Dr. Xu Hong' s Archaeological Study of Pre-Qin Cities collects extensively related archaeological data and summarizes research fruits in this field. On the above basis he expounds systematically in more than 300,000-character space the development and evolution of Chinese cities by tracing their birth, the material culture of pre-Qin cities and their changes corresponding to those of the state's form. The book involves various types of city-sites and central settlements developed in different areas from the late Yangshao period onward, which number 500～600 and spanned more than 3,000 years. Full and accurate in material, excellent in both picture and text, and showing the theoretical height of individual study, it constitutes the first rather complete academic work in studies of pre-Qin cities, as well as one of the basic readings on the subjects of Chinese civilization's origin and pre-Qin period history and archaeology. In addition, the reviewer discusses the current condition and future development of the archaeology of pre-Qin cities.
