"This volume aims to satisfy a pressing need for an updated account of Chinese archaeology. The volume's time frame extends from the earliest peopling of China to the unification of the Chinese empire some 2,000 years ago. The spatial coverage includes--but also extends beyond--the traditional focus on the Yellow River basin, with a number of chapters discussing the archaeology of China's northeast, northwest, southeast and southwestern regions. Among the issues addressed by the book are the emergence of agricultural communities, the establishment of a sedentary way of life, the development of socio-political complexity, advances in lithic technology, ceramic and metallurgy, and the appearance of writing, large scale public works, cities, and states. A particular emphasis is placed on the great cultural variations that existed among different regions in China and the development of interregional contacts among those societies"--