The social context of early pottery in the Lingnan region of south China.

The social context of early pottery in the Lingnan region of south China. Introduction In the past few years archaeologists have confirmed that people inEast Asia East AsiaA region of Asia coextensive with the Far East.East Asian adj. & n. began to experiment with sedentary living, pottery making andplant and animal domestication domesticationProcess of hereditary reorganization of wild animals and plants into forms more accommodating to the interests of people. In its strictest sense, it refers to the initial stage of human mastery of wild animals and plants. as early as 14000 years ago, and verydefinitely by 12000 years ago. It appears that a number of early sitesin China, Japan and the Russian Maritime province Maritime province may refer to: Maritimes, a region of Canada on the Atlantic coast Maritime Province, another name for Primorsky Krai, Russia, sometimes used in English language texts show evidence of asettled existence (sedentism), principally pottery, and pose manyquestions about their social, economic, and environmental contexts.Generally, pottery appears to have been invented in crude form about 15000 years ago, during the end of the Palaeolithic. Keally et al. (2004:349) conclude that 'the earliest pottery in East Asia and the wholeOM Worm is now reliably dated to about 13 700-13300 b.p. (about17200-14700 BP) in 3 regions: (1) Japan, (2) lower and middle parts ofthe Amur River Amur RiverChinese Heilong Jiang or Hei-lung ChiangRiver, northeastern Asia. The Amur proper begins at the confluence of the Shilka and Argun rivers and is 1,755 mi (2,824 km) long. Basin in the Russian Far East and (3) southernChina'. At the end of this formative period, around 9000 years ago,it became more sophisticated and widespread (Cao in press). What was the impetus for the invention of pottery? In this paper Isummarise very briefly the information on early pottery sites of theLingnan region (Guangdong and Guangxi provinces), and introduce theconcept of prestige technologies as a possible explanation for theemergence of pottery making and domestication. Building on thesubstantial contributions of Brian Hayden (1995, 1998) and Prudence Rice(1999), I connect this explanation to changing trends in the use ofagency theory by archaeologists (Robb 1999; Dobres & Robb 2000). Social origins of pottery making Brian Hayden has proposed that 'aggrandizing individualsseeking to promote their self-interest have been responsible for thedevelopment of prestige technologies including the use of metals,pottery and domesticated do��mes��ti��cate?tr.v. do��mes��ti��cat��ed, do��mes��ti��cat��ing, do��mes��ti��cates1. To cause to feel comfortable at home; make domestic.2. To adopt or make fit for domestic use or life.3. a. foods' (1998: 18). These'aggrandisers' depended on favourable surplus economicconditions, and their prestige technology could be transformed topractical technology. In 1995 Hayden stated that since there is norecord of pottery making before the development of complexhunter-gatherer and horticultural communities 'it is tempting toview the initial development of pottery as prestige technology'(1995: 260). He proposed that the ceramics were used as food containersfor competitive display and consumption, but at the same time, he leftopen the possibility that aggrandisers might use other media forprestige food containers. If pottery were part of a prestige technology,Hayden postulated that it should initially occur as serving or feastingutensils--plates, bowls, liquid containers, or vessels for thepreparation of prestige foods, which might involve boiling, brewing orstraining. Finally he predicted that in such cases there would be arapid development to specialised production of elaborately decoratedforms involving large expenditures of labour (1995: 261). Prudence Rice (1999) adopted the general theoretical position ofHayden, identifying unfired and low-fired clay to be part of earlyprestige technologies. She found the 'aggrandiser' theoryapproach of Hayden to be heuristic A method of problem solving using exploration and trial and error methods. Heuristic program design provides a framework for solving the problem in contrast with a fixed set of rules (algorithmic) that cannot vary. 1. because it combined earlier