Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 38 (4) 2010

Annotation:  Three Scenarios of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition. Scenario 1: The Middle to Upper Paleo Kalavan-2 (North of Lake Sevan, Armenia): A New Late Middle Paleolithic Site in the Lesser Caucasus The Role of Science-Based Methods in the Study of Ancient Pottery as a Source of Historical Informa Physical and Chemical Properties of Ceramics from the Chronologically Transitional (Late Bronze – E The Utinka Burial Peat-Bog Sites in the Eastern Urals The Origin and Development of the Wucheng Culture (in the Context of Intercultural Contacts between Circle Dance Festival “Gorka”: Traditions and Innovations The Open Letters of Sergei Borisov: From the History of Photography in the Altai The Origins of the Andronovo (Fedorovka) Population of Southwestern Siberia, Based on a Middle Bron Models of Man’s Biosocial Adaptation in an Industrial Society   

The Origin and Development of the Wucheng Culture (in the Context of Intercultural Contacts between Bronze Age Inhabitants of the Lower Yangtze Valley and Indochina Peninsula)

S.V. Lapteff.

In the present paper the author makes an attempt to generalize and analyze the fi nds of the late Neolithic and Paleometal Periods from the Middle and Lower Yangtze. The presence of stable contacts (including ethnologically signifi cant traits) is traced between the ancient cultures of this region and the Indochina Peninsula, inhabited by representatives of Austroasiatic peoples (the Viet, the Khmers). Based on comparisons, the Bronze and Iron Age inhabitants of the major part of South China are concluded to be Austroasian. Particular attention is paid to the Wucheng culture and its complex social structure.

Keywords: Yangtze Valley, Bronze Age, Wucheng culture, the Viets (Yue), the Khmers, Austroasiatic Peoples.