Liu Li (; born December 12, 1953) is a Chinese-American archaeologist most well known for her work on

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

Chinese archaeology. She is Sir Robert Ho Tung Professor in Chinese Archaeology at Stanford University.

Early life and education

Liu was sent to the region near

Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an) ...

in 1969 as part of the government's programme to resettle privileged, urban youth. She took the same train as future paramount leader of China,

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

. In 1971, Liu began work at a munitions factory in

Tongchuan Tongchuan () is a prefecture-level city located in central Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China on the southern fringe of the Loess Plateau that defines the northern half of the province (Shanbei) and the northern reaches of the Guanzho ...

. In a 2016 interview with Chinese Archaeology Web, she describes manufacturing the same two components of firearms continuously for seven years as, 'incredibly, incredibly boring.' She was part of the first waves of students to take the

National Higher Education Entrance Examination The National College Entrance Examination (NCEE), commonly known as the gaokao (), is a standardized college entrance exam held annually in mainland China. It is required for entrance into almost all higher education institutions at the underg ...

to university when it was reinstated in 1977. Liu applied to

Northwest University (China) Northwest University () is a public university located in Xi'an, China. Co-funded by the Ministry of Education of China and Shaaxi Provincial Government, it is one of the nation's leading comprehensive universities. It was founded in 1902 as o ...

and completed her undergraduate degree in archaeology in 1982. Liu attend

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

in Philadelphia for her master's degree. She then completed her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

under the preeminent archaeologist

Kwang-chih Chang Kwang-chih Chang (15 April, 1931 – January 3, 2001), commonly known as K. C. Chang, was a Chinese / Taiwanese-American archaeologist and sinologist. He was the John E. Hudson Professor of archaeology at Harvard University, Vice-President of the ...

Career

In 1996, Liu became a lecturer at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...

in Melbourne, Australia. In 2010, she became the Sir Robert Ho Tung Professor in Chinese Archaeology at Stanford University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Li Chinese women archaeologists Living people Harvard University alumni Stanford University faculty Northwest University (China) alumni Temple University alumni La Trobe University faculty Place of birth missing (living people) 1953 births