To write history is to shape, to cull; it is a process of invention, however well supported. At least in theory, archaeology is different: It is concerned with that which physically exists. That notion has been reinforced in China by recent technological advances and approaches that privilege high-tech tools, sometimes at the expense of old-fashioned hypothesis testing.
But archaeology is also a discourse. For evidence, look no further than the political importance placed on archaeology to confirm, expand, and tell the glorious history of China. The discipline’s rise over the past 100 years mirrors that of the Chinese nation, but it has also been characterized by a certain reactiveness — a vision of archaeology as a tool rather than a discipline. If this year’s discoveries are any indication, the future is bright. Yet archaeology can be so much more than just a way to answer the questions of history: If the second hundred years of Chinese archaeology are to be as successful as the first, Chinese archaeologists must ask their own questions — and find their own answers.
In this article series, three Chinese archaeologists engage with and discuss the past, present, and future of Chinese archaeology.
