Dr Anke Hein is an anthropological archaeologist focusing on pre-historic and early historic China. Her main research interest lies with questions of identity formation, inter-cultural contact, technological transfer, and human-environment interaction. Geographically, she focuses on the so-called border regions of China, which have been zones of interactions since early prehistoric times. Topics that she has worked on in the past include the mortuary traditions of prehistoric Southwest China as reflected in her monographGraves as Composite Objects -- The Burial Record of Prehistoric Liangshan, Southwest China, identity formation and expression in past and present Southwest China, for instance conducting ethnographic fieldwork among the Nuosu (Yi), and investigating adaptations to high-altitude environments on the rim of the Tibetan Plateau in an international field project with various colleagues in China and the US.
In her current research, she focuses on patterns of ceramic production and usage as a reflection of group identity as well as human-object and human-environment relations. In this context, she conducts various forms of scientific research (macroscopic analysis, petrography, use-wear analysis, residue analysis, use-wear analysis) on prehistoric ceramics with anthropological research on current ceramic production, especially imitations and forgeries of prehistoric wares and new traditions emerging from this interplay of past and present ceramic traditions. For further information on Dr Hein's research, publications, and teaching, please consult her website at http://www.ankehein.org/.
