00:00 China's past has been largely overlooked in Western education, but it is home to significant historical developments, including the invention of agriculture, the growth of language families, and the creation of the state, which will be the focus of this episode.

04:30 The rise of states in China and the search for the origin of Chinese civilization were motivated by nationalism and the desire to make China stronger, leading to the establishment of a long-term tradition in Chinese archaeology that emphasized the Histographic Orientation and the search for the state.

09:59 The use of historical records in Chinese archaeology is a controversial topic, with some scholars advocating for their separation from archaeological research, while others believe they should be consulted but critically analyzed; however, the reliance on written records can lead to problems when trying to match them with archaeological findings, resulting in the exaggeration of the importance of certain individuals or heroes, such as the yellow emperor, and the need for a balanced approach that considers both sources of information.

14:39 Archaeologists use settlement patterns and other artifacts to measure social organization and determine the existence of states, looking for hierarchical tiered settlement patterns and evidence of an elite class, political control, and systems of exchange.

19:34 The recent discoveries of large walled sites, rich burial remains, and detailed regional surveys in various regions of China are changing the understanding of prehistoric China and challenging the idea that state formation primarily occurred in one region.

24:09 The recent discoveries of large walled sites and elaborate structures in various regions of China, such as the first man-made irrigation system, the astonishing observatory, and the huge stone wall city with human sacrifice, challenge the previous understanding of prehistoric China and suggest the existence of pre-dynastic states with social complexity and political control over their regions.

29:32 The rise of states in China was based on political and religious control rather than population or economic development, according to Konchi Zhang, but recent discoveries challenge this view by revealing large workshops of craft production.

34:35 The rise of states in China involved a combination of political control, economic development, and craft production, challenging previous views on state formation in China.

39:18 The Oracle Bone inscriptions provide evidence of human sacrifice in ancient China, where a group of people called the Chiang were captured from the battlefield and brought to the capital city to be sacrificed, highlighting the distinction between insiders and outsiders in the birth of a state or civilization.