" If they can construct the subject matter you might know more about any melding of cultures." I'm worried about the secrecy of the Chinese and their insistence that their culture was not influenced by 'outsiders'. They withheld the DNA material extracted from the mummies by Victor Mair and his colleagues. The mummies themselves were accidently found in the unlighted backroom of a museum by Mair.
I'm worried about the secrecy of the Chinese and their insistence that their culture was not influenced by 'outsiders'. They withheld the DNA material extracted from the mummies by Victor Mair and his colleagues. The mummies themselves were accidently found in the unlighted backroom of a museum by Mair.Yeah, I'm somewhat wary of Chinese archaeological claims because of that type of issue. As you may know there's also been a problem with Chinese fossil dealers selling fake "earliest known bird" skeletons:
Dino Hoax Was Mainly Made of Ancient Bird, Study Says
For a very long time under the "Peoples Liberation Army", Archeaology was just another tool of state propaganda for sure. However, what I have read lately, academics and curiosity seem to be winning. In China, you can never tell how long the science will be more important than the BS. Books I have read recently approved by the PRC are actually good. It still is very hard for "Outsiders" to publish anything not approved but Chinese scholars are coming "out of the closet".
That said, we can hope they will not slant and/or repress data. Also, they are not so quick to attack the findings in other Asian countries. Their big concern at present is that archaeological discoveries not get in the way of business (ie. Three Gorges Dam). You would get quite ill thinking about what will be lost under the Three Gorges lake.