A talk by XU HONG (head of the Erlitou Excavation Team of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), cosponsored by the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. Discussant: Min Li (UCLA Dept of Asian Languages & Cultures, and Cotsen Institute)

Thursday, November 13, 2008
4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
10383 Bunche Hall
UCLA
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Based on the discoveries at Erlitou (in Henan province) and related sites, early Bronze Age sites that can be identified with the Xia dynasty (ca 2100 BC to 1800 BC)--a dynasty that was once thought to be mythical--Professor Xu Hong proposes a new understanding of the origins of Chinese civilization.

Xu Hong (PhD in archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences [CASS], 1996) is a professor of archaeology in CASS, the Director of the Division of Xia-Shang-Zhou Archaeology in the CASS Institute of Archaeology, and the head of the Erlitou Excavation Team of CASS. Professor Xu specializes in the archaeology of the Xia-Shang-Zhou period, and the archaeology of Chinese urbanism. He participated in and then directed the excavations of the Dinggong city site (Longshan culture) in Zouping county, the palace complex of the Yanshi city site (Shang dynasty), and directed the survey and excavation of the Erlitou site.

Richard  Gunde
310 825-8683
gunde@ucla.edu

Sponsor(s): Center for Chinese Studies, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology