Xiangming Dai

This project is an archaeological study in the Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh in the United States. The research data are mainly from an on-going project in the eastern Yuncheng Basin, central China, where we have completed a full-coverage survey and excavated several sites. This research investigates the process of social complexity from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age in Yuncheng by examining the changing settlement patterns, the resource control and utilization (such as copper and salt), and the production and distribution of craft products. Comparison between Yuncheng and other regions reveals the different models of social development in environmentally distinct regions. The study in Pittsburgh will enable me to accomplish the Yuncheng project research productively by further obtaining the theories and methods relevant to the origins and devlopment of chiefdoms and early states. In addition, my visiting will help foster more communication and collaborations between the University of Pittsburgh and my Museum.