New fieldwork or research discoveries? Upcoming conference or workshop? New job opening or fellowship posting? New book?

Share the latest news of your work with your colleagues, advertise for job or fellowship openings, find participants for your conference session and more on the SEAA blog.

Guidelines: All posts should be related in some way to East Asian Archaeology. When writing your post, please use capital letters for surnames. Original script (Chinese, Korean, Japanese) for East Asian place names, personal names, or archaeological terms is encouraged. For the transcription of East Asian language terms, Pinyin for Chinese, Hepburn for Japanese, and the Korean Government System (2000) for Korean is encouraged.

Contributions should be limited to around 500 words and 1-2 images. For longer descriptions of your projects, you may consider the Reports section of the Bulletin (BSEAA).

Members can submit their news posts to the SEAA web editor via the website (see SEAA Members' Area for details and instructions on blog submissions) or via email. Non-member contributions are also welcome and may be submitted via email to the SEAA web editor.

The editor(s) reserves the right to carry out minor editing, or to decline contributions inappropriate to the objectives of SEAA.

Archaeology site in Tokyo

POPULAR ARCHAEOLOGY: Archaeology in Tokyo: seeking out the past of a megacity

It was during the Edo period (1603-1868) that Japan effectively sealed itself off from the outside world to avoid the ravages of Western imperialism that were conspicuously on display in other parts of Asia, most notably India and China. Educated Japanese urbanites of the era cultivated many hobbies, including a passion for antiquities. Knowledge of the outside world came in through a Dutch factory at Deshima in Nagasaki, far to the west on the island of Kyushu.

The protective nature of the urns means that skeletons are much better preserved than they would be without them

POPULAR ARCHAEOLOGY: Chinese scientists discover remains of 128 children buried in urns in ancient Chinese funerary tradition

The excavation team unearthed the tombs along with coins, pottery and tiles in northern China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region. They believe these were people who lived during the Han dynasty (202BC-220AD).

During this period, the bodies of children would not have been cremated. People would connect multiple urns – likely two, sometimes more – to create a protective “home” for the body.

The Shi'ao site in Yuyao,

POPULAR ARCHAEOLOGY: Five significant Chinese archaeological sites shine amid 100th anniversary of modern archaeology in China

China's National Cultural Heritage Administration on Wednesday published a report about five Chinese archaeological sites and their significant achievements, an important demonstration of the diversity and integration of Chinese civilization amid the 100th anniversary of the birth of modern Chinese archaeology.

The important achievements of the five sites show the historical process of the origin and development of the Neolithic culture in the Yellow River Basin, the Yangtze River Basin and the Pearl River Basin. 

Stalagmites in caves located southwest of the excavation site

POPULAR ARCHAEOLOGY: Cave stalagmites show that flooding destroyed Liangzhu City

The researchers found that between 4,345 and 4,324 years ago, there was a period of extremely high precipitation. This coincides with the decline of Liangzhu.

“The massive monsoon rains probably led to such severe flooding of the Yangtze and its branches that even the sophisticated dams and canals could no longer withstand these masses of water, destroying Liangzhu City and forcing people to flee,” says Spötl.

The researchers determined that the humid conditions persisted for another 300 years after these proposed floods.

Virtual Talk: Double-Wares in Neolithic Northwest China: Technological 'Abominations' or Artistic Masterpieces

As part of the Distinguished Virtual Seminar Series in Archaeological Science, the Cranfield Forensic Institute and Grenville Turner Studios will be hosting Professor Anke Hein (University of Oxford). Professor Hein will speak about her archaeological science research on Chinese ceramics:

Double-Wares in Neolithic Northwest China: Technological 'Abominations' or Artistic Masterpieces

Pages

SEAA Membership

Join or Renew

Membership can be considered for any individual, professional or non-professional, doing research related to the archaeology of East Asia (China, Korea, Japan) or otherwise interested in the field. Please click the button above to sign up or renew now.