culinaryand symbolic explanations with more robust (fewer post hoc post hoc?adv. & adj.In or of the form of an argument in which one event is asserted to be the cause of a later event simply by virtue of having happened earlier: adaptationalist) implications for the origins and wider adoption ofpottery. The culinary hypotheses were based on the idea of the discoverythat sun-baked or fired clay for lining baskets or fireplaces could beused for rigid, relatively impermeable impermeable/im��per��me��a��ble/ (-per��me-ah-b'l) not permitting passage, as of fluid. im��per��me��a��bleadj.Impossible to permeate; not permitting passage. containers while the symbolicexplanations focused on the early appearance of objects other thanvessels, such as figurines, ornaments, beads, and spindle whorls. Ricefound that the earliest pottery sites lack evidence for year-roundsedentism and housing, and often seem to be based on a settlementsubsistence system featuring semi-sedentary foraging and collecting,with seasonal movements from riparian riparianadj. referring to the banks of a river or stream. (See: riparian rights) to interior camp sites (1999: 21).She concluded that from the viewpoint of feasting and social models, itmight be more appropriate to think in terms of pottery containers forshort-term 'accumulation' rather than long-term storage. Theadoption of pottery could have involved practical and prestigetechnologies in different areas and at different times. Although Rice concluded that there was no single evolutionary pathfor the development or adoption of fired pottery, she seemed to favourthe aggrandiser/competitive feasting model. From it she constructed someexpectations as to the characteristics of early pottery containers usedin feasting, and the sites where they are found (1999: 123). Earlypottery should appear in the context of seasonal occupations rather thanfully sedentary settlement. Early pottery vessels should appear (whetherby invention or adoption) among complex hunter-gatherer groups as partof emerging rank distinction. They would be expected to consist ofspecial-purpose vessels, associated with accumulating, storing,preparing or serving special foods. Such foods might be carbohydrates inprotein-rich environments or fats and oils in areas with predominantlystarchy diets. Vessel capacities (either size or number of vessels)should be large, i.e. sufficient for storage, serving, and consumptionof contents. Lastly, vessels used for feast foods might be expected tobe decorated, bearing stylistic information pertaining to theaggrandiser, his or her family and/or larger social group. Perspectives of agency theory Hayden's aggrandiser model needs revision on theoreticalgrounds. Its particular picture of the nature of agency in'transegalitarian' societies affects the kinds ofarchaeological expectations and explanations sought by archaeologistssuch as Rice. There are two major approaches to power. The first focuseson the pursuit of power or prestige through stratagems that are rationalin given circumstances (individual mastery model), whereas the secondfocuses on the creation of the actors' subjectivity through theprocess of agency. In the latter case, power is symbolically constitutedand depersonalised, as a property of symbolic systems andinstitutionalised structure. The first type, as found in Hayden'saggrandiser theory, can be seen as reductionist re��duc��tion��ism?n.An attempt or tendency to explain a complex set of facts, entities, phenomena, or structures by another, simpler set: "For the last 400 years science has advanced by reductionism ... and personalistic, akind of methodological individualism Methodological individualism is a philosophical method aimed at explaining and understanding broad society-wide developments as the aggregation of decisions by individuals. In the most extreme version, the "whole" is nothing but the "sum of its parts" (atomism). . Saitta (1997: 263) states that itwill be criticised for its strong reliance on certain ethnographicrecords and its gendering of power holders as male. A more nuanced viewof agency assumes that power is depersonalised and symbolicallyconstituted within a specific society. The emphasis is placed on socialreproduction into which material substances are integrated. Decisionsare made on the basis of many interlocking social