Under the direction of Dr. K.C. Chang, Mr. Yang-Jin Pak will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will analyze materials excavated by Chinese archaeologists at the site of Yanqing in northeastern China. Preliminary analysis indicates that they date to the Bronze Age of the first millennium B.C. More than 500 burials were discovered in three locations along with many different kinds of rich and distinctive artifacts, numbering as many as 20,000. All are single burials with no indications on the surface. In addition to a wide variety of objects made of bronze, gold, silver, bone and jade, many of the graves contain sacrificed animals such as horses, cattle, sheep and dogs. The richness of these materials provides Mr. Pak with an excellent opportunity to reconstruct the organization of the society of which the deceased individuals formed a part. Mr. Pak will describe the material and conduct a statistical analysis to determine how different types of artifacts are distributed among individuals. On this basis it will be possible to examine the degree of differential treatment and address questions such as the extent of social stratification and how this relates to factors such as the age and sex of the individual. One of the world's great civilizations arose in China and found its first expression during the bronze age. To speak of one civilization however is probably not correct given the size of the country and the numbers of cultures present. While much is known about the prehistory of the central region, very little information is available about the Northern area. Preliminary evidence indicates that during the bronze age this region was distinct and what is probably more interesting is the fact that people were primarily nomadic. In a worldwide context, such a situation is extremely unusual and the data collected by Mr. Pak with shed new light on how complex society can develop within this subsistence context. This in turn will increase out understanding of the development of social complexity itself. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists. It will shed new light on how complex societies develop and assist in the training of a promising young scientist.
