Yu-chun Kan

University College London, Institue of Archaeology, Graduate Student

National Taiwan University, ANTHROPOLOGY, Undergraduate

National Taiwan University, Hisory, Undergraduate

Peking University, School of Archaeology and Museology, Graduate Student

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I am interested in daily practice in the past and the roles of different humans and nonhumans played in various technological systems. My current research investigates how cooking transformed as well as had been transformed under a large social process, especially in periods of great changes, such as urbanization, creation of regional networks or social differentiation. I would consider food preparation as a complex ‘technological system’, composed of heterogeneous human and non-human, material and immaterial elements. By analyzing the ‘chaîne opératoire’ of food preparation while paying attention to the involved agencies of all the things, beings, labour and power, the transforming process could be studied archaeologically.

Methodologically my PhD project aims to explore the potential of the ‘micro-archaeology of food’ in prehistoric East and Southeast Asia. By observing the microstructures of charred food remains under SEM, it is possible to identify different cooking technologies such as boiling or steaming. Instead of providing a list of botanical species consumed by people, I would focus more on various cooking methods of plant food. I am now collecting experimental and ethnoarchaeological food referential data for comparison with archaeological samples from Northern China, Taiwan, and Northeast Thailand.

Another project I have been carrying on since undergrad is to look at ceramic technologies through petrography in addition to relevant clay preparation experiments. Through looking into the technological nuances, I try to discuss the complexity of clay preparation techniques and other social dynamics in Neolithic Taiwan.

I am also devoted to community archaeology and public archaeological outreaches. How heritage and ideas about the past are entangled with constructing identities, paving the way to modern ideological discourses is an important issue in East Asia. I am particularly interested in how archaeological research can contribute to present decolonization struggles and other pursuits in social justice.
Supervisors: Dorian Fuller and Yijie Zhuang

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新石器末期的北臺灣：從製陶技術的角度談起 Northern Taiwan in the Final Neolithic Period: A Perspective from Ceramic Technologies

碩士論文, 2021

The Final Neolithic Period (2400-1800 BP) is a time of great socio-cultural transformation in Tai... more The Final Neolithic Period (2400-1800 BP) is a time of great socio-cultural transformation in Taiwanese prehistory. Archaeological evidence suggests the gradual emergence of far-away things like metals, carnelians, and glass beads as well as the reconstruction of exchange networks and social relationships during this period. Both daily utensils and prestige goods had changed across the whole island. Northern Taiwan, with various archaeological cultures, was an area of great importance in this transition stage. A thorough investigation will promote the academic understandings of the contexts and processes from the Neolithic to the Metal Age. According to previous knowledge, the Taipei Basin and its southwest uplands were occupied by the “Botanical Garden Culture”, typical of Soft Stamped wares while other areas still remained more “Yuanshan style” ways of making ceramics from the late Neolithic. The relationships between these two archaeological cultures have been a controversial debate for decades. This piece of work attempts to look into this issue from the perspective of ceramic technologies. Unlike previous approaches, rebuilding the “Chaîne opératoire” of the Botanical Garden Culture to reveal the social boundaries embedded in the technological systems, this thesis concerns more about how things were produced and exchanged under different local contexts. Instead of treating the Botanical Garden Culture as a whole, pottery sherds from six sites, the Botanical Garden and Tianwentai in Taipei, Tapenkeng and Chiuchaoshan in the New Taipei City, together with Tayuanchienshan and Hutoushankongyuan in Taoyuan, were sampled to run through petrographical observations, ICP-AES chemical analysis, and water absorptivity tests in order to deduce the production and consumption of ceramic wares. To improve our identification of technological behaviours in thin sections, the author also carried out several experiments for references. Different from the impression of the simple technology and sole provenances in this period and a hypothesis of specialized workshops, all data portrayed a different image in this study. Behind the identical Botanical Garden potteries were widespread practices of levigation and clay mixing among all sites, while diverse operational habits and different material sources can be observed locally. Moreover, several special objects were proved to come from further places in the northern and southern part of Taipei Basin and similar technological traits and traditions were shared among local and foreign pots. Finally, this research promotes viewing technological systems as complex “operational assemblages”. An object-and-site-centred study on technologies may reveal multi-layered networks beyond the scope of archaeological cultures.
新石器末期（2400-1800 BP）是台灣史前史劇變的一頁，考古學目睹這一時期來自遠方的物品如金屬、瑪瑙和玻璃珠的漸入，伴隨既有交換網絡和社會關係的重組，整個島嶼日常用器與威望物的面貌都有所變化。北台灣地區在此一從新石器時期邁向金屬器時期的過渡節點，扮演了關鍵角色，該區域在新石器末期的文化面貌也相當複雜，相關研究有助於理解後續社會變遷發生的背景和過程；依照目前的認識，在台北盆地核心與西南台地分佈以方格印紋軟厚陶為主流陶系的“植物園文化”，其他地區則延續新石器晚期以來“圓山文化”的製陶傳統，這兩大考古學文化的關係也是考古學史上的一大爭議。本文嘗試以製陶技術為切入點一窺當時複雜的互動關係。有別過去以考古學文化為核心，嘗試還原不同文化的"製陶操作鏈"並從中討論蘊含於技術系統中的人群邊界，本文從台北植物園、天文台、新北大坌坑、狗蹄山、桃園大園尖山、虎頭山公園等6個新石器末期的遺址出發，暫不將「植物園文化」視為分析整體，更關心在不同遺址具體觀察到的陶器種類、可能產地與製作技術的異同。為了更全面地認識陶器的原料來源、練土技術和物理性能，本研究綜合岩相分析、ICP-AES 化學成分分析與吸水率測試，嘗試討論陶器的生產和交換情況；為了能有助岩相法的鑑定，本文也製作實驗考古的陶土試片作為對照樣本。有別於以往單從岩礦組合得到當時主流陶器來源單一、製作技術簡單相似、存在區域性作坊的認識，本文從岩相切片揭示的技術信息，結合化學分析結果，認為在表面相同的“植物園式陶器」背後，遺址在共享澄選、混合等備土方式的同時，仍各自使用不同的陶土來源和相異的操作習慣。另一方面本文也在個別遺址確認了先前認為較特殊、非本地生產的器物，確實來自盆地北側與南側等更大的區域範圍，同時也凸顯這一些外來與本地器物在差異之中也共享一些相似的技術邏輯和傳統。最終本研究試圖提議，可把技術系統視為複雜的“操作組合”，以物和遺址為中心出發討論技術，將有潛力看到超越考古學文化尺度、更多層次的關係網絡。

Yu-chun Kan

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