First of all, a number of important ancient sites and tombs were discovered and excavated during this period, which provided new materials for archaeological research and opened up new fields. For example, dozens of newly discovered Paleolithic sites in Luonan Basin and Shi Yao Basin in Shaanxi Province, which are located on both sides of the Yangtze River and Yellow River watershed, have raised intriguing questions for understanding the relationship between paleolithic cultures in southern and northern China. The earliest settlement around the ditch (with walls) in China, a large number of different kinds of rice crops and accompanying farm tools were found in Bashidang site in Lixian County, Hunan Province, which provided important information for the study of rice farming and social life in the early Neolithic period in China. The discovery and excavation of the ruins of the ancient city in Longshan era in Chengdu Plain made people know a new archaeological culture "Baodun Village Culture" earlier than Sanxingdui Culture, which laid a foundation for exploring the formation of Sanxingdui civilization and the interaction of early civilizations in the Yangtze River basin. The discovery and confirmation of Huayuanzhuang Shopping Mall in Anyang City, Henan Province, made up for the lack of connection between Zhengzhou Shopping Mall in the early Shang Dynasty and Yin Ruins in Anyang in the late Shang Dynasty, and established the archaeological observation of Shang Dynasty history on a more reliable basis. The excavation of Nanyue Palace in Guangzhou in the early Western Han Dynasty, Biyonghe Tang Ming in Pingcheng, the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and Shangdu Palace in the Yuan Dynasty played an important role in the study of urban architectural history in China. The excavation of the Yue Kiln in Silongkou, Zhejiang Province, provided the stratigraphic evidence of its development from the Tang Dynasty to the early Southern Song Dynasty, and corrected some mistakes in the study of ceramic history, which was a major breakthrough in the archaeology of Yue Kiln. In addition, since 1997, the largest archaeological excavation project "Rescue and Protection of Underground Cultural Relics in the Submerged Area and Relocation Area of the Three Gorges Reservoir" has been implemented so far. Almost all archaeologists from national archaeological research institutions and universities have gathered in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, with an annual excavation area of over 65,438+10,000 square meters. The important sites excavated successively include the late Paleolithic site of Yandunbao in Fengdu County, Chongqing, the former site of Yangshao in Yuxi in Fengdu County, the Yangshao site from Shaopengzui in Zhongxian County to Longshan site, the brick and tile site in Zhongxian County and (Zhongba) Zhou Industrial Site, Banbian Street (cliff foot) in Zhongxian County and Lijiaba in Yunyang County.
Tombs during the Warring States Period, etc. A large number of precious materials have been preserved for studying the activities of ancient humans in the Three Gorges area, the development process of ancient culture, the history of Pakistan and its relationship with Chu and Shu, the salt making and related industries of pottery in the pre-Qin period, and the political geography in the historical period. The fog hanging over the ancient history of the Three Gorges area is gradually being uncovered.
Second, a number of important archaeological reports were published during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period. These archaeological reports are not only the results of preliminary research on an archaeological material by the digger and the report collator, but also lay the foundation for further research by more researchers. Among these new archaeological reports, some are important archaeological materials that have been excavated for many years, such as the newly published Dawenkou culture "Yanzhou Wang Yin" report. Another example is Erlitou Site in Yanshi County, Henan Province, which may be the first capital site of the early Central Dynasty in China. The official archaeological excavation report Yanshi Erlitou from the end of 1950s to the end of 1970s was also published during this period. More are new archaeological discoveries in recent ten years, such as Wuyang Jia Hu, Jony J Roof, Neolithic Baodun Site and Daihai Archaeology, Yuanqu Mall in the Central Plains in Xia and Shang Dynasties, bronze ware cellar in Zhengzhou in Shang Dynasty, Dazuizi, Dadianzi and Zhukaigou in the north, etc. Luoyang Beiyao Western Zhou Dynasty Tomb, Tianma-Qucun (1980 ~ 1989), Zhangjiapo Western Zhou Dynasty Cemetery, Sanmenxia Guo Tomb, etc. , Tonglushan Ancient Mining and Metallurgy Site in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Cuo Tomb-Zhongshan in the Warring States Period. These archaeological reports not only reveal the characteristics of some new archaeological cultures (such as Baodun Village Culture, Zhukaigou Culture and Qugong Culture). ) and make up for the lack of regional archaeological culture, but also promote the spread and development of rice farming, the transformation of city-state society to central capital, archaeological observation of Xia and Shang history, the system of aristocratic tombs in Zhou Dynasty, bronze culture and its civilized position in China, the technology and organization of ancient metal mining and metallurgy, and the study of ancient capital of China. Some important archaeological reports have had a strong response in academic circles as soon as they were published. Shortly after the publication of the Sanxingdui Sacrificial Pit Report, two international academic seminars were held, and a series of books reflecting the research results in this field will be published in the near future, which is one of them.