and symbolicstructures having many purposes and motivations beyond the individualacquisition of power. Saitta (1999: 137) provides a powerful critique of prestige goodmodels. In these models he notes that elites extract appropriate surplusand that the elite-subordinate relationship is exploitative. It is morelikely that prestige goods are embedded in complex structuralrelationships. They could be seen as 'communal social entitlementsrequired for reproduction rather than instruments of elite power'(1999: 137). Saitta notes that cases in which there is a poor match withavailable evidence and old theoretical assumptions about the naturalacquisitiveness of the few impede our development of new perspectives(1999: 145). Hegmon (2003: 220) notes that studies of the actions of leadersassume the universality of striving for aggrandisement Noun 1. aggrandisement - the act of increasing the wealth or prestige or power or scope of something; "the aggrandizement of the king"; "his elevation to cardinal"aggrandizement, elevation , but this is notaccepted by all writers on the subject. Such a picture of the individualaggrandiser is based on notions of the individual which come from latercapitalism (Hodder 2000: 23, 25), and there is a strong possibility oflegitimising modern social relationships by uncritically projecting themback in time. Johnson (2000: 214) states: 'the theoreticalrelationship between the individual, the social collective and agencywill vary according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. context. Consequently it follows that differentmethods will be appropriate for identifying agencies and developingconvincing interpretations in different contexts.' Brumfiel notes astrong division between writers who believe that agents work towardsgoals that are in some way cross-culturally predictable, and those whobelieve that the goals were defined by unique culturally andhistorically specific logics and values (2000: 249). She concludes that'the presence of aggrandizers in the archaeological record The archaeological record is a term used in archaeology to denote all archaeological evidence, including the physical remains of past human activities which archaeologists seek out and record in an attempt to analyze and reconstruct the past. shouldbe demonstrated rather than assumed' (2000: 253). Let us considersome of these ideas when we turn to the evidence of early south Chinesepottery and incipient cultivation. Early sites and pottery from the Lingnan region My discussion is limited to sites south of the Lingnan Mountains ofsouth China (Figure 1). Other sites in the valley of the Changjiang(Yangzi) River are discussed by Zhao and Wu (2000), Wu and Zhao (2003)and Zhang (2002). In the Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene (also known as Upper Pleistocene or the Tarantian) is a stage of the Pleistocene Epoch. The beginning of the stage is defined by the base of Eemian interglacial phase before final glacial episode of Pleistocene 126,000 �� 5,000 years ago. there appears to have been atrend toward increased exploitation of local wild resources. In thefinal Pleistocene and early Holocene (c. 14 000-9000 years ago), Jiao jiao? also chiaon. pl. jiao also chiaoSee Table at currency.[Chinese ji (1994) noted the development of ground stone tools, perforated andchipped stone In archaeology, chipped stone refers to a method of manufacturing stone tools through lithic reduction, wherein lithic flakes are struck off a mass of tool stone with a percussor. tools, shell and bone tools and the earliest pottery. Hetermed this assemblage Mesolithic, as did Zhang (2000). Zhang (2002) andLu (in press) have also noted that pottery appears in a Mesolithic or'pre-Neolithic' (my term) context. Changes occurred 9000 yearsago with the development of completely polished stone tools and thewidespread use of pottery. A few sites briefly described in Englishsummaries are listed below. Debates on the dating of these and othersites can be found in a special issue of The Review of Archaeology(Kuzmin 2003). Excavations at Dayan, Lingui County Lingui County (Chinese: 临桂县; Pinyin: L��ngu�� Xi��n) is a county administered by Guilin, Guangxi, China, and located midway between Guilin and Yangshuo. , Guangxi province, in 2000yielded deposits dating from the Late Palaeolithic to the