Wednesday, October 10, 2018

From the Mountains to the Sea: Archaeology Internship 2017-2018 Exhibition 上山下海:香港中文大學人類學系考古實習成果展


From the Mountains to the Sea
Sichuan Sanxingdui • Jiangkou Battlefield & Guangdong Nanhai No.I Shipwreck
Archaeology Internship 2017-2018 Exhibition

上山下海 —— 四川三星堆及江口古戰場.廣東南海I號沉船遺址:香港中文大學人類學系考古實習成果展 



Date: 15 Oct - 20 Dec 2018
Venue: University Library, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Only through the “touching the ground” experience, can we understand the meaning of material culture in the past and explain to our contemporaries why we need to care about archaeological ruins. Our students learned a wide range of fieldwork skills and techniques through these meaningful archaeological internships. More important, the hands-on experience provides a great chance to them for better understanding the Bronze Age civilization in Sichuan and the Jiangkou sunken treasure legend. To team up with the underwater archaeology group, we want to present not only the fascinating archaeological experience “From the Mountains (Sichuan) to the Sea (Guangdong)” but also provide the general public some reflections inspired by these internships such as the variety and diversity of ancient civilizations in China and the role of Guangdong and Sichuan on the ancient Silk Roads. You are all cordially invited to visit this upcoming exhibition and attend the following activities.

(1) Opening Ceremony Online Registration
Date:19 Oct 2018 (Fri)
Time:2:30 pm
Venue:University Library, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

(2) Centre for Cultural Heritage Studies Talk Series 2018/ Exhibition Talk Series 1 Online Registration

Title: New Understanding of the Sanxingdui Site in Sichuan - The Ancient Walled Town and Sacrificial Pits at Sanxingdui (in Putonghua) 四川三星堆遺址的新認識 - 三星堆古城與器物坑 (普通話)

Speaker: Prof. SUN Hua (School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University)
Date:19 Oct 2018 (Fri)
Time: 4:00-6:00 pm

Venue: C1 T.C. Cheng Building, United College

Abstract:四川廣漢市的三星堆遺址是古代蜀國的中心都城,這裡曾有著名的三星堆“祭祀坑”的發現。隨著成都平原青銅時代考古的快速發展,三星堆遺址考古工作的全面推進,以及兩個器物坑文物復原研究的新成果,我們對三星堆遺址、三星堆文化和三星堆古代國家也有了全新的認識。講座分前後兩部分,第一部分是從三星堆遺址入手,對三星堆古城的演變、佈局、規劃思想及其影響提出了新看法;第二部分是從三星堆“祭祀坑”的器物入手,結合新的考古發現,對三星堆國家的族群構成、統治集團、宗教觀念和社會狀態進行新的闡釋。

Speaker bio:孫華,北京大學考古文博學院教授、北京大學考古文博學院學術委員會主任、北京大學文化遺產保護研究中心主任、國務院學位委員會考古學科評議組成員、全國古籍整理出版規劃領導小組成員。主要研究領域為中國青銅時代考古、中國西南地區考古和文化遺產保護。主要著述有《四川盆地的青銅時代》、《神秘的王國――對三星堆文明的初步理解和解釋》等。




Organizers 主辦:
Department of Anthropology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong 香港中文大學人類學系Centre for Cultural Heritage Studies 文化遺產研究中心
Sichuan Archaeology Research Institute, China 四川省文物考古研究院

Co-organizer 協辦: University Library, The Chinese University of Hong Kong 香港中文大學圖書館

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

重構早期嶺南——近年重大考古發現與跨學科研究工作坊



近年來,嶺南地區先秦-秦漢時期重大的考古發現不斷,大大豐富了學界研究嶺南早期歷史的資料,亦改變以往對這一地區社會複雜化進程的認識。為進一步推動多學科的考古前沿研究,促進香港中文大學與毗鄰及相關研究機構的合作,現擬於2018518日(五)舉行研究工作坊,並於519日(六)與香港考古學會就文化遺產保育及公眾考古的實踐經驗舉行與談。

