Excerpt 1: Setting off from Xiyin Village

节选一：从西阴村启程

Behind the Li Ji Memorial Hall in Xiyin Village, Xia County, stands a loess cliff about two meters high—easy to miss without archaeological training. The museum director, Huang Yongjiu, asked us to look closely: the gray patches embedded in the yellow earth were “ash pits,” ancient refuse deposits. In the cut face, shards with hard, sharp edges were faintly visible; in the grass at our feet, more fragments lay scattered—mostly red pottery, with some gray and black ware, and even a few pieces of painted pottery with black patterns on red surfaces. When Li Ji and Yuan Fuli passed through Xiyin on February 22, 1926, they wrote of a place “covered with prehistoric sherds”—this was it.

Li Ji, a Harvard-trained anthropologist and then a lecturer at Tsinghua’s Institute of Chinese Classics, had been advised by Bishop of the Freer Gallery in late 1925 to conduct fieldwork. Before excavating, Li wanted to survey southern Shanxi along the Fen River. He left Beijing on February 5, 1926 with the geologist Yuan Fuli. On arriving in Xia County on February 22, they first visited the legendary Yu the Great Temple and tombs said to belong to Yu’s descendants and famous ministers—yet these appeared to be merely larger ordinary mounds: “judging from appearances alone, I could not be certain they were genuine tombs.”

When they began picking up pottery fragments exposed on the surface, villagers gathered around. To avoid attracting too much attention, they did not stay long. Only on October 15—backed by Tsinghua University and the Freer Gallery—did they return to conduct a formal excavation.

在夏县西阴村的李济纪念馆背后，有一处大约两米高的断壁，看来其貌不扬，若是缺乏考古学知识，可能会直接错过。夏县博物馆馆长黄永久让我们仔细打量，这个高出地面不少的壁面，黄土层里夹杂着的灰色部分正是考古发掘中常见的遗迹“灰坑”，也就是古人的垃圾坑。若看仔细点，崖壁里还隐隐露出不少有着硬朗边缘的碎陶片，再扒拉下脚底的草丛，发现地上也散落着许多陶片，红陶居多，少量灰陶、黑陶，红色陶面上饰有黑色花纹的彩陶也有一些。1926年2月22日，当李济和袁复礼穿过西阴村时，他们看到“到处都是史前陶片的场所”，显然就是这里。

李济毕业于哈佛大学人类学专业，时任清华国学院讲师。1925年12月下旬，美国弗利尔艺术馆的毕士博建议李济做点野外工作，但李济希望动手发掘前先到山西南部，沿着汾河流域做番考察。决定与地质学家袁复礼结伴同行后，两人于1926年2月5日启程离开北京。2月22日他们到达夏县，先去寻访了当地传说中的大禹庙，以及禹王后裔和著名大臣的陵墓，但它们看似都是稍大些的普通坟冢，“从外表上判断，我根本无法肯定这些是或者不是真正的陵墓”。

然而，当他们捡起这些暴露在地表的碎陶片时，引来了周遭不少村民，为避免引起太多注意，他们没有停留太久，直到10月15日，在清华大学和弗利尔艺术馆的赞助下，才又回到此处进行了正式的发掘工作。

Excerpt 2: The accidental discovery of Zaoyuan—and a new path through old debates

节选二：发现枣园遗址，探寻半坡与庙底沟文化之间的关系路径

In a photo provided by archaeologist Xue Xinmin of the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, he stands shoulder to shoulder with Tian Jianwen and Yang Linzhong. All three look young and self-assured. In 1991, these close friends jointly discovered the Zaoyuan site in Yicheng, opening a path toward resolving the relationship between Banpo and Miaodigou cultures. Before they were thirty, they had already made a name for themselves in Chinese Neolithic archaeology—and were affectionately nicknamed the “Three Swordsmen” by local colleagues.

The discovery was almost accidental. In early May 1991, to support construction of the Houma–Yueshan Railway, the Shanxi Provincial Institute decided to excavate the Beihan site in eastern Yicheng, with Xue leading the work. Staffing was limited. Tian, stationed at the Qucun–Tianma site, and Yang, working at the Southeast Shanxi archaeology station, were Xue’s close friends and of similar age. Tian had already surveyed nearby areas, so the three agreed to investigate a 20-kilometer radius centered on Beihan, searching for ancient cultural sites.

Since the Xiyin excavation, archaeology had proven not only that China had a Stone Age, but that it was remarkably developed. Prehistoric sites were concentrated in the Yuncheng and Linfen basins, and by the 1990s many late Paleolithic and mid-to-late Neolithic sites had been identified across Shanxi. Yet for a long time, no early remains dating roughly 10,000–7,000 years ago had been found here—unlike discoveries elsewhere such as Laoguantai in Shaanxi, Peiligang in Henan, and Cishan in Hebei. Shanxi archaeologists had long hoped to find earlier evidence than Yangshao.

