The archaeological youth who rushed to the fields and knocked on the door of ancient civilization determined to use their beautiful youth to pursue the Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese style of archaeology——
The treasure of life lies in the field of archaeology
Our reporter An Shenglan Peng Jinghui Gong Liang Li Danyang
【Focus·Archaeological Youth】
Their eyes are extraordinary-they are the first pair of eyes that represent human beings today and see the remains of ancestors.
They are young, but they deal with the oldest things in human society every day.
They embrace technology and fashion, but are willing to give up the prosperity of the city to the loneliness of the mountains.
They are faced with ruined walls, bricks and rubble, but they can interpret endless mysteries.
They are young archaeologists.
The "cool and mysterious" in the eyes of others has long been accustomed to them.
"We study the past of mankind, locate the present of mankind, and serve the future of mankind." The archaeological youth commented on his career.
Backpacking and walking toward the field, the archaeological youth seems to be far from the focus of the crowd, but they are the closest to the origin of human history.
They use their feet to measure the vast land of China, use their hands to brush away the dust of history, to lift the clouds from the vicissitudes of life, and to connect the past and the next to the sacred school.
Explore the romanticism of archaeological youth
When it comes to the association with archaeology, the young archaeologists are very frank: some are because of curiosity, and some are because of coincidence.
No matter what the reason, they choose to engage in archaeology, they all regard archeology as their lifelong love.
"I used to play in the wild since I was a child, and I liked the feeling of being unrestrained. At that time, the volunteers related to field work were not only geology but archeology. I applied for archaeology." said Wang Yongqiang, deputy researcher of Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. love at first sight".
In his view, the mystery of archaeology is its beauty, which inspires his thirst for knowledge.
Exposing unknown civilizations little by little and solving puzzles have become his constant motivation.
In 2015, he presided over the excavation of the Jirentaigoukou site in Nileke County, Xinjiang, and found the earliest trace of coal use in China, pushing China's history of using coal resources for at least a thousand years.
"This kind of satisfaction is something ordinary people can't realize. It's like a piece of candy for a child, and even sweeter than sugar."
Of course, there are also many people who "stray into the Peach Blossom Spring"-they were transferred to the archaeology major, experienced confusion, and finally became "favored" for archaeology.
"To be honest, archaeology was not my first choice at the time." Chen Dahai, an associate researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Archaeology, said frankly, "but later, all positive factors sprouted in my studies and career."
As a student who was transferred, Chen Dahai slowly realized the luck that this "accident" brought.
He studied at Nanjing University as an undergraduate. The cultural environment of Nanjing, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, gave him a keen interest in archaeology.
"Seeing people through archaeology is a silent dialogue that travels through time and space. This deeply fascinates me. Human beings are both curious about the future and the past. It is an instinct, and archaeology is to follow the human instinct. Back to the front." Chen Dahai said.
Accompanied by archaeology, this young man from the countryside slowly found interest, confidence, and mission in life.
After graduation, he stayed in Nanjing. For 14 years, he has been fighting on the front line of archaeology.
Looking up and down, this is the romanticism of archaeological youth.
In their eyes, archaeology is a subject of "imperfection", collecting incomplete information fragments left by the ancients and restoring the whole of history is like looking at a leopard in a tube, with uncertainty.
The interaction between imagination and empirical evidence refreshes human's cognition of oneself time and time again, and is also a source of pleasure for seekers.
"Collect empirical evidence, analyze, and draw conclusions, and then new evidence appears, and the conclusions are confirmed or overturned." said Deng Zhenhua, an assistant professor at the School of Archaeology, Cultural Sciences, Peking University, and the process was painful and sweet.
Deng Zhenhua's research direction is plant archaeology, focusing on the domestication history of rice.
Earlier, the earliest evidence of domesticated rice was found at the Baligang site in Henan, 8500 years ago.
He once thought that the domestication genes of rice in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River might originate from the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
Surprisingly, he recently discovered domesticated rice 9,000 years ago in a study in cooperation with Yiwu, Zhejiang.
This not only hinted at the differences and complexity of the rice domestication process in different regions within the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, but also made him have to re-examine the pattern of the origin of rice farming.
"If the conclusion is overturned, of course there will be a sense of frustration, but from another perspective, this is a good thing. Let us continue to revise the conclusion. Confirm or overturn, no matter what the result, we have been moving forward." Deng Zhenhua said, "To the unknown The reasoning is enough to attract a group of people."
The scent of the earth in the field
"Our nature has the fragrance of soil." Zhang Min, an associate researcher at the Yangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, described archaeologists in this way.
Field excavation investigation is the most basic and important research method and work content of archaeology.
A hand shovel, a backpack, a record book and a piece of loess are their normal work conditions.
There is a basic consensus in the archaeological community: the first time to go to the field is a watershed for archaeological students, where they will decide to leave or stay — leaving because of suffering, and staying because of their strong heart.
"Field work has two functions, standing work and squatting work." Zhang Min said that when workers go to the soil, they have to stand by and stare at all times. Once a phenomenon occurs, they must immediately grab it; cleaning cultural relics can only be done with a shovel and a brush. The next squat is most of the day.
What is even more unbearable is the dangerous natural environment and difficult conditions in the wild.
The fields do not change their suffering, they do not change their happiness.
In 2012, Zhang Min was doing fieldwork in the mountains and forests of Nan'ao Island in Guangzhou. He lost his way in the evening.
Without a flashlight, relying on the walkie-talkie, he walked around for 4 hours before walking out of the mountain. His clothes were plucked and his glasses were lost.
"Why should I do this?" He couldn't help asking himself.