時間: 518-19
地點: 香港中文大學圖書館數碼學術研究室

5月18日上午

09:00-09:30嘉賓致辭、團體合照及前言介紹 

09:30-10:50早期嶺南近年成果介紹

09:30-09:45 韓維龍(廣州市文物考古研究院):珠三角地區區域考古調查的實踐與收穫

09:45-10:00 張強祿(廣州市文物考古研究院):廣州黃埔茶嶺和甘草嶺遺址考古發現

10:00-10:15 呂良波(廣州市文物考古研究院):廣州出土漢代玻璃的科學分析與研究

10:15-10:35 李岩(廣東省考古研究所):海上絲綢之路背景下的徐聞和相關考古發現

10:35-10:50 問答環節

11:00-12:15早期嶺南的文明化與族群

11:00-11:20 安賦詩 Francis Allard (印第安納賓夕法尼亞大學) :青銅時代東南中國的社會層級與系統穩定性

11:20-11:40 楊建軍(珠海市博物館): 嶺南商周時期墓葬研究

11:40-12:00 鄭君雷(中山大學): 漢代「土墩墓」中的「百越民族史」問題

12:00-12:15 問答環節 

5月18日下午

14:00-14:40早期嶺南研究的新角度:科技與社會分析 I

14:00-14:20 傅一嘉(香港中文大學):嶺南東部青銅時代夔紋陶的生產與群體建構

14:20-14:40 林永昌(香港中文大學):盜鑄還是筦鐵:廣州漢墓出土鐵器的冶金分析與流通考察

14:40-14:50 問答環節 

15:00-16:00早期嶺南研究的新角度:科技與社會分析 II

15:00-15:20 余翀(中山大學): 嶺南地區史前至青銅時代早期的生業模式

15:20-15:40 陳琴(香港中文大學(深圳)): 浮濱文化的禮制繼承與傳播

15:40-16:00 米夏 Michelle Demandt(暨南大學):嶺南青銅時代中晚期陶器變遷與生產組織

16:00-16:10問答環節 

16:10-16:50 與會公開討論

與會代表、謝肅(暨南大學)、黃慧怡(香港中文大學)、吳偉鴻(香港考古學會)、范旼澔 Mick Atha(香港中文大學) 

16:50-17:00總結發言

5月19日上午 

9:00-11:30 與香港考古學會討論粵港公眾考古問題及經驗分享,主要內容包括文化遺產法規體系及近年相關工作。


Tuesday, April 17, 2018

2018 Anthropology Final Year Project Forum


The 2018 Anthropology Final Year Project Forum will be held on 25 April (Wed), 1:30-6:15 pm, MMW LT2. All interested are welcome--please come to share the moments of inspiration and fun with our students and teachers!

Thursday, March 15, 2018

2018 Anthropology Methods Summer Workshop Recruitment!


2018 Anthropology Methods Summer Workshop

Department of Anthropology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Purpose

The Anthropology Methods Summer Workshop will teach students about research design and train them in qualitative and ethnographic research methods. The students will develop their own research proposals, with the opportunity to receive critical comments from teachers. They will also benefit from peer learning, and will experience the advanced pedagogical techniques used at CUHK. This training and experience will broaden students’ horizons, helping them in their future studies.

Timing

The Workshop will be held from Friday 15 to Tuesday 19 June 2018, including morning and afternoon class sessions, and two half-day field trips as practicum for the topics covered in the Workshop. The Dragon Boat Festival will serve as a setting for a practical exercise in developing observational, note-taking, and interviewing skills.

Target Students

Students majoring or minoring in Anthropology, Ethnology or related disciplines (e.g. Sociology, Cultural Studies, Social History, Religion, etc.) intending to pursue postgraduate degrees will be eligible for the Workshop. Priority will be given to senior undergraduates and MA/MPhil students, as they will soon be applying to PhD programmes. All students will be expected to be able to function at a high level in English since that will be the primary language of the Workshop.