MiddleNeolithic. Early pottery, which was incompletely fired, included a largecooking vessel (fu or bo) and a cylindrical fragment. The earlierportions of the site yielded shell midden middendungheap. containing human burials.Later layers yielded pottery resembling the pottery of Pengtoushan,Hunan Province, dating to around 9000 b.p. (Cao in press; Zhang 2002; Fu2001). Dayan pottery is described as being thick and low-fired. Vesselform and function are unclear (Cao in press). Dingsishan, Nanning,Guangxi province, on the Bachijiang River, has yielded ceramics datingto earlier than 10 000 b.p. as well as ceramics from about 8000 b.p. Thelatter appear to be round-bottomed cooking vessels (Fu 2002). Cao (inpress) states that the latter period of the site, dating from about 8000b.p., displayed unique burial traits but does not give details. A rockshelter A rock shelter is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. Another term is rockhouse.Rock shelters form because a rock stratum such as sandstone that is resistant to erosion and weathering has formed a cliff or bluff, but a softer stratum, more subject site at Liyuzui, Luzhou City, Guangxi province, has yielded twopiles of ashes interpreted as the remains of hearths (Zhang 2000; Fu2002). Chang (1986:102) reported that several flexed burials wererecovered from the site but the precise details were not provided.Dating of shells from the lowest layer ranges from 18 000 to 23 000 b.p.(Onuki 2003: 78) but these samples came from below the cultural layer(Institute of Archaeology The Institute of Archaeology is an academic department of University College London (UCL), in the United Kingdom. The Institute is located in a separate building at the north end of Gordon Square, Bloomsbury. 1991: 217). Previously, Zhao (1998) estimatedthe age of the Neolithic component to be around 11 000 b.p., so there isconsiderable debate concerning the dating of this site. Liyuzui yieldedsoft, low-fired sand-tempered pottery. The vessel form is unclear. The site at Miaoyan, Guilin City, Guangxi Province, has yieldeddeposits dating from 20 000 to 12 000 b.p. Zhang (2002) states that thesmall sample (5 sherds) of pottery from Miaoyan are similar to the plainpottery of Xianrendong, Jiangxi. Recalibrated AMS AMS - Andrew Message System dates from potsherdsfrom Zone 5 give dates of about 18 000 to 19 000 b.p. (Zhao & Wu2000: 237). Miaoyan pottery is sandy, thick, hand-built and undecorated.It is light brown or black on the outside and mostly black on theinside. The midden in the cave site at Zengpiyan, Guilin City, GuangxiProvince, has yielded 18 human burials. Chang (1986: 102) reports thatthey are mostly flexed, that 6 individuals had an artificial perforation per��fo��ra��tionn.1. The act of perforating or the state of being perforated.2. An abnormal opening in a hollow organ or viscus, as one made by rupture or injury.PerforationA hole. on the top of their skulls and that some of the skeletons had beencoloured with red ochre Red ochre and yellow ochre (pronounced /'əʊk.ə/, from the Greek ochros, yellow) are pigments made from naturally tinted clay. It has been used worldwide since prehistoric times. . The dating of the burials is not clear.Underhill (1997: 135) states that the stone tools included digging stick dig��ging stickn. AnthropologyA rudimentary digging implement consisting of a pointed stick, sometimes with an attached stone or crossbar, used to loosen and till the soil and to extract plant foods. rings and elongated pebbles with flat ends believed to be pestles. Thepig bones of Zengpiyan are of special significance. From a total of 67individuals identified from jaw bones, 40 yielded age determinations, 65per cent being between 1 and 2 years old. This indicates humanharvesting of the pig population (Ren 1995:41). The pig canines seem toshow size reduction typical of domesticated pigs (Underhill 1997:135).The Zengpiyan pig remains appear to be dated about 8000 years ago (Ren1995). The earliest pottery was fired at less than 250[degrees]C, andtempered with quartz particles at least 1.5mm in diameter. Surfaces werecord marked. The only shape is a wide-mouth semi-hemispherical vessel.Pottery from 10 000 to 8000 b.p. was slab built; from 8000 to 7000 b.p.it was wheel made, in various shapes including stands (Zhongguo Shehuiet al. 2003) (Figures 