Dr Anke Hein
Research Interests
Culture contact; identity formation; (ceramic) technology; petrography/petrology; ethnoarchaeology; spatial analysis
Geographic Areas
The archaeology and material culture of prehistoric and early-historic East and Central Asia, focusing on the Chinese border regions, especially Western China
Current Research Activities
- PI for "Excavating Andersson: Unlocking Forgotten Treasures in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (MFEA), Stockholm", with Dr Andrew Womack, Dr Ole Stilborg, and Dr Katherine Brunson
- PI for "Tracing Elusive Women in Chinese Archaeology"
- PI for "The History and Practice of Chinese Archaeology", with Prof. Julia Lovell
- Editor and Co-Creator (with Andrew Womack) of the China Ceramic Petrography Database; https://opencontext.org/projects/2c5addea-41d5-4941-b2bd-672bc1e60448
- Co-PI: "Survey and Excavation Project on Early Settlements and Subsistence Systems in Northwest Sichuan", in Collaboration with the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Sichuan University, and Dr Jade d'Alpoim Guedes, funded by the NSF (insert link: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1632207)
- Member of PastNet: Past Networks in Space and Time, Research Network, University of Oxford (insert link: https://connectedpast.net/)
- Affiliate of the University of Oxford China Centre
Recent research activities
- 2019-2022 Co-PI for “POTS - Pottery Origins and the Transformation of Societies: Study of the Emergence and Spread of Ceramic across Northeast China.” With Dr Thibaut Devièse, Oxford
- 2017-2019 Survey Coordinator of the Tao River Valley Project; PI: Prof. Rowan Flad, Harvard University
- 2015-2018 PI: “Homogeneity in form, diversity in technique or vice versa? – Ceramic traditions in Neolithic and Bronze Age Northern China”, Fell-Funded (EBD00020Ö) Project in Stockholm and China
- 2013-2017 PI: "Ethnoarchaeological Field Project on Ceramic Production in the Wei River Valley", in Collaboration with Dr Ye Wa (UCLA)
- 2013-2014 PI: "Ethnoarchaeological Field Project on Ethnic Identity and Yi-Han Relations in Zhaojue, Sichuan", in Collaboration with Prof. Zhao Jue (Sichuan University)
Seminar Series
Co-convenor of the World Archaeology Seminar Series
Undergraduate teaching
Lecturer for core papers:
- Honour Moderations - Introduction to World Archaeology
- FHS - Urbanisation and Change in Complex Societies
Convenor for FHS option paper:
- FHS - From the First Ceramics to the Terracotta Soldiers: archaeology of Early China
Convenor for object-handling sessions:
- Chinese Bronzes, Jades, and Ceramics in the Ashmolean Museum
Postgraduate teaching
Postgraduate taught course options in:
- Archaeology of Eurasia
- Chinese Archaeology
- Interdisciplinary Approaches to Chinese Ceramics
Applicants interested in postgraduate study of early China/East Asia are encouraged to contact Dr Anke Hein directly (anke.hein@arch.ox.ac.uk).
Oxford Centre for Asian Archaeology, Art and Culture
The Oxford Centre of Asian Archaeology, Art and Culture (OCAAAC) is an organization that fosters academic exchange, innovative research and specialized training in the fields of archaeology, art history and cultural heritage in continental Asia. The Centre is housed within the University of Oxford’s School of Archaeology (Oxford, UK) and the broad spectrum of expertise provided by its members and affiliates, enables it to offer a unique and expanding programme of primary research and teaching.
Its growing profile now attracts visiting researchers and students from all over the world who contribute significantly to the academic vitality of both the Centre and the School of Archaeology as a whole. The Centre actively campaigns for preservation of heritage sites, presents innovative public outreach events, and hosts a regular series of scholarly seminars under the banner of the OCAAAC Asian Archaology Seminar Series. Further information about upcoming talks and activities can be found on our website.
