Introduction

Abstract

This study pursues a twofold aim. First, it seeks to advance the understanding of the archaeology of the immediate study area, the Liangshan Region in Southwest China, by providing a much-needed systematic classification of its burial record, identifying various identity groups that inhabited the region in the past, and discuss their integration into the local environment. Second, it presents and tests a new scheme of burial analysis that allows the integration of complex and problematic datasets and illuminates the patterns of human behavior that created them. The present chapter introduces the basic questions and assumptions underlying this study as well as the nature of the archaeological material at hand and provides a road map through the book.