International Conference on Prehistoric Rotary Technology and Related Issues at Macao

Date: 17-20 June 2013

Organizers: Civil and Municipal Affairs of Macao
Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Centre for Chinese Archaeology and Art, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole, The University of Hong Kong

Committee Chairs: Choi Chi Hong, Wang Wei, Tang Chung, Liu Guoxiang, Cheng Wai Ming

Committee Members: Loi Chi Pang, Ao Ieong Wai In, Tam Weng Chao Tracy, Wong Wan Cheung, Tang Hok Sze Mana, Chan Tak Hou

Venue: Carmo Hall of Taipa, Macao

The invention of rotary machinery is at the foundation of important technological advancements throughout history. This wheel-based technology has an outstanding history in China. Yet as notably described by science historian Joseph Needham, its written record generally begins only from the use of horse chariots in the Shang-Zhou period. Archaeological discoveries in recent years, however, reveal that rotary technology already played a significant role in the production of jades, pottery and woodwork in Neolithic China. In particular, Neolithic jade technology was at the forefront of rotary technology of the time.

In Neolithic China, an advanced hollow tube drilling technique has been seen on jades from 6,000-7,000 years b.p., which we speculate are related to the invention and utilisation of rotary technology in the region. Fast wheel throwing pottery from approximately 6,000 years ago was also discovered along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. In Hac Sa, Macau, we have excavated some stone bearings for rotary machinery in a slit ring jade workshop in recent years. From the unearthed positions of related artifacts, we have gained an initial understanding of the wheel-based perforation technology used here. Further investigation suggests that many similar stone bearings are found in Neolithic China, from the Liao River Basin to South China. These discoveries have significant implications for the study of prehistoric wheel technology. To bring attention to a need for further academic research and discussion in this area of study, we have decided to hold a conference on the history of the science and technology of rotary machinery.

Conference topics include:

1. Comparison of the invention and evolution of rotary machinery in Eurasia

2. Drilling technology and rotary machinery on Neolithic jades in China

3. Pottery, woodwork and rotary machinery in Neolithic China

4. Analyses of age, typology and function of excavated stone bearings across China and East Asia

5. Exploration of the relationship of rotary machinery in the historical era and prehistoric China

Technological advances and economic development are closely related to the birth of Chinese civilisation. This conference is the result of research on jade technology in the Origin of the Chinese Civilisation Project supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology and hosted by the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. This conference invites local and overseas scholars from Europe, Russia and mainland China, who are experts in related fields of study in Archaeology and the History of Science and Technology.

17 June 2013, Monday

Guests Arrival and Registration in Macao

18:30

Welcoming Dinner at Hotel (Host: The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

18 June 2013, Tuesday

09:30-09:50

Opening Ceremony

Opening Remarks by:

Tam Vai Man       (President, Administrative Committee, Civil and Municipal Affairs of Macao)

Wang Wei          (Director, The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

Tang Chung        (Director, Centre for Chinese Archaeology and Art, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Hu Xiao Zhong     (Academic Representative, Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole, The University of Hong Kong)

09:50-09:55

Taking Group Photos

09:55-10:30

Book Release:

Archaeological Excavation of Prehistoric Lapidary Workshop in Hac Sa, Macao, China

Keynote Speech:

Tang Chung         “Investigations on the Origin of Chinese Civilization and the Discovery of Early Rotary Machinery”

(Department of History/Centre for Chinese Archaeology and Art, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

10:30-11:15

Chair: Luan Fengshi

(The School of History and Culture, Shandong University)

Speakers:

Wang Wei          “Recent Developments in the Investigation of the Origin of Chinese Civilization”

(The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

Guo Dashun, Sun Li   “Application of Rotary Technology in Jades of the Hongshan Culture”

(Liaoning Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology; Liaoning Provincial Museum)

11:15-11:30

Discussion

11:30-11:45

Tea Break

11:45-12:40

Chair: Chen Chung-yu

(Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica)

Speakers:

A.P. Derevianko, M.V. Shunkov, and P.V. Volkov

“A Paleolithic Bracelet from Denisova Cave”

paper abstract read in absentia by Wen Yadi, postgraduate student in History, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

(Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences)

Sergei Komissarov    “Jade Implements in the Finds of Russian Archaeologists”

(Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences)

Haris Procopiou      “Rotary Devices during the Bronze Age at the Aegean World: Potter’s Wheels and Stone Drilling Devices”

(The Rene Ginouves Institute for Archaeology and Anthropology, Pantheon-Sorbonne University)

12:40-12:55

Discussion

13:10-14:00

Lunch Break

14:15-15:20

Chair: Guo Dashun

(Liaoning Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)

