Learn about history and decode civilization in the field excavation——


　　Young people rooted in the front line of archaeology

　　2021 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of modern Chinese archaeology.

Over the past century, generations of archaeologists have contributed light and enthusiasm to the construction of archaeology with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese style. Among them, there are many young archaeologists.

They take root on the front line of archaeology and interpret the mission and responsibility of civilization inheritance with practical actions.

　　Zheng Zhexuan:

　　Explore the ancient picture of human origin, evolution, and migration

　　Zheng Zhexuan, a librarian at the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, couldn't hide his excitement when numerous hand axes with standardized shapes and exquisitely crafted ones appeared in front of them.

　　After nearly a year of archaeological excavations at the Piluo site in Daocheng County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, Zheng Zhexuan has gradually adapted to the green summer and snowy winters, and he is familiar with the loess accumulation at the excavation site.

It was here that he led the team to excavate and uncover a wealth of stratum accumulation. More than 7,000 stone products were unearthed from 7 cultural layers, including exquisite hand axes and thin blade axes.

　　Simple, symmetrical, flat and thin... the tools of the ancestors that have been at least 100,000 years old will be admired today.

"This is the most typical form of East Asia, the most exquisitely crafted, the most mature technology, and the most complete combination of Asheli remains." Zheng Zhexuan introduced, Asheli technology is a symbol of the development of early human intelligence and skills to a peak, so much Concerned by the international archaeological community.

These findings provide very important new evidence for further understanding of the tenacious survival and development history of early humans in high-altitude extreme environments.

The discovery of the Pilo site has amazed many experts.

　　This important archaeological discovery is inseparable from the dedication and hard work of young archaeologists such as Zheng Zexuan.

Born in 1988, Zheng Zhexuan studied at the School of Archaeology, Art and Museum of Peking University for both undergraduate and graduate studies. After graduation, he entered the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

In the spring of 2019, Zheng Zexuan set foot on the Western Sichuan Plateau for the first time to conduct archaeological investigations. In his mind, there is always a clue lingering in his mind. In the 1920s and 1930s, some Western scholars suspected to have discovered a hand axe in Ganzi.

After continuous investigation, Zheng Zexuan and his colleagues discovered many Paleolithic sites, including the hand-axe site, but his years of field archaeological experience convinced him: "There will be important new archaeological discoveries in the Western Sichuan Plateau!"

　　In the summer of 2019, under the guidance of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the support of the Sichuan Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage, Zheng Zhexuan led a team to formally carry out a special archaeological survey of the paleolith in the Western Sichuan Plateau.

After more than two years of investigation, he led the team to measure the 200,000 square kilometers of the vast land of the Western Sichuan Plateau. In the harsh environment of high cold, lack of oxygen, high winds, and extreme weather, he climbed high slopes and excavated again and again. .

After hundreds of thousands of bends and tens of millions of steps, they have allowed more than 60 paleolithic sites to be presented, including the Pilo site, which is rich in relics and well-stacked.

　　In 2021, the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Peking University Joint Archaeology Team formed a multidisciplinary team to comprehensively extract multidisciplinary information such as chronology, environmental archaeology, and ancient DNA of the Pilo site.

"From the systematic excavations to the millions of square meters of the site, we found that the interior of the site is an organic aggregate, including a central camp, a stone processing factory, and a temporary camp, which together constructed the habitat of early humans. "At this year’s "Archaeological China" major project important progress meeting held by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Zheng Zhexuan introduced on behalf of the team, "The Pilo site is the largest area discovered on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the most well-preserved stratum, continuous accumulation, and cultural type. The rich and diverse Paleolithic sites are also the first time in the world that a typical Asheli technology system has been discovered in a high-altitude area, filling a gap in Paleolithic archaeology in this area and even on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau."

　　Zheng Zhexuan's professional direction is Paleolithic archaeology, which is relatively unpopular in the field of archaeology, but he enjoys it.

"The main research object of paleolithic archaeologists is the stone tools processed and used by ancient humans. It is necessary to start with simple stone tools and integrate multidisciplinary research to restore the ancient picture of human origin, evolution, and migration little by little." Zheng Zhe Xuan said, "Exploring the unknown and revealing the origin is the charm of archaeology."

　　Jenny:

　　Contribute to the inheritance and promotion of Yangtze River culture

　　"How could a girl want to take the path of archaeology?" Yanni would always be asked this way whenever she mentioned her career.

　　Yan Ni, born in 1981, is the project leader of the women's archaeological team of the Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

In high school, by chance, Yan Ni read "The Mist of the Ancient Gorge" written by archaeologist and science fiction writer Tong Enzheng.

This story about the Sino-US joint archaeological team's search for the remains of the missing Chinese members in the 1920s inspired Yan Ni's interest in archaeology.

When applying for the college entrance examination, Yanni chose the archaeology major of Jilin University. After graduation, she went to the Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology to engage in field archaeological excavation and research.

　　However, when Yanni really entered the forefront of archaeology, she discovered that archaeology was not as simple as she had imagined.

From the 1990s to the beginning of the 21st century, with the archaeological work of the Three Gorges as an opportunity, the protection of Chongqing's cultural heritage has made considerable progress.

In 2012, the female archaeological team of the Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology came into being.

This is a comprehensive team with female professional power as the main body, covering male mechanics and security personnel. Yanni is one of them.

　　Yanni and the members of the female archaeological team are mainly responsible for the rescue excavation of underground cultural relics in the hydro-level zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir in Chongqing.

