Hosted by Environmental Archaeology Professional Committee of China Quaternary Science Research Society and organized by Research School of Arid Environment and Climate Change (RSAEC) of Lanzhou University and Cultural Relic Archaeology Institute of Gansu Province, the Fifth China Environmental Archaeology Conference was held in Shaw Yifu Science Museum from September 15th to 16th , with the theme of “Ancient Environment and Ancient Culture”. Presented the conference were more than 120 representatives from universities and research institutions all over the country, including teachers and graduate students from the RSAEC, History and Culture School, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, School of Geological Science and Mineral Resources, and School of Pastoral Science and Technology, and School of Life Sciences. On September 15th , the opening ceremony was held in the lecture hall of Shaw Yifu Science Museum. Wang Hui, director of Cultural Relic Archaeology Institute of Gansu Province presided over the ceremony. Chen Fahu, vice-president of Lanzhou University, delivered a welcome speech. Mo Duowen, director of Environmental Archaeology Professional Committee and professor of College of Urban and Environmental Sciences of Peking University, made an opening speech. Zhou Kunshu, researcher of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, made a report named “The Past, Present and Future of Environmental Archaeology in China”.
A total of 11 and 55 reports were made at the conference and parallel sessions respectively, mainly centering on the topics of the agricultural origin and extension, the environmental background of Chinese civilization origin, the human environmental adaptation theory, the application of new scientific methods to archaeology, and the reconstruction of specific site’s environmental background. The conference provides a platform to fully display its latest research progress for a great number of researchers from different subjects and areas, enabling them to both learn the current development of environmental archaeology and discuss the related scientific problems.
After discussions among Environmental Archaeology Professional Committee members, “Environmental Archaeology Outstanding Contribution Award” was set up in order to reward those scholars who are striving at the front for a long term and making outstanding contributions to the field of Environmental Archaeology. The conference declared that the winners of the first “Environmental Archaeology Outstanding Contribution Award” are Zhou Kunshu, researcher of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Gong Qiming, researcher of Cultural Relic Archaeology Institute of Shaanxi Province, who received trophy and certificate from Prof. Mo Duowen and researcher Lv Houyuan.
