The Collaborative Dimension of Johan Gunnar Andersson’s Search for a Western Origin of China

Abstract

The Swedish geologist Johan Gunnar Andersson, well known for discovering the first Stone Age culture in China, was for a long time criticized for trying to establish a ‘Western origin’ for his Yangshao finds. Not much has been written on how he went about to prove this theory and no composite account exists on what role other, mainly Swedish, scholars played in his project. This article aims to address this lacuna, outlining how geographer Sven Hedin, collector Orvar Karlbeck, as well as archaeologists Olov Janse and Ture J. Arne came to be engaged in the search for a Neolithic ‘Eurasian Highway’. Relying on Swedish archives the article will also shed light on the lead up to the Yangshao discovery and the aura of secrecy Andersson shrouded his later activities in China in.