The Neolithic of Southeast China: Cultural Transformation and Re ...

I am grateful to the following experts who helped me analyzing the excavated materials. Professor Huang Yunping, a zooarchaeologist and also a professor of Chinese Palaeolithic archaeology in Peking University, undertook the study of terrestrial animal bones. Professor Wu Xiaohong, Director of the Archaeometry Laboratory of Peking University, not only analyzed the dating samples of the Huanguashan site and the Damaoshan site, but also unconditionally re-calibrated the previously published C-14 dates of a number of Neolithic sites of Fujian. Dr. Jimmy Zhao, Deputy Director of the Archaeometry Division of the Institute of Archaeology in Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, conducted analysis of both phytoliths and macrobotanic remains of the Huangguashan site. Dr. Zhengfu Guo, a geochemist in the Institute of Geology and Geophysics in Chinese Academy of Sciences, performed petrographic and geochemical analysis of stone adzes of the Damaoshan site. Professor You Yubo, professor of biology in the Fujian Normal University, identified the species of shells of the Huangguashan site. Professor Li Shuqing, senior ichthyologist of the Fujian Provincial Museum, analyzed the fish remains of both the Damaoshan site and the Huangguashan site. All of them are leading scholars in their field, and their studies have greatly enhanced the contribution of this thesis to the understanding of the Neolithics of Southeast China. They have kindly endured my urgent requests to complete the studies within a short period of time, and some of them had to work under the unexpected threat of SARS. I thank all of them for their extremely generous help! Readers will find a re-interpretation of their analysis in the context of respective chapters. Due to time constraint, some of my interpretations has not been checked by them and I take sole responsibility for any possible mistakes.

I would like to thank Professor Qiu Licheng and Professor Li Yan, Deputy Directors of the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Antiquity and Archaeology; Professor Gu Yunquan, Director of Guangdong Provincial Museum, for their help during my visit to Guangzhou. Professor Gu kindly allowed the examination Fubin site materials in storage. Professor Qiu and Professor Li introduced me to the materials of various sites in their institute.

I thank Professor Liu Jun, former Director of the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Antiquity and Archaeology, for introducing me to the Hemudu Site Museum. I learned a lot from his first hand knowledge of Zhejiang Neolithic archaeology. Professor Wang Haiming, director of the excavation of the Haochuan site and the Shizigang site, kindly helped me examine the collections of these two sites.