2-4). Following new excavations andinterdisciplinary analysis at Zengpiyan in 2001, a new evaluation of thesite has been published (Zhongguo Shehui et al. 2003). Five phases, eachof roughly 1000 years' duration, from 12 000 to 7000 b.p., weredistinguished. The authors concluded that there was no evidence forplant or animal domestication at the site. However, remains of rice thought to be in an early stage ofdomestication, dating to 12000 to 14000 b.p. have been found at theYuchanyan site, Hunan province, only 200km to the east of Zengpiyan, inthe Yangzi Basin (Zhang & Yuan 1998). Phytoliths of rice thought tohave been collected have been found in the Niulandong site in northernGuangdong province Noun 1. Guangdong province - a province in southern ChinaGuangdong, Kwangtung (Zhongguo Shehui et al. 2003: 699). Two burials ofindividuals in crouched squatting position were recovered in Phase IV(9000 to 8000 b.p.). One of these had two clam shells placed together tocover the skull. In the Guilin area the authors note that natural stoneslabs have been found covering burials dating from 12 000 to 8500 yearsago, while tools are found with burials dated 8000 years ago (2003:693). In general, the sites show evidence of sedentism in the form ofextensive shell deposits and burials, and the burials show some kinds ofritual treatment, but status distinctions are not clear. None of theearly burials possesses grave goods In archaeology and anthropology grave goods are the items buried along with the body.They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods are a type of votive deposit. . Red ochre is a precious substance,but it was used for the collective. However, Hayden believes that fewpeople may have received such a purposeful burial, and that they areprobably elite (Hayden pers. comm. November 2003). The dating of theburials remains uncertain. While vessel shape is difficult to determinefrom the Lingnan sites the consensus seems to be that the earliestvessels are round-bottomed cooking vessels. Early pottery from Yuchanyanand Diaotonghuan, north of the Nanling Mountains, also seems to consistof round-bottomed cooking vessels. Zhao and Wu state that they couldhave been used for cooking rice or snails, clams and fish (2000: 237). Comparative early pottery sites To assist the interpretation of the Lingnan pottery, comparisonscan be drawn with two other examples of early pottery use. From Japan, astudy of 30 sites giving 97 age measurements considered most reliablehas found four phases of development of early pottery (Keally et aL2003). Three of these pottery phases occur in the Incipient Jomon: Phase1, plain pottery; Phase 2, linear relief ware; and Phase 3, mainlypunctate punctate/punc��tate/ (punk��tat) spotted; marked with points or punctures. punc��tateadj.Having tiny spots, points, or depressions. , nail impressed, and cord marked. The fourth phase, in EarliestJomon, is decorated with a cord-wrapped string. Calibrated dates for thebeginning of Phase 1 are around 14 280 BC or 16 230 BP. Uncalibrateddates for the four periods are Phase 1, c.13 500-12700 b.p.; Phase 2, c.12700-11 400b.p.; Phase 3, c. 11 400-9800 b.p.; and Phase 4, c.9800-9000 b.p. Keally et al. (2003: 9) note that the quantity of potsherds from each site remains very low throughout the 5000 years of theIncipient Jomon. Sites of Phase 1 had a median of 28 sherds, while thoseof Phase 3 had 500. In Phase 4, at the beginning of the Earliest Jomon,pottery suddenly becomes abundant. Vessels tend to have wide mouths,deep bodies, and various types of bases, including fiat, round, andpointed. Keally et al. (2003: 3) state that the vessel shapes areappropriate for boiling or cooking, or for storing liquids or solids.Comparable dates have been reported for Siberia (Keally et aL 2003) andfrom northern Vietnam (Obata 2003). A similar situation seems to occur in Amazonia, where early potteryhas been found in contexts similar to those of the Lingnan region.Roosevelt (1995) reports that early pottery sites at two locationsappear to be those of specialised river foragers. Sites of the MinaCulture from the Amazon estuary zone of Salgado yielded shell- orsand-tempered plain pottery with simple bowl shapes. Uncalibrated datesdetermined from charcoal, shell, and pottery temper are in the range of5570 to 3490 years ago (1995:118). Sites