Seminar Topics:

  • Research Design: How to Frame a Proposal for Ethnographic Research
  • Research Ethics in Anthropology
  • The Literature Review
  • The Statement of Goals and Significance
  • Interviewing Skills
  • When and How to Use Questionnaires
  • Participant Observation and Rapport
  • Keeping and Retrieving Field Notes
  • Direct and Unobtrusive Observation
  • Using and Analyzing Visual Media
  • Text Analysis and Identifying Themes
  • Ethnographic Writing

Teaching

Dr. Joseph Bosco, who has taught the postgraduate methods seminar for 24 years, and was Graduate Division Head for 19 years in the Department of Anthropology, CUHK, will lead the workshop. He will attend all sessions with the students; some current teachers from the Department and advanced PhD students in the Anthropology Department will participate in the Workshop to discuss their fieldwork experiences and answer questions, giving participants a practical and deeper understanding of fieldwork.

Costs and Expenses

The Workshop is free. Free on-campus accommodation and a modest meal allowance will be provided. Students are expected to cover the cost of transportation to Hong Kong and to the CUHK campus. Please consult your local authorities for visa procedure and fees.

Application

Application deadline: Saturday 21 April, 2018 (Successful candidates will be notified by Friday 4 May, 2018)

Application procedure:
Please fill in the online application form and upload supporting documents, including:
1) Official transcripts (mandatory)
2)Two letters of recommendation (mandatory)
3)Two short essays (under 800 words in total) in English, with the prompts “I want to pursue postgraduate studies in anthropology because…” and “The research topic I am most interested in is….” (mandatory)
4)TOEFL or IELTS scores, or any other evidence of English ability (optional)

If you cannot access the online form, you can send your name, institution and contact email as well as the supporting documents to anthropology@cuhk.edu.hk by the same deadline, titled “2018 Anthropology Methods Summer Workshop Application”.



2018年暑期人類學方法工作坊

香港中文大學人類學系

時間:2018615~19日(星期五~星期二,共五日,包括端午節期間的實地田野考察
地點:香港中文大學

暑期人類學方法工作坊面向人類學、民族學或其他相關學科(如社會學、文化研究、歷史學、宗教學等)、有志於攻讀碩士或博士學位的學生。該工作坊由香港中文大學人類學系前研究生主任Prof. Joseph Bosco指導,教授定性及民族誌研究方法,幫助學生制定自己的研究計劃。人類學系的其他教師及博士生亦會分享田野調查中的親身經驗。工作坊將主要以英語進行,主題包括:

•研究設計:如何為民族誌研究撰寫計劃書
人類學研究倫理學
文獻綜述
研究目標與意義
訪談技巧
問卷調查
參與式觀察
田野筆記
直接與無干擾觀察
可視媒體的使用及分析
文本分析
民族誌寫作

申請須知:
1. 工作坊不收取學費,提供免費校內住宿和少量膳食津貼。學生需要承擔交通費用,並自行處理來港出入境事宜。
2. 申請截止日期為2018421日,錄取者將在201854日前收到通知。
3. 申請程序:
請填妥網上申請表,並上傳申請文件,包括
1)官方成績單
2)兩封推薦信
3)兩篇短文,主題分別為「我想攻讀人類學研究生,因為……」以及「我最感興趣的研究課題是……」(合共不超過800字,以英文撰寫)
4)托福或雅思成績,或其他英語能力證明(該項可選)

如無法填寫網上表格,在截止日期前將姓名、所在學系和聯繫電子郵件連同申請文件發送至anthropology@cuhk.edu.hk,標題為“2018 Anthropology Methods Summer Workshop Application”.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

[Roundtable Workshop Recap] Maritime Archaeology and Ceramic Road in Southeast Asia and China


Roundtable Workshop: Maritime Archaeology and Ceramic Road in Southeast Asia and China

Date: December 1, 2017

Speakers and Topics:
Mr. Chhay Rachna (Angkor Ceramic Unit, APSARA Authority, Siem Reap, Cambodia)
Topic: Understanding the Context of Khmer Ceramics and Kilns and their Association with Cross-Cultural Exchange

Dr. Ellen Hsieh (Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA)
Topic: Non-invasive Scientific Analysis on Trade Ceramics from Consumption Sites and Shipwrecks

