This book presents cutting-edge archaeological materials from Xinjiang, from the Bronze Age to the early Iron Age. Through a systematic topological study of major archaeological cemeteries and sites, it establishes chronologies and cultural sequences for three main regions in Xinjiang, namely the circum-Eastern Tianshan region, the circum-Dzungarian Basin region and the circum-Tarim Basin region. It also discusses the origins and local variants of prehistoric archaeological cultures in these regions and the mutual relationships between them and neighboring cultures.

By doing so, the book offers a panoramic view of the socio-cultural changes that took place in prehistoric Xinjiang from pastoral-agricultural societies to the mobile nomadic-pastoralist states in the steppe regions and the agricultural states of the oasis, making it a must-read for researchers and general readers who are interested in the archaeology of Xinjiang.

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Wu Guo is a leading young scholar in the archaeology of Xinjiang, archaeology of the Eurasian Steppe and archaeological studies of cultural exchanges between China and the West. He has served as vice director of the Xinjiang archaeological team and vice director of the Borderland Archaeological Research Office at the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He has been a Harvard-Yenching visiting scholar and served on the Turpan expert committee. He has also coordinated two major national-level field projects in Xinjiang.

The author of five books, one archaeological report and more than 70 papers, his monograph Archaeological Study of the Late Prehistoric Society in Xinjiang has been selected by both the prestigious "National Philosophy and Social Sciences Library" and the "Three One-hundred" Original Book Publishing Project by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. He was awarded the top prize by the Institute and received an award for excellence from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

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