of the Alaka Culture, Guyana,are also early with dates of about 5000 years ago (1995: 117). TheTaperhina site, in the coastal lower Amazon area, yielded 11 AMS datesin the range of 7080 to 6300 b.p., several millennia earlier than theAndean or Mesoamerican pottery (1995:124). Sherds come from fragilesand-tempered hemispherical or inturned-rim bowls, 150 to 300mm indiameter at the rim. Only 3 per cent of 383 sherds displayed decoration,consisting of geometric incisions on bowl rims and shoulders. Rooseveltthought that they could have been used for seafood stew or soup, or forstorage or display. Discussion Hayden's postulates that pottery should first appear asserving or feasting utensils are difficult to confirm from the Lingnanevidence. With regard to Rice's expectations, it is not yet clearwhether the Lingnan sites were occupied seasonally or year-round, orwhether the sites show any signs of rank distinction. Zengpiyan'sspecial burial treatment of red ochre appears be an expression of groupidentity rather than of individual status distinctions. The potteryvessels do not seem to have served special purposes, although theunusual forms from Dayan do raise some interesting questions, which needto be resolved. Vessel capacity does not seem to be large and theceramics are undecorated. In China and Japan, elaborately decorated pottery begins to occurin abundance only several millennia after the inception of pottery. Inthe Lingnan area, the Middle Neolithic (Li 2002:81) marks the appearanceof abundant decorated pottery while in Japan it appears with the EarlyJomon period (5300 b.c. to 3500 b.c. based on uncalibrated dates). Thesocial dynamics Social dynamics is the study of the ability of a society to react to inner and outer changes and deal with its regulation mechanisms. Social dynamics is a mathematically inspired approach to analyse societies, building upon systems theory and sociology. of highly decorated ceramics in the Chinese Neolithiccase, in which they are often used in great quantities as graveofferings, vary from region to region, and are very different from thoseof the Japanese Jomon, where they rarely appear in burials and rankingcannot be clearly seen from burials until the final two stages of theJomon Period. The early pottery of eastern Asia, which occurs in Mesolithiccontexts (Zhang 2000), does not seem to be part of a prestigetechnology. What, then, is the social context of the pottery? Theevidence suggests that small semi-sedentary or sedentary communitiesmade very small quantities of pottery vessels for food preparation,since pottery is found in the living debris and is plain or minimallydecorated. Vessel shapes seem to indicate food preparation rather thanfood consumption, although further research is needed to confirm this.Pottery may have served as a kind of communal social entitlement, beingused for preparing some special food for the collective (Saitta 1999:137). It has been proposed that the Zengpiyan pottery was used forcooking gastropods (Zhongguo Shehui et al. 2003: 691). Thisinterpretation comes close to the ideas of Haaland (1997: 354) thatpottery is associated with activities which become important with theadvent of sedentism, activities centred around women and children andthe hearth, such as cooking, firewood collection, water carrying, foodconsumption, and habitation HABITATION, civil law. It was the right of a person to live in the house of another without prejudice to the property. 2. It differed from a usufruct in this, that the usufructuary might have applied the house to any purpose, as, a store or manufactory; whereas . I would favour a similar interpretation forthe Amazonian data rather than one of a prestige technology. In at leasttwo parts of the world, where pottery is very old, it appears that itwas not initially a prestige technology, being associated with socialcompetition and ranking only at a subsequent stage of development, suchas the Barra Phase of the Soconusco region of Chiapas at around 1500b.c. (Clark & Gosser 1995: 210). Clark and Gosser (1995: 212-9)found multiple lines of invention in Mesoamerica, plain utilitarianpottery being associated with small egalitarian groups as a practicaltechnology, and well-made, highly decorated pottery as a prestigetechnology for ritual use in a competitive, evolving, rank society. Thusthe