Dr. Brian Fahy (The Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology, University of Oxford)
Topic:Seeing the Forest for the Trees: A Holistic Study of Southeast Asian Shipwreck Assemblages

     Ceramics has always been one of the main focuses in the field of maritime archaeology. On 1st December 2017, a Roundtable Workshop was held by our department, inviting three guest speakers to share their thoughts on maritime archaeology and ceramics. We had Mr. Chhay Rachna from Angkor Ceramic Unit, APSARA Authority, sharing on Khmer ceramics and kilns and their connections with other Southeast Asia cultural groups; Dr. Ellen Hsieh, from Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles, talked about non-invasive scientific analysis on trade ceramics found in shipwrecks and consumption sites; Dr. Brian Fahy, from The Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology, University of Oxford, presented his arguments on the essentiality of establishing a holistic study of Southeast Asian shipwreck assemblages.
Prof. Sharon Wong giving a welcoming speech
Khmer ceramics produced in the Angkorian period were only for local use, suggested by Mr. Chhay, while relations and interactions with outer regions lied within the economy of ceramic imports. Mr. Chhay studied the Khmer interactions with other regions in ceramics during the Angkorian period by comparing ceramics found in the production sites and consumption sites, and evidence from terrestrial archaeological sites beyond Khmer Empire and Southeast Asian shipwrecks.
The presentation mainly focused on three primary stoneware ceramic production sites, namely the Angkorian core region group (Group I), provincial Angkorian production centre (Group II), and late Angkorian production centre (Group III). The ceramics in Group I are mainly green glazed and unglazed. White clay was used to make small glazed containers, while grey clay from the nearby source was used to make unglazed ceramics. Stoneware excavated in kilns of Group I ranges from roof tiles to boxes, bottles, pots, plates, large jars and large basins, with diverse patterns incised by potters. For Group II, most of the ceramics found were brown glazed and dark green glazed, made of red clay, and supported by regular fire clay inside the kilns differing from irregular fire clays found in Group I. Most of the stoneware found in Group III were likewise brown glazed, produced in kilns with structural elements similar to those in Group II.
Mr. Chhay argued, these Khmer wares were for daily use, commonly excavated in various consumption sites, while imported Chinese ceramics tended to be more precious, bulk of Chinese ceramics assemblages were rare to be found outside the Greater Angkor Region which is the elite context. For instance, in Prei Monti Temple in Roluos, which was the early Angkorian site from the 9th Century, 17.5% of excavated ceramics were imported, with 73.6% Khmer earthenware and 8.9% Khmer stoneware. There were Chinese ceramics and ceramics from other countries found in archaeological sites that are located in Greater Angkor Region, but no Khmer ceramics was found in both terrestrial archaeological sites beyond Khmer Empire and Southeast Asian shipwrecks. By comparing ceramics in production sites and consumption sites and evidence from shipwrecks, Mr. Chhay proposed that ceramics from the mentioned three sites were for local consumption; the relations and interactions with outer region were found to be in the import trade as abundant ceramics from other regions were found in elite consumption sites.
Mr. Chhay Rachna
Archaeologists face various challenges when they adopt prevalent methods to identify ceramics. There are visual analysis, which includes the observation of the types, forms, glazes, pastes and decorative patterns of ceramics, and scientific analysis, such as the study of chemical composition, crystallization process and weathering process. The visual analysis did not serve well for archaeological research, which often involves dirty, broken, tiny sherds with no decoration, while scientific analysis requires sophisticated invasive laboratory instruments which are not suitable for the large quantity of sherds or to be used on site, given the time and money they cost, and the damages they made on the sherds. In response to these problems, Dr. Ellen Hsieh proposed non-invasive portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) and fiber optics reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) for the identification of ceramics in archaeological context. The presentation mainly focused on the application of pXRF, and the pXRF patterns of chemical elements in blue pigments and white areas on ceramics produced in Jingdezhen, Zhangzhou from China and Hizen from Japan were shown. Dr. Hsieh analyzed the pigments of blue-and-white ceramics found on Santa Cruz shipwreck from the Philippines with pXRF and identified them to be produced in Jingdezhen by comparing the data which the compositional pattern of pigments in Jingdezhen ceramics found to be highly matched with those on Santa Cruz, showing cobalt-based blue pigments, with poor Iron and rich Manganese. Dr. Hsieh presented her application of non-invasive technology in identifying ceramics and argued that this provides new possible ways to see global networks from chemical composition.