在山西省考古研究院研究员薛新民提供的一张照片里，他和田建文、杨林中并肩站立在一起，三位年轻人看起来都颇为意气风发。这三位好友，因为1991年共同发现了翼城枣园遗址，为解决半坡文化与庙底沟文化之间的关系提供了一条路径，在不到三十岁的年纪，便在中国新石器考古领域建立了自己的声誉，也因此被当地的考古工作者亲切地称作“三剑客”。

发现枣园遗址，非常偶然。1991年5月初，为配合修建山西侯马通往河南月山的“侯月铁路”，山西省考古研究所决定对翼城东部的北撖遗址进行发掘，主持工作的正是薛新民。山西考古所的工作人员不多，他和驻留在曲村天马遗址的田建文，以及晋东南考古站工作的杨林中又年龄相仿，是非常要好的朋友。曲村位于翼城西北方向，田建文已经对周边做过一些调研工作，所以他便与杨林中、薛新民相约一起对翼城东部以北撖遗址为中心，方圆20公里范围内的古文化遗址进行调查。

西阴村遗址发现后，中国考古学证明了中国不仅有石器时代，而且相当发达。晋南运城盆地、临汾盆地的史前遗址比较集中，到20世纪90年代，山西省境内已经发现了不少旧石器时代末期和新石器时代中晚期的遗址。但在相当长的时间内，这里却没有找到新石器时代距今约10000至7000年之间的早期遗存。但在陕西华县老官台、河南新郑裴李岗、河北武安磁山、山东淄博后李、浙江余姚河姆渡等地，却相继发现距今七八千年的新石器早期文化遗存。因此，山西的史前考古工作者，一直希望能够寻找到比仰韶文化更早的遗存。

Excerpt 3: Shicun—and the stone-carved silkworm pupae

节选三：师村遗址与石雕蚕蛹

After several days of rain and half a day of sun, the excavation site finally dried enough for us to enter. Shicun lies about 10 kilometers from Xiyin, roughly 15 kilometers southwest of Xia County. It is currently the Neolithic site found closest to the Yuncheng Salt Lake.

The reason for excavation was straightforward. Jilin University’s School of Archaeology had long hoped to run field-teaching in the Central Plains, and Xia County— rich in historical remains—became a key target. With support from the local government, Vice Dean Duan Tianjing and Associate Professor Fang Qi, accompanied by Director Huang Yongjiu, conducted a series of surveys and ultimately determined that Shicun’s cultural layers were relatively simple and suitable for student training. In 2019, they established what is now the country’s largest field archaeology practice base here.

In other words, the initial purpose was teaching. The Shicun site is estimated to have once covered 35,000 square meters, but over half has disappeared beneath roads and infrastructure, leaving just over 10,000 square meters. One area—separated by pillars—was excavated last year; nearby test trenches, just opened, were worked by frontline archaeologists from across the country attending a national training program. A faster-moving set of trenches, meanwhile, recorded the results of Jilin University third-year students’ month-long practicum in clearing habitation areas.

在连续好几日雨后，经过半日曝晒，考古工地上总算不再泥泞，我们终于有机会可以进入师村遗址。师村遗址距离西阴村遗址约10公里，位于夏县县城西南方向15公里处，是现今发现距离运城盐湖距离最近的新石器时代遗址。

决定在这里开展发掘工作，原因比较简单。吉林大学考古学院一直希望能在中原地区进行田野考古教学，夏县因为悠久的历史遗存成为他们的目标地之一。在得到当地政府的支持后，考古学院的副院长段天璟与副教授方启在黄永久馆长的陪伴下，在夏县开始了一系列调研工作，最终确定师村遗址文化层结构比较简单，便于学生操作实习，于是2019年在此处建立了如今全国最大的田野考古实践基地。

可以说，这片遗址最初的发掘目的便是为了教学。师村遗址据推测原本有3.5万平方米，但因为修建道路等基础建设，一半多遗址已经消失在道路下，只余下一万多米的部分。被柱子隔开的一片区域是去年已经完成发掘的工作现场，旁边似乎刚刚开始动工的几个探方，是由国家文物局组织从各地考古队前来进行培训的一线考古工作者刚刚开始发掘的部分，这里曾是师村遗址大聚落外面的一处高台。而另一头进度更快些的探方则是吉林大学考古学院大三学生今秋开始一个多月的实习成果，他们在负责清理遗址的先民生活区域。