world's oldest ceramics have a rather different social contextthan some of the later cases. Acknowledgements A draft of this paper was prepared for the InternationalConference, Prehistory prehistory,period of human evolution before writing was invented and records kept. The term was coined by Daniel Wilson in 1851. It is followed by protohistory, the period for which we have some records but must still rely largely on archaeological evidence to in South China and Southeast Asia, Guilin, China,December 30-14, 2003. I thank the Institute of Archaeology, ChineseAcademy of Social Science, the Guilin City Council, GuangxiMunicipality, and the Cultural Bureau of the Guangxi Municipality,China, for the invitation to participate in the conference and for theirhospitality. Thanks are offered to Simon Kaner, Sainsbury Institute forthe Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, Yaroslav Kuzmin, PacificInstitute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Charles Keally,Sophia University For the Bulgarian university, see .HistorySophia University was officially established in 1913 as a special school by the Society of Jesus, and has since grown into a large, and well-reputed university, with over 10,000 undergraduate students and 1,000 graduate students , and Min Li, Department of Anthropology, University ofMichigan (body, education) University of Michigan - A large cosmopolitan university in the Midwest USA. Over 50000 students are enrolled at the University of Michigan's three campuses. The students come from 50 states and over 100 foreign countries. , for assistance and advice. Figures 2-4 are reprinted from theInstitute of Archaeology, CASS CASSCardiology, cardiovascular surgery A randomized, open label, multicenter trial that compared the outcomes of CABG vs. medical therapy on M&M in Pts with coronary artery disease after an MI. See Angina, CABG, Silent ischemia. , Archaeological Team of Guangxi ZhuangMunicipality, Zengpiyan Museum, Archaeological Team of Guilin City(Editors) 2003. Zengpiyan--A Prehistoric Site in Guilin, Beijing.Cultural Relics Publishing House. Plates V and VIII. Thanks to ProfessorXianguo Fu. Received: 2 January 2004; Accepted: 12 October 2004; Revised: 22November 2004 References BRUMFIEL, E. 2000. On the archaeology of choice: agency studies asa research paradigm, in M. Dobres & J. Robb (ed.) Agency inarchaeology: 249-63. London and New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : Routledge. CAO, B. in press. The earliest ceramics in China: the findings,contents, and a preliminary interpretation. Journal o fEast AsianArchaeology. CHANG, K.C. 1986. The archaeology of ancient China. New Haven New Haven,city (1990 pop. 130,474), New Haven co., S Conn., a port of entry where the Quinnipiac and other small rivers enter Long Island Sound; inc. 1784. Firearms and ammunition, clocks and watches, tools, rubber and paper products, and textiles are among the many : YaleUniversity Press. CLARK, J. & D. GOSSER. 1995. Reinventing Mesoamerica'sfirst pottery, in W.K. Barnett & J.W. Hoopes (ed.) The emergence ofpottery: technology and innovation: 209-22. Washington: SmithsonianInstitution Press. DOBRES, M. & J. ROBB. (ed.). 2000. Agency in archaeology.London and New York: Routledge. Fu, X. 2001. Guilin diqu shiqian wenhua mianmao lunkuo chuxian/Theprehistoric framework of prehistoric Guilin. Wenwu Bao April 4: 1. --2002. Guangxi di ige shiqian kaoguxue wenhua--Huning Dingsishanyizhi, in Li, Wenru (ed.) Zhongguo shinian baida kaogu xinfaxian/Top 100New Archaeological Discoveries of China 1990-1999: 236-42. Beijing:Wenwu Publishing House. HAALAND, R. 1997. Emergence of sedentism: new ways of living, newways of symbolizing. Antiquity 71 : 374-85. HAYDEN, B. 1995. The emergence of prestige technologies andpottery, in W.K. Barnett & J.W. Hoopes (ed.) The emergence ofpottery: technology and innovation: 257-66. Washington: SmithsonianInstitution Press. --1998. Practical and prestige technologies: the evolution ofmaterial systems. