The Qijia Culture of Northwest China – Entering a New Era of Research

The Qijia Culture plays a central role both in terms of the history of archaeology in Northwest China and as a tradition that occupies a critical time and place in the social and technological transitions that underlie the “origins of Chinese civilization." Occupying a vast territory covering much of the modern province of Gansu, as well as adjacent areas of Qinghai, Ningxia and Shaanxi, the Qijia Culture dates to the end of the third and early second millennia BC and witnessed important transformations in subsistence practices, the adoption of new plant and animal domesticates, developments in metallurgy and pottery production, dramatic environmental events and climate change, the introduction of new types of prestige goods, among other shifts. This panel includes presentations of new research on various aspects of the Qijia Culture that reflect renewed interest in this cultural tradition and provide new insights on the important transformations that occurred.