The next day, he "eat something good" and forgot the fear he had last night. He only felt that the investigation was "rich."
Also unforgettable about the field experience is Wang Ying, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
A Beijing girl, who studied ancient architecture with her undergraduate and master's degree, has never been in the fields. She was once questioned that "you can't do archaeology".
In 2009, 26-year-old Wang Ying entered the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. For the first time, he was sent to Zanhuang, Hebei to participate in the rescue excavation project of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.
That year was a huge snow disaster. The village was closed by heavy snow. There were no heating facilities in the village. The supplies were extremely tight, and even running water was gone.
But the work of the archaeological team did not stop.
"One day, my hand was very itchy, and the whole hand was red and swollen. I said why there are mosquitoes in winter?" Wang Ying told the scene like a joke: "The colleague said, there are no mosquitoes, this is frostbite."
This kind of hardship "persuades" many people, but Wang Ying is not included.
Now Wang Ying is the archaeological leader. He has been conducting excavations for the Liaoshangjing site in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia for a long time. The voice that was once questioned has now become encouragement and affirmation.
She regards the field as the "lifeline" of archaeology, "only in the field can we gain true knowledge."
This year, during the excavation of the Shangjing Temple site in Liaoning, she and her team discovered the remains of three different architectural pillars and nets stacked on the same rammed earth foundation.
"The Jin Dynasty carried out large-scale reconstruction of Liaoshangjing, so Liaoshangjing was built underground. If you don't personally participate in the excavation work, you can't see this layer." Wang Ying said.
"Excellent scholars start in the field. Only by doing the basic work in the field can the research be done solidly and go long-term."
Continuing the context and forging Chinese style on historical coordinates
When the public views archaeology, there is often a legendary "filter."
The misunderstanding that "archaeology is digging for treasures" was once all the rage.
As professional archaeologists, they always understand that the value of archaeology is not to dig up many exquisite and brilliant "babies", but to discover precious historical clues and cultural codes.
"The important thing is information, not objects." said Zhu Xiaoting, an associate researcher at the Jiangsu Institute of Archaeology.
Zhu Xiaoting, a newcomer, also had a mentality of "digging for treasures".
When she first started working, she thought every field excavation was as interesting as "Indiana Jones".
As her experience enriched, she discovered that “digging treasures” was only a few moments of luck, and more often “nothing, only sand”.
"It turns out that digging for treasures is not the purpose of archaeology. We must avoid looking at archaeological excavations with such a utilitarian mentality. Sometimes even broken pottery pieces are a huge gain," she said.
In archaeological excavations, exquisite cultural relics were unearthed, and every young archeologist has encountered them more or less.
Xu Zhiqiang, an associate researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Archaeology, remembers a discovery still fresh.
In 2012, he was responsible for excavating a Ming Dynasty tomb and unearthed a complete blue and white plum vase.
Xu Zhiqiang and his colleagues were amazed by the beauty of the plum bottle.
"Everyone is very excited to see the plum bottle, but afterwards, we still have to return to objective and rationality." Xu Zhiqiang believes that cultural relics, as research objects, are either exquisite or broken, and are symbols of history and culture.
"You must restrain your attachment to exquisiteness, otherwise you may go astray." He said solemnly.
When engaged in archaeology, they have a special feeling for cultural relics, which is pure and indifferent, and has nothing to do with possession.
They are more willing to be a watchman, standing on the historical coordinates to watch civilization.
And this process is often a race against time.
Zhang Min encountered many tombs during his work, and when he opened it, he found that they had been stolen.
While frustrated, it is more regretful.
"If they can be kept intact, even if I don't come to discover and study it!" he exclaimed.
For grassroots archaeological research units, many archaeological works are often rescue excavations in conjunction with urban construction, which requires limited time and heavy work.
"This kind of work is a one-time job and cannot be overturned and started again. It must be fast and precise to prevent regrets." Xu Zhiqiang said.
Gu Hanmei, an archaeological girl from the Shenzhen Cultural Relics and Archaeological Appraisal Institute, described archaeological excavations as "the brain is always turning and the hands are always moving."
In order to prevent regrets, she constantly exercised her thinking and practical skills, constantly expanded her horizons, and perfected her knowledge system in practice.
They are running hard, just because these are the civilized memories of all mankind.
Interpret and carry the mission of passing on civilization on their shoulders.
Many people silently give and stick to this emotion and responsibility.
Long-term archaeology abroad, gathering less and more separation with family, is destined to be a solitary practice.
An archaeologist wrote in the postscript of the archaeological report: "My daughter who is under 10 years old promised that I would stay at home for 10 consecutive days and give me a'green card'. I never got this'green card'."
Virtue is not alone, there must be neighbors.
The good news is that now, they have more and more colleagues.
With the increasing interaction between archaeology and the public in recent years, people have lifted its mysterious veil and understood its scientific nature and valuable value. More and more young people choose to study archaeology, and the protection of cultural relics has gradually formed the masses. consensus.
In September this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that efforts should be made to build archaeology with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese style, so as to better understand the ancient and profound Chinese civilization.
The general secretary's entrustment opened up new opportunities for Chinese archaeology, inspired countless young archaeologists, and planted lofty aspirations in their hearts.
"Archaeology is about Chinese history and cultural self-confidence. It is a public welfare work, and it is a career that goes down to history. Vigorously developing public archaeology and spreading and inheriting Chinese history and culture is our direction." Chen Dahai said, "If life is important Come, I will also choose archaeology. In this vast field, I can find poetry and distant places."
(Our reporter An Shenglan, Peng Jinghui, Gong Liang and Li Danyang)