Understanding Chinese archaeology by statistical analysis of papers published by Chinese researchers in Chinese and World core journals during the past century (1920–2020)

ABSTRACT

This article collected papers published by Chinese archaeologists in Chinese and World core journals (CCJs and WCJs for short) in the past century. Based on bibliometric analysis, the general characteristics and trends of Chinese archaeology were summarized. In a macroscopic perspective, historiography-rooted archaeology focusing on historical periods and central areas of China and preferring traditional archaeological methods (mainly a culture-historical paradigm) will continue to occupy a leading position in China. Simultaneously, interdisciplinary research and internationalisation will likely continue to develop and diversify Chinese archaeology, though the speed is unknown due to the impact of the pandemic. In comparison, more attention needs to be paid to theoretical research and to publishing more results of historical archaeology in WCJs.

KEYWORDS:

• Archaeological history
• statistical analysis
• journal articles
• Chinese archaeology
• historiographical tradition
• interdisciplinary research

Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. Lin Zhang in the School of Information Management, Wuhan University and Rowan Flad, in the Department of Anthropology, Harvard University for their helpful discussion and suggestions concerning bibliometric analysis. We also thank Xinlai Li, doctoral candidate in the School of Information Management, Wuhan University, for her help in applying the bibliometric method and the use of statistical and knowledge graph software. Our gratitude is also given to Associate professor, Yuduan Zhou in the School of History, Wuhan University, the editors and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions to improve the original manuscript for publication.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The raw bibliometric data were collected from Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics) and CNKI. Two licenses are required to access the Web of Science and CNKI database. Therefore, the data used in this paper cannot be posted in a repository.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the National Social Science Fund of China [18BKG003, 19ZDA231].

Notes on contributors

Xuan Wei

Xuan Wei is a Ph.D candidate in the school of history of Wuhan University. Her main research interests are history of archaeology and prehistoric archaeology in Southeast Asian.

Wentai Lou

Wentai Lou is a M.A. candidate in the School of History of Wuhan University. His research interest is subsistence pattern and plant exploitation of Neolithic populations in Hubei Province, by applying archaeo-botanical method.

Ting Li

Ting Li is a M.A. candidate in the School of History of Wuhan University. Her research interest is subsistence pattern and animal exploitation of Neolithic populations in Henan Province, by applying zooarchaeological method.

Ruxi Yang

Ruxi Yang is a M.A. candidate in the School of History of Wuhan University. Her research interest is ancient human’s lithic technology and adaptive strategies to environments during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene transition in South China, by applying lithic technological and useware methods.

Tingting Liang

Tingting Liang was a M.A. candidate in the School of History of Wuhan University. Her research interest is the history of prehistoric archaeology in Southeast Asia.

Chengpo He

Chengpo He is an assistant researcher in the Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. His research interest is lithic technology and management pattern of lithic raw materials of Neolithic populations in Hubei Province, Central China. prehistoric archaeology in Southern China.

Liwei Wang

Liwei Wang was a M.A. candidate in the School of History of Wuhan University. Her research interest is he history of prehistoric archaeology in Southeast Asia.

Junjie Yuan

Junjie Yuan is an associate professor in the School of History and Tourism, Guangxi Normal University. His research interest is Palaeolithic and physical anthropology.

Yinghua Li

Yinghua Li is a professor in the School of History of Wuhan University. Her main research interest is Prehistoric archaeology in South China and Southeast Asia.