Dr. Tianlong Jiao, Joseph de Heer Curator of Asian Art, Denver Art Museum, USA

Rethinking the Origin of Food Production and Population Movements in Prehistoric China
史前中國食物生產起源和人群移動的再思考

The study of the beginning of food production in prehistoric China has been dominated by the approach of searching for a single mark of the "origin" of agriculture, leading to infinite debates on many issues. A more reasonable and productive way to understand the economic pattern of this critical period is the level of food production. The concept of "Low-Level Food Production" offers a useful alternative perspective to investigate the economic changes as well as the population dynamics in early Neolithic China.

在探索史前中國從採集到食物生產轉變的過程這一問題上，傳統的研究大都注重尋找或定義農業起源的單一界限，導致了在很多問題上的永無止境的爭論。而如果我們換一個角度，從食物生產水準的角度來研究這一轉變時期的經濟形態，將是一個更有效的研究方式。「低水準食物生產」這一概念提供了一個新的視角，可以更好地促進研究中國早期新石器時代的經濟形態和人群移動的發源。