走进考古地理学——读《长江下游考古地理》

Book Review:Archaeo-geography in the Lower Yangtze River Valley

一 历史地理学是研究古代人类所处地理环境的变化以及环境与人类关系的学科，它所研究的阶段是有文字记载的历史时期。而对人类产生之前地理环境状况的考察，属于古地理的研究范畴。但是，人类的诞生已有几百万年的历史，而文字的出现只不过可以追溯到几千年前，对于无文字记载的史前阶段如何进行地理环境研究，一度成为困扰学术界的难题。

Archaeo-geography studies man＇s prehistoric times without literal records, and, based mainly on analyses of archaeological remains, researches into ecological environments of that time and investigates spatial changes and evolutionary laws in prehistoric population, settlement and other material aspects. Therefore, it is extremely important to this research field to collect geographical information from archaeological remains. The lower Yangtze River valley is a sensitive zone in environment. The Archaeo-geography in the Lower Yangtze River Valley analyzes scientifically substantial remains of archaeological cultures, reconstructs ancient local ecological environments, inquires into the relationship between man and geography in certain temporal and spatial frames, and reveals in depth the interrelation of historical development with geographical settings.