长江流域“原史时代”概论

自新石器时代末史前文明断裂至秦帝国建立被正式纳入以中原地区为主体的历史体系之前的这一时期,是长江流域历史或文明进程中一个独特的阶段,其特征与西方史学和考古界通行的"原史时代"概念吻合,因而建议将这一时期独立出来作为长江流域史前时代和历史时代之间的过渡阶段——"原史时代",并就长江流域"原史时代"的特征、分期及其对于长江流域自身历史和人类文明进程研究的学术意义进行了阐述。

Discussion of the Protohistory of the Yangtze River Valley

The paper proposes there is a special period in the history of the Yangtze River valley and in the civilization process of this region.This period started with the late Neolithic age when the prehistoric civilization was collapsed here and ended with the unification by the Qin Empire when the indigenous history was officially integrated into the historical system of the Central Plains.The characteristics of this era fit in well with the concept of protohistory in Western History and Archaeology.Thus,this period in the Yangtze River valley should be viewed independently as the transitional period between prehistoric and historical periods.The paper also interprets the features and stages of protohistory and the academic significanc of understanding the entire history and civilization process in the Yangtze River valley.