From Foragers to Frontiers: Recent Research on the Archaeology of the Ordos Region, China

A recent increase in archaeological fieldwork in the Ordos Region, China combined with new methodological and theoretical frameworks has lead to new understandings of previous assumptions about the development of life in this understudied region. Occupying a vast territory covering the areas of southwestern Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, and Shaanxi Province, the Ordos Region plays a very important role in forming a better understanding of Chinese prehistory. This session includes papers that span from the Upper Paleolithic period to the Han Dynasty. The goals of the present session are to synthesize and advance research on understanding environmental change and human response, movement of domesticated plants and animals in prehistory, cultural interaction and entanglement with Central Asia, developments in metallurgy and jade, and the position of this region as a frontier in prehistory.