization at Taojiahu, suggesting that economic control was not a source of political power for local elites. The longevity and robustness of economic ties between the two towns finally offers evidence that relations between the communities was based more strongly in cooperation than conflict.
This chapter introduces the material evidence of the making of riverine communities in the Greate... more This chapter introduces the material evidence of the making of riverine communities in the Greater Jiang Han Region in prehistoric central-southern China and their uniquely emplaced social dynamics of collaborating with both the landscape and with one another. By focusing on two types of material remains—hydraulic “landmarks” and special classes of pottery—at the Shijiahe site complex in the Jiang Han Basin that brought together people and place, this chapter demonstrates how these communities integrated the natural and the social through collective activities of place-making and ritualized practices of community building. The chapter argues that these activities all foreground a common set of social values of shared labor, community participation, and an intimate connection to the landscape that persisted through millennia in this region. Ultimately, the chapter advocates shifting attention to the deep-time pattern of living in the Jiang Han region at the local level and seriously considering the alternative path of social development—characterized by heterarchy rather than hierarchy—that was emplaced in the co-evolving socio-natural landscape and integral to the long-term social resilience of the Jiang Han riverine communities.
Keywords: riverine community, social–natural landscape, Greater Jiang Han Region, Shijiahe site complex, hydraulic “landmarks,” special potteries, place-making, community-building, ritualized practice, collaboration, heterarchy, social resilience
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This dissertation investigates the degree to which controlling, managing, or profiting from the production and distribution of basic goods contributed to the ability of aspiring leaders at Taojiahu and Xiaocheng to project their political authority. More specifically, it examines how changes in utilitarian economic networks corresponds with the centralization and decentralization of these walled towns. Geochemical analysis of 1,150 pottery sherds collected during the Taojiahu-Xiaocheng regional settlement survey were used to reconstruct the organization of ceramic exchange networks during the Qujialing (3100 – 2500 BCE) and Shijiahe (2500 – 2000 BCE) periods.
Results of this analysis indicate that late Neolithic pottery was made by several distinct producer groups based out of different areas of the study area. Ceramic vessels were circulated through open, unrestricted networks that linked together households in different neighborhoods and in different towns. The organization of these networks was surprisingly stable through time despite population growth and centralization at Xiaocheng and population decline and decentralization at Taojiahu, suggesting that economic control was not a source of political power for local elites. The longevity and robustness of economic ties between the two towns finally offers evidence that relations between the communities was based more strongly in cooperation than conflict.
Keywords: riverine community, social–natural landscape, Greater Jiang Han Region, Shijiahe site complex, hydraulic “landmarks,” special potteries, place-making, community-building, ritualized practice, collaboration, heterarchy, social resilience
This dissertation investigates the degree to which controlling, managing, or profiting from the production and distribution of basic goods contributed to the ability of aspiring leaders at Taojiahu and Xiaocheng to project their political authority. More specifically, it examines how changes in utilitarian economic networks corresponds with the centralization and decentralization of these walled towns. Geochemical analysis of 1,150 pottery sherds collected during the Taojiahu-Xiaocheng regional settlement survey were used to reconstruct the organization of ceramic exchange networks during the Qujialing (3100 – 2500 BCE) and Shijiahe (2500 – 2000 BCE) periods.
Results of this analysis indicate that late Neolithic pottery was made by several distinct producer groups based out of different areas of the study area. Ceramic vessels were circulated through open, unrestricted networks that linked together households in different neighborhoods and in different towns. The organization of these networks was surprisingly stable through time despite population growth and centralization at Xiaocheng and population decline and decentralization at Taojiahu, suggesting that economic control was not a source of political power for local elites. The longevity and robustness of economic ties between the two towns finally offers evidence that relations between the communities was based more strongly in cooperation than conflict.
Keywords: riverine community, social–natural landscape, Greater Jiang Han Region, Shijiahe site complex, hydraulic “landmarks,” special potteries, place-making, community-building, ritualized practice, collaboration, heterarchy, social resilience