archaeology

"Archaeology helped hold China together.....
.... Archaeology helps break China apart."

"In the end, so much depends on circumstance - what happens to be found, how the find happens to be perceived. A person's relationship to an artifact can be shaped by nationalism or regionalism. Perspective is crucial: if one believes that he stands at the center, then diffusion seems natural. But a culture looks completely different if you approach it from the outside and then work your way back in."

- Peter Hessler, Oracle Bones, 191