You say Tang, I say Song: A look into Two Chinese Dynasties

Over 99% of human history occurred during prehistoric cultures, who had no system of writing or method or chronicling events. This left very little written record or accounts of what transpired that might be studied today. This lack of evidence made it very difficult to learn about previous civilizations and cultures and how they came to be, thrive, and eventually fall. With no written record, we had to rely on archaeology to investigate the whole of human history. While many of our species’ milestones occurred in prehistoric times, it became more and more important for the field of archaeology to advance and be taken seriously. All of this is interesting, but let’s take a look into a specific place and time to expand upon what archaeology can provide as far as a career.

Discovering the past can be an arduous and extremely tedious undertaking. It is even more difficult when the culture you’re researching and learning about shares its home with that of a sprawling new urban development. Such is the case throughout modern day China. Archaeologists and scholars alike are constan...