This book focuses on prehistoric East Asian maritime cultures that pre-dated the Maritime Silk Road, the "Four Seas" and "Four Oceans" navigation system recorded in historical documents of ancient China. Origins of the Maritime Silk Road can be traced to prosperous Neolithic and Metal Age maritime-oriented cultures dispersed along the coastlines of prehistoric China and Southeast Asia. The topics explored here include Neolithisation and the development of prehistoric maritime cultures during the Neolithic and early Metal Age; the expansion and interaction of these cultures along coastlines and across straits; the "two-layer" hypothesis for explaining genetic and cultural diversity in south China and Southeast Asia; prehistoric seafaring and early sea routes; the paleogeography and vegetation history of coastal regions; Neolithic maritime livelihoods based on hunting/fishing/foraging adaptations; rice and millet cultivation and their dispersal along the coast and across the open sea; and interaction between farmers and maritime-oriented hunter/fisher/foragers. In addition, a series of case studies enhances understanding of the development of prehistoric navigation and the origin of the Maritime Silk Road in the Asia-Pacific region.

Autorentext
Chunming Wu ( B.A. and M.A. in Archaeology and PH.D. in Chinese History from Xiamen University) is currently a researcher at Xiamen University's Center for Maritime Archaeology. Dr. Wu's interests are in the field of maritime archaeology, and the prehistoric culture and early aboriginal ethno- history of southeast China and Southeast Asia. He was awarded a visiting scholarship by the American Council of Learned Society & Luce Foundation at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and Harvard Yenching Institute, Harvard University.
He has published 6 monographs: Archaeological Research of the History and Cultures of Prehistoric Aboriginals in Southeast China (1999), Archaeological Research of Capital of Min-Yue Kingdom of Han Dynasty(1998), The Shipwreck Archaeology in Seas Surrounding China (2003), Maritime Archaeology (2007), The Maritime Cultural Interaction between Indigenous Yue and Austronesian (2012), The Archaeological and Historical Research on the Maritime Cultural Heritage (2016), and more than 150 academic papers.
Barry Vladimir Rolett (Pomona College, B.A.; Yale University, M.Phil. and Ph.D.) is a professor of Anthropology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He has conducted archaeological research in Polynesia and on the coast of southeast China. Polynesian origins can be traced to southeast China, explaining why his research drew him there.Dr. Rolett's work in China is collaborative and interdisciplinary, investigating Neolithic cultures, maritime adaptation, the spread of rice agriculture and the ultimate origins of the Polynesians. As part of this work, he helped initiate the first Sino-American collaboration for archaeological research in Fujian.
In the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia, Dr. Rolett has led more than twenty expeditions and collaborated with the local community to establish the Te Ana Peua archaeology museum, which exhibits and curates the artifacts discovered during their projects.

Inhalt
List of Figures List of TablesIntroduction Chunming Wu and Barry V. Rolett
Part I: Neolithic and Metal Age Maritime Cultures of South China and Southeast Asia
1 A Synthetic Analysis of the Neolithic Origins of Eastern and Southeastern Asia's Maritime Silk RoadChunming Wu1.1 Introduction1.2 A Brief Review of the Traditional Meanings Associated with the Maritime Silk Road1.2.1 The Maritime Transportation between East and West and Its Role in the Ancient System of "Four Seas " and "Four Oceans " Navigation in China1.2.2 The Indigenous Yi and Yue Origins of the Maritime Silk Road1.3 The Neolithic Seafaring Origins of the Historical North OceanNautical Route to Koryo and Bohai from Dengzhou among the Indigenous Yi1.4 The Origins of the East Ocean Navigation Network in the Maritime Emigration of Indigenous Bai-Yue and Proto-Austronesians1.5 The Origins of the Historical "South China Sea Route via Xuwen and Hepu" in Maritime Culture of Indigenous South-Yue and Luo-Yue1.6 ConclusionReferences
2 A Maritime Route Brought First Farmers to Mainland Southeast AsiaCharles Higham2.1 Introduction2.2 The Fuzhou Basin2.3 The Red River Region2.4 The Dong Nai River2.5 The Gulf of Siam2.6 Discussion and ConclusionsReferences
3 The Origins, Expansion, and Decline of Early Hunter-Gatherers along the South China CoastHsiaochun Hungand Chi Zhang3.1 Introduction3. 2 The Coastline of Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi3. 2.1 Fujian Region3. 2.2 Guangdong and Guangxi3. 3 Hainan and Taiwan3. 3.1 Hainan3. 3.2 Taiwan3. 4 Coordinating Lines of Evidence about Ancient Coastal Peoples3. 4.1 Subsistence3. 4.2 Burial Practice and Physical Affiliation3. 5 Origins and Decline3. 5.1 External Source 1: Inland Fujian-Guangdong-Guangxi3. 5.2 External Source 2: The Middle and Lower Yangtze River3. 6 ConclusionsReferences
4 Pollen Evidence for Human-Induced Landscape Change Reveals the History of Agriculture Development in Southeastern ChinaTing Maand Zhuo Zheng4.1 Introduction4.2 Pollen Records Reveal Human-Induced Landscape Changes in Southeastern China4.3 Conclusion: The Three Stages of Rice Domestication in Southeast ChinaReferences
5 Subsistence Patterns Associated with Shell Middens from the Pre-Qin Period in Coastal Region of China.Luo Zhao5.1 Introduction5.2 Overview of Shell Middens in China5.3 Subsistence Patterns Associated with Shell Middens5.3.1 The Exploitation of Fauna and Flora5.3.2 The Domestication of Fauna and Flora5.3.3 Shell Middens and Subsistence in China5.4 Changing Subsistence Patterns Based on Shell Middens5.4.1 The Appearance of Shell Middens in China5.4.2 Changing Subsistence Patterns in Shell Middens5.4.3 The Decline of Shell Middens5.5, ConclusionReferences
6 A Preliminary Analysis of the Development of Neolithic Culture in Coastal Region of Guangdong<div&...