Education

08/2016 – 06/2019
Master of Arts, Archaeology, Uppsala University, Sweden

09/2013 – 06/2016
Master of History, Archaeology, Lanzhou University, China

09/2009 – 06/2013
Bachelor of History, Museology, Lanzhou University, China

Experiences/Activities

03/2019 – 09/2019
ArcGIS work on Alvastra Neolithic pile-dwelling of Östergötland county, a project with Historical Museum, Sweden

08/2019
A survey on Bronze Age archaeological materials in Xinjiang province, China

10/2018 – 03/2019
Digitization of Chinese coins and tokens, at Uppsala University Coin Cabinet, Sweden

04/2018 – 05/2018
Work on a project of Johan Gunnar Andersson’s collections (painted ceramic sherds), at the Östasiatiska Museum, Sweden

12/2017, 12/2018
Museum guide by introducing Swedish Iron Age history, at Gamla Uppsala Museum, Sweden

08/2017 – 09/2017
Work on the Viking Age collections from Valsgärde 13 boat graves, at Gustavianum Museum Archive, Sweden

06/2017
Drone survey (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) at Kalaureia (Poros) site, Greece

03/2017 – 05/2017
To excavate prehistorical settlements at Hellby, and supervise bachelor students in trench, in Uppsala, Sweden

05/2015 – 06/2015
ArcGIS teaching assistant at Lanzhou University, China

05/2014 – 06/2014
ArcGIS teaching assistant at Lanzhou University, China

06/2012 – 07/2012
To survey archaeological sites in Shaanxi province, China

05/2012 – 02/2013
A student project “Research on the historical and geographical reasons of Majiayao cultural change”, China

05/2011 – 08/2011
A student project “The education functions of small museums”, China

07/2011
Oral interviews and questionnaires work at small museums in Gansu province, Chin

05/2010 – 08/2010
A student project “The relief activities of Islamic organization during the starvation caused by war between 1928-1932 in Linxia county”, China

Transformations of subsistence economy and landscape dynamics in Inner Mongolia from the Neolithic Age to the early Iron Age

From the Neolithic Age to the early Iron Age, Inner Mongolia has seen cultural mixtures involving the local indigenous cultures (e.g. Hongshan culture), Zhongyuan cultures (e.g. Yangshao culture, Longshan culture, mainly from the Wei River/the middle-lower Yellow River), and pastoral cultures (e.g. Zhukaigou culture, Taohongbala culture, Maoqinggou culture). It is also notable that, during the late Neolithic Age to the early Bronze Age, the Inner Mongolia area has experienced a remarkable shift of site densities[1], and substantial changes in economic subsistence can also be observed. The highlighted cultural phenomena lead to questions about the driving forces behind changes of site density (population), questions about how the subsistence economy changed and possible impact of this on the population. This study will center on archaeological sites from the Neolithic period, Bronze Age and early Iron Age (6200-300 BCE) in Inner Mongolia, to explore land-use practices of the different ancient groups, in order to understand the dynamics of the shifting site densities, the changes of economic subsistence, the transformation of societies, and the potential interaction between pastoral and agricultural groups.

My main research questions are: how did the distribution patterns of sites and the subsistence economy change in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from the Neolithic Age to the early Iron Age (6200-300 BCE); how were these changes in the subsistence economy related to social changes in the same time period; what were the potential dynamics driving such social-economic transformations and how were these linked to population increase?

The main purpose of the study is to understand (1) how the Inner Mongolia region transformed from agriculture to pastoralism during the time period; (2) how different land-use traditions shaped agricultural and pastoral behaviors (i.e. sedentariness vs mobility, and fortified settlements vs open settlements); (3) how the subsistence-economy transformation was linked to past increase in population, which was observed as shifts in site density by Hosner & Wagner et al. (2016); furthermore, (4) to provide a preliminary understanding of the dynamics of the driving factors behind the socio-economic changes in a region with links to both agricultural and pastoral traditions.

The foundation of the project is the construction of a geodatabase of sites. The main method in this project is spatial analysis in GIS. The study also applies quantitative methods, qualitative methods, comparative methods and mapping in GIS. All the archaeological sites which can reflect past human activities will be considered for the project, including, but not limited to settlements, materials’ source locations, campsites, cemeteries, ritual sites, rock art, monuments, etc.

[1] Hosner, D., Wagner, M., Tarasov, P. E., Chen, X., & Leipe, C. (2016). Spatiotemporal distribution patterns of archaeological sites in China during the Neolithic and Bronze Age: An overview. The Holocene, 26(10), 1576–1593. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683616641743

2016

杨芸芸（著），《国内外所见秦公鼎、簋及大堡子山墓主新探》，段小强，李丽（编），《敦煌学·丝绸之路考古研究：杜斗城教授荣退纪念文集》，兰州：甘肃教育出版社, 2016;
Yang, Yunyun. 2016. New Research on Bronze Vessels of Qingong and the Tomb Owners of Dabuzi Mountain. In Dunhuang StudiesˑArchaeology along the Silk Road. Duan, Xiaoqiang. Li, Li. (ed.). Gansu Education Press, Lanzhou.

2015

杨芸芸，《试论犍陀罗艺术的起源》，《边疆经济与文化》，2015.11;
Yang, Yunyun. 2015. The Origins of the Gandhara Art. The Border Economy and Culture, 143(11): 117-118.

杨芸芸，《武威皇娘娘台遗址出土玉石璧研究》，《陇东学院学报》，2015.04;
Yang, Yunyun. 2015. The research on the Jade Bi of Huang Empress of Wuwei City. Journal of Longdong University, 26(4): 74-78.

杨芸芸，《马家窑类型文化变迁的环境因素探索》，《华夏地理》，2015.03;
Yang, Yunyun. 2015. The Research on Environmental Dynamics of changes of Majiayao Culture. National Geographic, (3).

杨芸芸，《甘青地区马家窑类型文化变迁探索》，《陇右文博》，2015.03;
Yang, Yunyun. 2015. The Discussion of Majiayao Cultural Changes in Ganqing Areas. Longyou Wenbo, 17(1).