At the end of May each year, the river water level in the fluctuating zone will drop to about 150 meters; at the beginning of September, the water storage level will rise again to about 175 meters.

Therefore, the excavation time left to the archaeological team is only about 3 months each year.

Yanni said: "In the process of cleaning the tomb, we need to repair the tomb from time to time. When the utensils show up, we still have to squat in the pit to clean up and draw one by one. The clothes on our body are wet, dry, and dry. It was wet, but the girls clenched their teeth and persevered, doing their best to complete the project excavation work."

　　In addition to being the captain of the women's archaeological team, Yan Ni is also a wife and mother.

In order to develop her archaeological career, Yanni sacrificed a lot of time with her family.

Since 2006, she has been on the front line of the field for as little as 6 months and as many as 10 months a year, and has undertaken more than 30 fieldwork.

Despite her hard work, Yan Ni is confident in women's participation in archaeology: "From the perspective of international and domestic practice, female archaeologists have shown meticulous and perceptual characteristics, and have achieved excellent results in their own professional fields. A woman engaged in archaeological work, I will complete various tasks of field archaeology with an optimistic attitude and professional qualities."

　　For 16 years in the industry, Yanni and the women's archaeological team members have completed dialogues with history and solved unknown mysteries in field excavations.

Not only did she realize her original dream, but she also felt deeply responsible: "My personal growth is not only a projection of the vigorous development of Chongqing's cultural heritage protection, but also a testimony of the self-confidence and brilliance of Chinese culture." Recently, Yan Ni Leading the women's archaeological team is carrying out active archaeological work in the tombs of Xiba people in Xiaotianxi, Fuling District, Chongqing, and initiated the planning and preparation of Xiaotianxi Archaeological Site Park.

　　Qiu Zhenwei:

　　One of the knowledge that touches the most extensive scope of time and space of mankind

　　"Aeronautical remote sensing, like an eagle hitting the sky, soaring upward; field surveying, if poetry meets a distant place, strolling in a leisurely courtyard; underwater decryption, like a fish flying on a shallow bottom, surrounded by humans. Settlement rises, landscape is complete, and households can be seen, divided into layers. , Distinguish types, essays, explore ancient humans, observe national folklore, appreciate artistic concepts, and sigh humanity and technology. What are the structural components, how are the crafts and livelihoods, what are the habits of eating, what are the genetic choices..." In commemorating the birth of modern Chinese archaeology In the 100th anniversary article, there is an article titled "Archaeology in My Heart", in which Qiu Zhenwei, director of the Institute of Environmental Archaeology of the National Museum, described archaeological work.

　　Qiu Zhenwei, born in August 1990, entered Anhui University in 2006 to study archaeology. After graduating from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2015, he joined the National Museum of Art.

Qiu Zhenwei said frankly that he was transferred to the archaeology major at the beginning. He had experienced hesitation and entanglement, but slowly discovered the joy of archaeology.

　　After studying archeology for 15 years and working for more than 6 years, Qiu Zhenwei's footprints spread all over the country.

The Xuenan Site in Sihong County, Suqian City, Jiangsu Province, is the first archaeological project carried out by Qiu Zhenwei as the executive leader in archaeological excavations and data compilation; at the Xinglong Site in Kangbao County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, new discoveries have continuously refreshed his understanding of seven to eight thousand years. The knowledge of the cultural features of the Qianbashang area also triggered his interest in the development and evolution of prehistoric archeology culture in northern China. For the Rongcun site in Dongfang City, Hainan Province, Qiu Zhenwei participated in field excavations, data sorting, and completed unearthed plant remains. Research.

　　With the development of the times, the application of science and technology in archaeology is increasing.

While carrying out field archaeological work, Qiu Zhenwei is also committed to the research of plant archaeology and environmental archaeology.

Qiu Zhenwei said that as an important branch and cross-discipline in archaeology, plant archaeology and environmental archaeology use multi-disciplinary technology as a research method to understand and understand the relationship between the ancestors and the environment and plants.

　　"Take a related work carried out in the Taihu Lake Basin in Jiangsu as an example. This is known as the land of fish and rice. The purpose of our archaeological work is to understand how the land of fish and rice was formed." Qiu Zhenwei said, "With the help of comprehensive technical methods such as environmental archaeology and plant archaeology, we You can understand what the environment was like at that time, how it developed to the present, when did the ancestors appear, and what they did at that time."

　　The archaeological team first selected an ancient lake that was less affected by human activities, and used drilling methods to obtain 18-meter-deep sediment soil samples from the ancient lake to obtain environmental information at that time.

Qiu Zhenwei said: “We can infer the tree species at that time based on the pollen found in the sediments, and reconstruct the vegetation landscape that has existed for more than 20,000 years.”

　　At the same time, the team also selected an archaeological site left by human activities near the ancient lake, collected various samples, and analyzed traces of human activities.

"Comparing the two pieces of information, we can evaluate the selection and use of plants by the ancestors, and analyze the impact of the environment and plants on cultural change, population migration, and the origin and development of civilization." Qiu Zhenwei said.

From sample collection, experimental extraction to analysis and discussion, their team completed the restoration and reconstruction of the environmental evolution of many sites, the vegetation landscape, and the selection and utilization of plants of the ancestors.

　　In recent years, archaeology has received more attention and attention from more people, and it has also given young people more opportunities and a broader stage.

"Whether you choose archaeology or archaeology choose you, you should be thankful that you have touched one of the most extensive time and space knowledge of human beings." Qiu Zhenwei said.

　　Our reporter Wang Jue