The Centre, established over ten years ago by Professor Dame Jessica Rawson and Professor Chris Gosden, has received substantial financial support from the University of Oxford as well as from a number of private donors in Taiwan, Japan and Mainland China. We are currently seeking support for student scholarships and a new Assistant Professorship in Siberian Archaeology. If you would be interested in becoming a donor, please contact asia@arch.ox.ac.uk.
Core Team:
I am happy to supervise on Chinese and broader East and Southeast Asian Archaeology, in particular but not limited to prehistoric and early historic periods, including research on ceramic technology, culture contact and human movement, and the history and practice of archaeological research as well its broader societal impact.
Current students
| Developing an Integrated Digital Platform for Chinese Archaeological Artefact Information Retrieval, Analysis, and Public Education Yan Tian | DPhil Archaeological Science | Supervisors: Christopher Bronk Ramsey and Anke Hein |
| Decolonizing maritime archaeology and democratizing archaeological data: an alternative way to promote and protect maritime cultural heritage in HK Jay Mok | DPhil Archaeology | Supervisors: Damian Robinson and Anke Hein |
| The Provenance of Medieval Copper and Copper Alloys at Unguja Ukuu, East Africa: Unveiling the Social Nexus of Trade and Exchange in the Western Indian Ocean Jingyuan/Yvonne Zou | DPhil Archaeology | Supervisors: Anke Hein and Shadreck Chirikure |
| Celadon of the Six Dynasties (AD220-589) in South China: Production, Consumption, and Identity of Shizu Literati Esther Ding | DPhil Archaeology | Supervisor: Anke Hein |
| Sacred Heritage, Identity and Preservation: A Comparative Study of the Meizhou Mazu Ancestral Temple in China and Thian Hock Keng in Singapore Yuxin Fu | DPhil Archaeology | Supervisors: Timothy Clack and Anke Hein |
| The Taste of Tea: Sensory Archaeology Approaches to Past Foodways in Archaeobotany and Ceramic Studies Melody Li | DPhil Archaeology | Supervisors: Anke Hein and Luciana Carvalho |
| A Potter’s Story of the Blue-and-White: Manufacturing Porcelain Beyond the Imperial Workshop in Jingdezhen, China, in the Late Ming Dynasty (1522-1644) Siyi Wu | DPhil Archaeology | Supervisors: Chris Doherty and Anke Hein |
| Culture Contact and Interregional Interaction Across the East Rim of the Tibetan Plateau from the Late Neolithic to the Bronze Age Yidan Zhang | DPhil Archaeology | Supervisor: Anke Hein |
| Change and Continuity in the Spatial and Social Organisation of Late Longshan (2500-1900BC) Sites on Zhengzhou Plains, Henan, China Muyang Shi | DPhil Archaeology | Supervisors: Rick Schulting and Anke Hein |
Past students
| Unravelling the complex meanings and origins of 'zisha' teapots in the Ming and Qing dynasties Xuyang Gao (2023) ORA | DPhil Archaeology | Supervisors: Anke Hein and Chris Doherty |
| A techno-socioeconomic investigation of the Husi kiln complex in the middle Yangtze River Valley Zihan Li (2023) ORA | DPhil Archaeology | Supervisors: Anke Hein and Chris Doherty |
| What to Cook and How to Cook it: Understanding the interplay of subsistence, ceramic technology, and local environments in the emergence of pottery in Northeast Asia through residues Jennifer Keute (2022) ORA | DPhil Archaeological Science | Supervisors: Anke Hein and Thibaut Deviese |
| Technological transfer in production of Majiayao-style pottery between Neolithic communities in northwest China Evgenia Dammer (2021) ORA | DPhil Archaeology | Supervisor: Anke Hein |
| Steppe and Local Identities on the Frontier of the State and Empire of Qin during the 7th to 3rd centuries BC Wai kwan Wong (2019) ORA | DPhil Archaeology | Supervisors: Jessica Rawson and Anke Hein |
Key words: archives, technologies of making, decolonisation, gender and identity, interaction, materiality, mobility, museums, theories and practice, policy, earlier prehistory, later prehistory, contemporary, early historic, historic, E Asia, SE Asia
