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This article collected papers published by Chinese archaeologists in Chinese and World core journals (CCJs and WCJs for short) in the past century. Based on bibliometric analysis, the general characteristics and trends of Chinese archaeology were summarized. In a macroscopic perspective, historiography-rooted archaeology focusing on historical periods and central areas of China and preferring traditional archaeological methods (mainly a culture-historical paradigm) will continue to occupy a leading position in China. Simultaneously, interdisciplinary research and internationalisation will likely continue to develop and diversify Chinese archaeology, though the speed is unknown due to the impact of the pandemic. In comparison, more attention needs to be paid to theoretical research and to publishing more results of historical archaeology in WCJs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beginning and early development of metallurgy in China have long been hot topics in Eurasian archaeology since they were suggested to be closely linked with the so-called "prehistoric globalization." This paper assesses the available archaeological and archaeometallurgical evidence within their temporal-spatial framework and explores diachronic and cross-spatial developmental processes of early metallurgy in different regions in China. While recognizing the importance of long-distance interaction and exogenous technological stimulation, we draw attention to the local adoption and adaptation process of metallurgy and highlight the significance of local communities as sponsors, practitioners, and consumers of the metallurgical products and production as well as agents of technology transmission. While previous research has focused on individual object features that were seen as typical for specific archaeological cultures, current data shows considerable similarities in artifact typologies and material types among the early metal-using societies throughout Northwest China. We therefore argue that the modification of foreign metallurgical traditions through localized practice in Northwest China was crucial for their transmission further eastward and thus for the ultimate establishment of a new metallurgical tradition in the Central Plain of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the international stage, discussions on theoretical and methodological aspects of settlement archaeology tend to be dominated by Anglo-American scholarship associated with the emergence of the New Archaeology's systemic view of culture and its ecological outlook in which settlement pattern analysis became a crucial approach. Few people are aware that a scholar of Chinese origin, K.C. Chang, contributed substantially to these debates already since the 1950s and introduced western practices of settlement archaeology to China in the 1980s. Since then, numerous international collaborative projects in China have provided a fruitful basis for an exchange of ideas between different scholarly traditions and providing opportunities for methods developed in the West to be tested in a different cultural and environmental context. The present paper traces these developments, highlighting the extent of the Chinese contributions and concluding with some thoughts on the standing of Chinese archaeology within the field of archaeology worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We review the state of research on human-environment interaction in Holocene China. • We demonstrate the benefits of a multidisciplinary, regionally focused approach. • We conclude datasets must be local and specific, and integrate data on multiple scales. • China is large, well-documented, and critical for understanding social-natural systems. This paper reviews recent archaeological research on human-environment interaction in the Holocene, taking continental China as its geographic focus. As China is large, geographically diverse, and exceptionally archaeologically and historically well-documented, research here provides critical insight into the functioning of social-natural systems. Based on a broad review of the field as well as recent advances and discoveries, the authors reflect on research themes including climate change and adaptive systems theory, spatial and temporal scale, anthropogenic environmental change, risk management and resilience, and integration of subdisciplines. These converge on three overarching conclusions. First, datasets relevant to climate change and ancient human-environment interaction must be as local and specific as possible, as the timing of environmental change differs locally, and the human response is highly dependent on local social and technological conditions. Second, the field still needs more robust theoretical frameworks for analyzing complex social-natural systems, and especially for integrating data on multiple scales. Third, for this work to contribute meaningfully to contemporary climate change research, effective communication of research findings to the public and to scientists in other disciplines should be incorporated into publication plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]