Third, a large number of new archaeological works have appeared, and the depth and breadth of their research have been greatly improved than before. In terms of comprehensive archaeological research, during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, the Department of Archaeology of Peking University undertook the excellent national social science project "Multi-volume Archaeology of China", which has been nearly completed. This book comprehensively analyzes the archaeological data of China in this century, constructs the basic framework of China archaeology, and lays the foundation for reconstructing the ancient history of China with physical data and understanding the history of China after Qin and Han Dynasties. The History of China in Pre-Qin Cambridge compiled by European and American scholars adopts two different research methods, namely, literature and archaeological materials. Its archaeological research part embodies the understanding and research level of archaeologists in western China on the civilization process from the origin of Chinese civilization to the unification of Qin Dynasty. In terms of regional archaeological research, Liangzhu Culture Research Collection and Oriental Civilization Light and Liangzhu Culture Research almost cover the main fields of Liangzhu culture research, representing the current research level in this field at home and abroad; Archaeological research in Northeast Asia discusses the changes of ancient culture and representative remains in different stages in Liaohe River Basin from many angles, and makes a beneficial discussion on the origin of regional civilization and its influence on Japan. In terms of thematic archaeological research, during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, there were Tibetan Buddhist temple archaeology, environmental archaeology research, East Asian jade articles, China ancient pottery craft research, religious art and archaeology between Han and Tang Dynasties, etc. In addition, many doctoral dissertations have been published. These archaeological monographs have expanded the scope of research, and some research topics have never been involved or rarely involved in the past.
Fourth, new natural science methods are more diversified in archaeology. In terms of field archaeological records, many archaeological teaching and scientific research units in China have developed their own computer management systems or databases for field archaeological data, and used GIS and GPS data collectors to record and save archaeological data, and electronic total stations to survey and record archaeological remains. Archaeological records began to enter the threshold of digitalization. In the dating technology of archaeological materials, besides continuing to use the previous conventional dating technologies such as C 14 and thermoluminescence, we have also established or improved dating equipment such as accelerator mass spectrometry C 14, thermoluminescence, unbalanced uranium series method and electron spin * * * vibration method, which makes the dating methods more diverse and the dating data more accurate. Archaeologists not only pay attention to obtaining more information by traditional means such as screening, flotation and pollen sampling, but also use trace element analysis and composition analysis of the remains. Archaeological institutions cooperated with genetic research institutions and began to try to extract DNA from ancient human bones to study ancient ethnic groups. In terms of archaeological research methods, regional archaeology has been paid more attention, and many works (departments) have appeared to conduct comprehensive research on a natural geographical area. Archaeological departments of Jilin University and Shandong University also cooperate with their counterparts in foreign universities to carry out regional archaeological research on small watersheds. Although the Xia, Shang and Zhou dating project, which attracted much attention during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, was a national scientific research project to solve the chronology problem in China's early historical period, the final report did not fully achieve the expected purpose; However, through this study, the technical means of dating have been improved, and a large number of chronological data have been accumulated, which has laid a good foundation for the basic research of archaeological chronology in China.