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I thank Harvard-Yenching Institute, Department of Anthropology and the Asia Center at Harvard University, for providing financial support to my study at Harvard University and funds to conduct my dissertation project in China. I wish to thank my home institution, Bishop Museum, for its support to my continuing research in China. In particular, I am very grateful to Dr. William Y. Brown, President / CEO of Bishop Museum, for his enthusiastic support and understanding of the significance of the archaeology of Southeast China.
This thesis could not have been written without the generous assistance of many Chinese colleagues. I would first like to thank Mr. Lin Gongwu and Mr. Fan Xuechun, senior archaeologists of the Fujian Provincial Museum, for their great help with the excavations of the Huangguashan and the Damaoshan sites. Their dedication to the excellence of field archaeology is a great source of inspiration, and their hard work has ensured the progress of the projects. With their easygoing personality and joyful working spirits, the hardship of excavating archaeological sites in Fujian became a pleasant experience. Mr. Gao Shaoping, the versatile technician of the Fujian Provincial Museum, was a great assistant in the field. My thanks also go to Mr. Zheng Peisheng, Director of the Fujian Provincial Museum at that time; Mr. Zheng Guozhen, Deputy Director of Fujian Provincial Bureau of Cultural Heritage; Mr. Wang Zhenyong, Deputy Director of the Fujian Provincial Museum, for their support to my research in Fujian.