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 5: 1-55. HEGMON, M. 2003. Setting theoretical egos aside: issues and theoryin North American North Americannamed after North America.North American blastomycosissee North American blastomycosis.North American cattle ticksee boophilusannulatus. archaeology. American Antiquity 68: 213-44. HODDER, I. 2000. Agency and individuals in long term process, in M.Dobres & J. Robb (ed.) Agency in archaeology: 21-33. London and NewYork: Routledge. INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY, CASS. 1991. Radiocarbon dates in Chinesearchaeology. Beijing: Wenwu Chubanshe. JIAO, T. 1994. Gengshinshi mozhi quanxinshi chu Lingnan diqu deshiqian wenhua/Prehistoric cultures of the Lingnan area from the LatePleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene. Kaogu Xuebao 1: 1-24. JOHNSON, M. 2000. Self made men and the strategy of agency, in M.Dobres & J. Robb (ed.) Agency in Archaeology: 213-231. London andNew York: Routledge. KEALLY, C., Y. TANIGUCHI & Y. KUZMIN. 2003. Understanding thebeginnings of pottery technology in Japan and neighbouring East Asia.The Review of Archaeology 24 (2): 3-14. KEALLY, C., Y. TANIGUCHI, Y. KUZMIN & I. SHEWKOMUD. 2004.Chronology of the beginning of pottery manufacture in East Asia.Radiocarbon 46: 345-51. KUZMIN, Y. (ed.). 2003. The nature of the transition from thePaleolithic to the Neolithic in East Asia and the Pacific. The Review ofArchaeology, Special Issue. 24: 1-3. LI, G. 2002. Subsistence of Neolithic Pearl River Area, southChina. MA Thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of BritishColumbia LocationsVancouverThe Vancouver campus is located at Point Grey, a twenty-minute drive from downtown Vancouver. It is near several beaches and has views of the North Shore mountains. The 7. . LU, T.L.D. in press. Early pottery in South China and itsarchaeological significance. Journal o fEast Asian Archaeology. OBATA, H. 2003. Shiberia: Enkaishu/Siberia and the Russian MaritimeProvince. Kikan Kokogaku 83: 80-84. ONUKI, S. 2003. Chugoku nanbu--Reinan sanmyaku no kita tominami/South China--north and south of the Lingnan mountains. KikanKokogaku 83: 75-9. REN, S. 1995. Gongyuanqian wuqian nian Zhongguo xinshiqi wenhua dejixiang zhuyao chengjiu/Important results from the Neolithic cultures inChina earlier than 5000 BC. Kaogu 1: 37-49. RICE, P. 1999. On the origins of pottery. Journal ofAnthropological Method and Theory 6: 1-54. ROBB, J.E. (ed.). 1999. Material symbols: culture and economy inprehistory. Carbondale: Center for Archaeological Investigations,Occasional Paper No. 26. ROOSEVELT, A. 1995. Early pottery in the Amazon: twenty years TWENTY YEARS. The lapse of twenty years raises a presumption of certain facts, and after such a time, the party against whom the presumption has been raised, will be required to prove a negative to establish his rights. 2. ofscholarly obscurity, in W.K. Barnett & J.W. Hoopes (ed.) Theemergence of pottery: technology and innovation: 115-31. Washington:Smithsonian Institution Press. SAITTA, D. 1997. Review of Foundations of Social Inequality, byT.D. Price & G. Feinman (ed.) Plains Anthropologist 42: 263-5. --1999. Prestige, agency, and change in middle range societies, inJ. Robb (ed.) Material symbols: culture and economy in prehistory:135-49. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. UNDERHILL, A. 1997. Current issues in Chinese Neolithicarchaeology. Journal of World Prehistory 11: 103-60. Wu, X. & C. ZHAO. 2003. Chronology of the Transition fromPaleolithic to Neolithic in China. The Review of Archaeology 24:15-20. ZHANG, C. 2002. The discovery of early pottery in China. DocumentaPraehistorica XXIX: 29-35. ZHANG, F. 2000. The mesolithic in south China. DocumentaPraehistorica XXVII: 225-31. ZHANG, W. & J. YUAN. 1998. A preliminary study of ancientexcavated rice from Yuchanyan Site, Dao County, Hunan Province, PRC.Acta Agronomica Sinica 24-4: 416-20. ZHAO, C. & X. Wu. 2000. The dating of Chinese early pottery anda discussion of some related problems. Documenta Praehistorica XXVII:233-9. ZHAO, Z. 1998. The Middle Yangtze Region in China is one placewhere rice was domesticated: phytolith phy��to��lith?n.A minute particle formed of mineral matter by a living plant and fossilized in rock. evidence from the DiaotonghuanCave, northern Jiangxi. Antiquity 72: 885-97. ZHONGGUO SHEHUI KEXUEYUAN KAOGU YANJIUSUO, GWANGXI ZHUANG MINZUJIGUWENWU GONGZUOTUAN, GUILIN ZENGPIYAN IZHI BOWUGUAN, GUILIN SHI WENWUGONZUOTUAN (ed.). 2003. Guilin Zengpiyan (Zengpiyan, Guilin). Beijing:Wenwu Chubanshe. Richard Pearson, 1890 West 17th Avenue, Vancouver V6J 2M9 BC Canada(Email:pearsonrj@shaw.ca)