International Social Science Journal (Chinese Edition)

No.3, 2025

 

 

Fang Hui and Wang Zhengliang 

 

Settlement Archaeology, introduced to China in the early 1980s, has developed over a 40-year course and yielded abundant achievements. At the present stage, it is worthwhile to consider how to further deepen the theory and methodology of settlement patterns studies using rich materials and to formulate distinctive Chinese methods and paradigms for settlement archaeological research. Systematically analyzing more than 3,000 settlements from the Qin and Han periods discovered through systematic survey within an area of nearly 4,000 square kilometers in the coastal region of southeastern Shandong, and population and transportation in the coastal area of Langya Commandery during the Qin and Han periods can demonstrate that the research method integrating settlement patterns of historical periods with documentary evidence is not only feasible but also helpful for further exploring the potential of settlement archaeology in reconstructing ancient societies.