On the promise and purpose of archaeology for rebuilding the history of the Xia Dynasty of Bronze Age China

Abstract

While resolving chronological issues of the Chinese Bronze Age through written records found in ancient texts is a central issue in historical and archaeological research in China, an academic dilemma exists in that no contemporaneous writings produced during the Xia Dynasty itself have yet been discovered. Identifying cultural remains of the Xia period is a task for archaeology and the premise behind studying what is called the Xia Culture. To explore the Xia Culture, we should “seek the unknown from the known.” For archaeological research on the Xia Dynasty, two indispensable prerequisites for systematic archaeological cultural pedigree research are, first, great concentration on archaeological materials, and second, assiduous historical research: through cultural remains, we may seek out a comprehensive understanding that not only conforms to the specific historical particularities but also reflects the archaeological concerns about universal laws of human behavior. This is how archaeological discourse may make contributions to the writing of the ancient history of the Xia Dynasty.