Xiamen Archaeology and Cultural Relics

Author: Wu Shichi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1996-10-01
Features: Wu Shichi's book "Archaeology and Cultural Relics of Xiamen" not only supplements archaeological discoveries since the prehistoric era with a wealth of archaeological data but also, based on archaeological characteristics, elaborates on the evolution of Xiamen's coastline, ancient cultural sites, burials, famous scenic spots, collections of couplets, revolutionary sites and memorial buildings, museums, memorial halls, and valuable cultural relics in their collections. The content is rich and the data is detailed, pushing Xiamen's history at least back to the Neolithic Age of the prehistoric era thousands of years ago. This also indirectly refutes the argument that Xiamen has "historical records from ancient times."
The research objects of archaeology and cultural relic studies are both cultural relics, and both aim to explain the specific process of historical development and reveal the laws of social development through the study of cultural relics, highlighting their commonalities. In terms of research methods and approaches, they also share many similarities. However, differences are evident in the scope of research years, content, methods, and objectives. For example, the chronological scope of cultural relics studied in archaeology and cultural relic studies varies. The similarity is that both study ancient cultural relics. The difference is that archaeology only studies ancient cultural relics, such as Chinese archaeology, which sets the lower limit of its research period at the fall of the Ming Dynasty (1644), excluding cultural relics from the Qing Dynasty and later periods. In contrast, cultural relic studies encompass cultural relics from antiquity to the present.
The research objects and sources of archaeology and cultural relic studies also share similarities and differences. Cultural relic studies focus solely on cultural relics, and their sources are diverse, including those excavated from archaeological sites, those passed down through generations, those scattered among the public, and those collected from scrap material stores. Archaeology, however, studies not only cultural relics but also natural materials related to human activities. Through sorting, analysis, and integrating research findings from other related disciplines, it comprehensively explores human beings, culture, and social development.
In terms of specific research content, it can be divided into macro and micro studies. For instance, macro studies explore the origins and development of humans and culture, the origins of agriculture, the origins of civilization, the emergence of states, burial systems, marriage patterns, customs, and religious beliefs. Micro studies include research on ancient scripts, currency, art, architecture, transportation, and trade. Within a country, research can also be categorized as national or regional.
For specific cultural relics, studies include typology (based on the shape and decoration of artifacts), stratification, dating, craftsmanship, and function. Additionally, studies must examine the regional systems and types (based on cultural characteristics) of different areas and archaeological cultures both vertically and horizontally. Exploring the evolutionary relationships between different archaeological cultures within the same cultural system, as well as the evolution of different cultural types within the same archaeological culture, falls under the scope of archaeological research. Moreover, the research objects of archaeology are generally physical materials obtained from field surveys and excavations.
Archaeology and cultural relic studies also share similarities and differences in research methods. The similarities include both conducting classification studies, value studies, and functional studies of cultural relics. Additionally, both engage in dating studies of cultural relics and utilize certain natural science methods for absolute dating. However, archaeology also employs stratigraphy and typology methods for relative dating studies. Cultural relic studies generally do not adopt these two methods but often use artifacts with established dates as reference standards to date artifacts that need to be dated (e.g., scattered artifacts). However, these methods are sometimes necessary.
Archaeology and cultural relic studies also share similarities and differences in the content and focus of their research on cultural relics. For example, while both study cultural relics, archaeology focuses on physical materials obtained from field surveys and excavations, as well as exploring the cultural growth, spread, and integration between different cultural systems, archaeological cultures, and cultural types, rather than studying single artifacts in isolation. Cultural relic studies, on the other hand, not only study cultural relics themselves but also their preservation and management.