Dr. Ellen Hsieh
A ceramic-centered narrative is not enough to understand a shipwreck, argued by Dr. Brian Fahy, who agreed the importance of ceramics but also other often-neglected materials that could be found on shipwrecks. Dr. Fahy studied the materials that were excavated in six Southeast Asian shipwrecks and sites, namely Turiang, Bakau, Rang Kwien, Ko Si Chang III, Lena Shoal, and Santa Cruz. These materials include iron sand, tin ingots, Chinese coins, manufactured materials such as mirrors, armaments such as lantakas, sword and spearhead, net weight, fishing hook, duck egg, aniseed, peppercorns, minerals, beads, grinding stone, earthenware, and so forth. The study of these materials can serve for a better understanding of the social, economic and political context of the past. For instance, the rosette on the tin ingots found on Turiang, a shipwreck near to Malaysia, corresponds to the pattern on the money used in Malaysia. What does this phenomenon imply? What is the significance of the pattern? This may need further study, but it shows how these materials play a role in facilitating us to understand the past. With the consideration of the aforementioned materials, Dr. Fahy argued that it will give us a more complete picture of the networks as established by the ships back then.
Dr. Brian Fahy


Text: Sonia Fung Lok Shan

【星期五探討會回顧】臺灣文化資產中的窯業遺跡與傳世古陶瓷調查研究


日期: 29/9/2017
講者: 盧泰康教授 (國立台南藝術大學藝術)
題目: 臺灣文化資產中的窯業遺跡與傳世古陶瓷調查研究



盧教授以介紹三種不同的窯為線索,輔以詳實有趣的研究經歷,幫助聽眾理清台灣陶瓷業在不同歷史時期的發展脈絡。他先從瓦窯(即主要負責燒製烏瓦的窯)開始,提及建築材料燒製的特點:多就地取材,就地使用;少長途流通。各地燒製的特點造就不同地方的建築特徵:台灣的磚瓦多為紅色,著名的例子有台南的赤崁樓

另外是漏窯以及糖漏的發掘和發現過程。糖漏是工業化製糖之前臺灣對紅糖進行脫色加工以生產白糖的重要用具。在文獻資料中,糖漏曾以瓦溜等一系列其他名稱出現。日治時代,殖民者對台灣糖業進行了工廠化改革,這種相對傳統且低效的脫色方式也逐漸被遺忘。漏窯的發現,包括糖漏、漏罐和底座等一系列器物的復原,彌補了這一世代記憶和考古材料上的缺環,讓研究者對明清時期的製糖工藝有更完整的理解。

第三種盧教授重點介紹蛇窯。盧教授結合自己在福建德化縣等地的考察經歷,從蛇窯」、「龍窯這些名稱上清台灣和福建地區窯業的關係。除了講解蛇窯的結構、運作原理和產品特徵外,盧教授重點介紹蛇窯在台灣各區的分佈及台灣文化資產普查工作的現狀。南投窯作為蛇窯在台灣的案例,盧教授從分佈在台灣各地寺廟的香爐入手分析南投窯的生產概況。根據統計數據清代和日治時期的香爐多於戰後,其反映南投窯生產規模和銷售範圍的縮小。從這個例子可以看出臺灣本土窯業和整體歷史進展的互動。



除此之外,雲林縣西螺鎮福興宮收藏的太平媽南投窯香爐也是另一個窯業研究物件。尤其是其中採用的不同科技手段,包括傳統的考古測繪、顯微放大鏡和螢光射線進行分析。通過顯微放大手段,我們可以知道香爐壁的文字是怎麼寫上去的,用切片釉層元素的測定結果讓我們能確定香爐的燒成溫度不會太高。盧教授的例子生動說明,各種科技手段在考古中應用可以讓考古發現和研究更加立體和全面,其背後代表的跨學科研究思維也是考古和歷史研究未來的發展趨勢。