Speakers:

Li Wenjie           “Pottery Production with Rotary Machinery in Ancient China”

(National Museum of China)

Luan Fengshi        “Comparative Study of Haidai Longshan Culture Pottery Molding Technology and Modern Fast Wheel Throwing”

(The School of History and Culture, Shandong University)

Feng Lisheng        “Origins and Early Applications of Axle and Related Mechanical Devices in China”

(Institute of Science, Technology and Society, Tsinghua University)

15:20-15:35

Discussion

15:35-15:50

Tea Break

15:50-16:55

Chair: Feng Lisheng

(Institute of Science, Technology and Society, Tsinghua University)

Speakers:

Liu Guoxiang        “Xinglongwa Culture Slit Rings and Rotary Motion Processing”

(The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

　Wang Hui           “Majiayao Culture Type Stone Tool Processing Technology of the Dongxiang Linjia Site in Gansu Province”

(Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology)

Lv Hongliang        “Shang and Zhou period jade tubular drilling techniques in the Sichuan Basin”

(Department of Archaeology, Sichuan University)

16:55-17:10

Discussion

17:10-17:55

Chair: Liu Guoxiang

(The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

Speakers:

Wang Yongji        “Neither ‘Ritual Jade’ Nor ‘Confucianism’ - On Jade Culture's Contribution to Chinese Civilization”

(Xinhua News Agency)

Ye Xiaohong        “SEM Analysis of Stone Bearings Used during Prehistoric Jade Production”

(The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

17:55-18:10

Discussion

18:25

Dinner

19 June 2013, Wednesday

09:30-10:35

Chair: Wu Weihong

(Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)

Speakers:

Duan Hongzhen      “Prehistoric Rotary Stone Tools of Beifudi Site in Yi County of Hebei Province”

(Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)

Huang Jianqiu       “Liangzhu Culture jade perforation and drilling technologies”

(Department of History, Nanjing Unviersity)

Zhao Ye           “Liangzhu Wooden Objects and Their Processing Using Rotary Machinery”

(Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics)

10:35-10:50

Discussion

10:50-11:05

Tea Break

11:05-12:10

Chair: Fang Xiangming

(Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics)

Speakers:

Sun Zhouyong     “Investigation of the Ring and Slit Ring Drilling Techniques Used in the Qijia Slit Ring Production Workshop in Shanxi Province”

(Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology)

Wu Weihong        “Rings, Slit Rings and ‘Bearing’-shaped Tools in the Lingjiatan Culture”

(Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)

Liu Bing           “Research on the Jade Production Technology of Prehistoric China”

(Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics)

12:10-12:25

Discussion

12:40-14:00

Lunch Break

14:15-15:20

Chair: Liu Bing

(Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics)

Speakers:

Fang Xiangming            “Production of Rings and Slit Rings at Fangjiazhou Neolithic Site, Tonglu”

(Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics)

Chen Chung-yu, Tang Chung “Discovery of Qu Bing Technology in Taiwan and Its Significance”

(Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica; Department of History/Centre for Chinese Archaeology and Art, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Kuo Su-chiu               “Prehistoric Rotary Machinery and Jade Production in Taiwan”

(Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica)

15:20-15:35

Discussion

15:35-15:50

Tea Break

15:50-16:55

Chair: Sun Zhouyong

(Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology)

Speakers:

Jianjun Mei        “Archaeological Evidence for the Application of Rotary Technology in Metalworking in Pre-Qin China”

(Institute of Historical Metallurgy and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing/Needham Research Institute, University of Cambridge (Designate))

Ji Ping, Tang Chung   “North-south systems of Hamin jade drilling”

(Inner Mongolia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology; Department of History/Centre for Chinese Archaeology and Art, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Guan Xiaowu        “Investigating the Function of the Ring Polish Stones Unearthed at Baojingwan Prehistoric Site in Zhuhai”

(The Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

16:55-17:10

Discussion

17:10-18:15

Concluding Discussion and Closing Ceremony

Chairs: Luan Fengshi, Tang Chung

(The School of History and Culture, Shandong University; Department of History/Centre for Chinese Archaeology and Art, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Closing Remarks by:

Wang Wei          (Director, The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

Jianjun Mei         (Director, Institute of Historical Metallurgy and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing/ Designated Director, Needham Research Institute, University of Cambridge)

18:30

Closing Banquet

20 Jun 2013, Thursday

09:30-12:30

Guests visit Museum of Taipa and Coloane History (stone bearings in display)

Guests visit Hac Sa site

Guests leave Macao