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The three grand cultural spheres of the Holocene Eurasian Continent

  • Jianye Han
Published/Copyright: December 12, 2024
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Abstract

Based on the typology of ceramic wares and analysis of the spatial distribution, origin, and dispersal of other categories of archaeological remains, it can be determined that three grand cultural spheres existed on the Holocene Eurasian Continent prior to the rise of the Silk Road. These were the Early Eastern Cultural Sphere, centered around the Yellow River valley and the Yangtze River valley; the Early Western Cultural Sphere, centered around the Tigris-Euphrates River valley (Mesopotamia); the Early Northern Cultural Sphere, located to the north of the Eastern and Western Cultural Spheres. Due to cultural interactions, collisions, and exchanges, there were large intersection zones between the three grand cultural spheres.


Postscript

The original article 全新世亚欧大陆的三大文化圈 was published in Kaogu 考古(Archaeology) 2021.11:64–75 with one figure and 80 notes. The English version, translated by Siping Qiu 邱四平, has removed the notes.


Further readings

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Published Online: 2024-12-12
Published in Print: 2024-12-15

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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