講座結束之後,在場師生針對盧教授講座的內容,對台灣窯業和古代對外貿易之間的關係進行熱烈討論。

文:鄧曉懿

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

[Friday Seminar Recap] Family Runs in the Vessels, Vines Run Through the Family: An Anthropologist Engages with Systemic Therapy



Date: November 17, 2017
Speaker: Teresa Kuan (Department of Anthropology, CUHK)
Title: Family Runs in the Vessels, Vines Run Through the Family: An Anthropologist Engages with Systemic Therapy



In this Friday Seminar, Dr. Kuan started by introducing the background of her paper. Firstly, kinship was once considered the “real guts of social anthropology”, and is a field of study recently invigorated by Marshall Sahlins’ new book, What Kinship Is--And Is Not. In this book, Sahlins defines kinship as “the mutuality of being”, and kinship, as Dr. Kuan points out, is about not only relationships but also how people construct their realities, especially the boundaries between the self and the other. While modern people are taught that the self ends at the surface of the skin, this is not how most of us experience actual life. Kin, as Sahlins puts it, “are people who live each other’s lives and die each other’s deaths”.

Secondly, in recently years, China anthropologists are discussing a “psycho-boom”, as a new, private sector of mental health services has been growing in China. Dr. Kuan did fieldwork in a research institute established in 2014 for family research and family therapy in Shanghai. The institute is embedded in a private wellness company founded by an overseas Chinese businessman. A lot of money was poured into the facilities, in order to train new therapists. Well-established professionals from the state sector act as mentors, and the trainees are mostly middle-aged women who have gone into counseling as a second career. The families seen at this field-site tend to be middle-class but this is not always the case. They usually come with a teenager that has been either hospitalized and/or medicated with no signs of improvement.

Dr. Kuan then detailed a case in which the therapeutic process illustrated a problematic transpersonal distribution of resentment and responsibility. The “identified patient” was a teenage girl on anti-depressants, and her parents divorced several years ago yet still got into fights. As the psychiatrist and therapist, whom Dr. Kuan calls Dr. K, analyzed it, with evidence from biofeedback data, the daughter has put herself in her mother’s position, feeling her feelings for her, just as the mother had put herself in her daughter’s position, reading the father’s every “attack” on their daughter as a personal attack on her. This sort of confusion of selves and run of emotions was called “entanglement”, which, as Dr. K believe it, is poisonous rather than nourishing: The girl admitted that she found it increasingly hard to handle schoolwork, and the burden she felt made her want to collapse. Dr. K commented, “Putting too much energy here, things won’t be so smooth in the outside world.”

The purpose of therapy at the Institute, therefore, is “individuation” or “differentiation”. According to Murray Bowen, one of the founders of family therapy, differentiation refers to the degree to which a person is able to remain “objective” even while engaged in ongoing human intercourse. Anxiety determines differentiation. Relationship-oriented, poorly differentiated people put too much “life energy” into seeking “love and approval”. Highly differentiated people, on the other hand, are “more contained”, more “self-determined” and “goal-oriented”. While Dr. Kuan clearly points out Bowen’s idealization of objectivity and rationality, she maintains what this theory highlights is an existential, ethical problem – i.e. the question of how to conduct oneself in one’s relations with others, particularly kin.

In the case described above, Dr. K contended that everyone is trying to control everyone else has confused proper roles and positions, leading to everybody’s shared pain. Dr. Kuan argues that the work that Dr. K does is moral in essence, as the protocol works on human relationships. This kind of family systems therapy exposes and tackles all the grudges and hurts that are either too sensitive or too banal to recognize, let alone address in the course of everyday life. And it is not only about feelings and emotions; the taking of responsibility that is not one’s to take is also consequential in a situation of suffering. Family therapy, as Dr. Kuan sees it, offers one possible (though hardly perfect) response. In conclusion, Dr. Kuan argued that we should pay attention to the difference between individuation and individualization, and avoid reducing everything to the framework of neoliberal governmentality.