Tracking Settlement Transitions in Northeast China

This project examines how prehistoric non-agricultural societies in Northeast China developed social diversification and interacted with neighbouring regions. While the Western Liao River basin in the south saw early millet cultivation, northern regions remained reliant on hunting, fishing, and gathering, yet exhibited signs of complexity, including storage, sedentism, stratification, and ritual practices.

It will explore human-environment interactions, particularly the role of different ecosystems in supporting and constraining emergent social dynamics.