Research On Cultural Development And Man-environment Interactions In The Chengdu Plain During The Pre-imperial Period

The pre-imperial cultures of the Chengdu Plain are world famous for theiruniqueness; their originality mainly relies on Sanxingdui Site bronze sculptures andceramics, Jinsha Site gold artifacts and jade implements, and wooden boat coffin burialsofferings of bronze weapons and tools. These remains represent without a doubt thehighest level of technology and aesthetic ability of the people belonging of thepre-imperial period in the Chengdu Plain, reflecting the culture of the elite, and have beendefined as a chronological marker. But they are far from representing the entire nor themain content of this period, as this time has had its own stable development of a traditionof material culture.This research uses the steady development process of change in the material culture(i. e. ceramics) to reconstruct the chronological framework of human activities in theChengdu Plain during the pre-imperial period. On this basis, the author further discussesthe dynamic interactions between the largest human groups in the Chengdu Plain duringthe pre-imperial period and the environment.This research allowed us to construct a chronological framework divided into5periods and17phases for the Chengdu Plain region during the pre-imperial period, from3100to250B. C. According to the cultural structure reflected by the characteristics of theremains of each period, the5periods of pre-imperial cultural development of the ChengduPlain were successively named “the period of introduction and development of an originalstyle”,“the period of local interactions”,“the period of total integration”,“the period ofopening and development”, and “the period of remodeling”. During this process, the roleof Sanxingdui’s remains have been redefined as the “gene provider” for the culturaldevelopment of the local cultures in the Chengdu Plain.The research on man-environment relations shows that the main strength ofadaptation of the human groups in the Chengdu Plain during the pre-imperial period liesin the adaptation to water environment. The adaptation of a human environment is mainlyreflected in the construction of the Sanxingdui walled city-center and the appearance ofthe group of sites all around it. It shows that the remains of the spiritual culture are alsoevidence of the adaption of the human environment.