New Books on Hong Kong Prehistory

The Archaeology of Hong Kong

by William Meacham. 2008. Published by Hong Kong University Press. For details see the HKUP website.

The following comments are from a book review written by Jason Wordie, published in the South China Morning Post on Feb. 1, 2009:

"Revised and expanded from a work published in 1980, this is an extensive, exhaustively researched historical survey of the practices and findings of local archaeology from the 1920s to the present day. ... a long-term, trenchant critic of Hong Kong's haphazard heritage protection policies, William Meacham has excelled himself in this detailed work. This is -- and should remain for many years -- the standard English-language reference work on the subject."
The following comments are from a book review written by Madeleine Hummler published in the British journal Antiquity vol. 83, 2009:
"...numerous brief chapters make it easy to navigate and useful tables [provide] a summary of occupation ... It is copiously illustrated; the photographs give a real feel for the development of archaeology during the twentieth century. ... Meacham, who has been active in Hong Kong's archaeology since the 1970s, is well placed to report on the territory."

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Rock Carvings in Hong Kong

by William Meacham. 2009. Published by the author; printed by Green Pagoda Press Ltd. 



Publication Details: Soft cover (280gsm) with matt lamination; glossy art paper (128gsm); 7 x 10 inches. 
 English and Chinese text; 176 pages containing 182 illustrations (93 in colour). HK$188. ISBN 978-988-17324-2-2






Comment from the curator of the museum at Chinese University:


"I am sure it will be, for many decades, the definitive book on the topic."
 





 From a review by Peter Gordon in  The Asian Review of Books:



... a comprehensive overview of rock carvings, [the book] also includes extensive sections on Neolithic and Bronze Age Hong Kong, on stone and bronze implements and pottery, extensively illustrated throughout, and so can also serve as more general introduction to Hong Kong's earliest days...

Meacham isn't content with merely cataloguing; he connects the petroglyphs to the modern historical record, compares them to folk traditions that still exist today and makes an impassioned plea for their enlightened preservation...

While undoubtedly useful for the specialist, laymen are also likely to be fascinated by the patterns whose meaning and purpose is largely lost in the mists of time.





[front cover]




[back cover]







Contents


 

Map of rock art sites in Hong Kong

Introduction

Part I – Hong Kong Rock Carvings 

Shek Pik

Po Toi

Tung Lung
 	
Upper Shek Pik 

Big Wave Bay

Cheung Chau

Joss House Bay 

Kau Sai Chau

Lung Ha Wan

Tung Chung

Wong Chuk Hang
 
Part II – Rock Carvings in Neighboring Regions

Macau

Zhu Hai

Fujian

Taiwan

Hainan and Vietnam
 
Part III – Setting, Dating and Style
 
Part IV –  Religious Significance
 
Epilogue – Reflections 
 
Appendix – Conservation of Hong Kong’s rock carvings
  
References






目錄

香港石刻位置地圖

引言

第一部分 –––  香港石刻 
 
石壁

蒲台

東龍

上石壁

大浪灣

長洲

大廟灣

滘西洲

龍蝦灣

東涌   

黃竹坑

第二部分 –––  鄰近地區的石刻

澳門

珠海

福建

台灣

海南和越南

第三部分 –––  位置、年代及風格

第四部分 –––  宗教意義

結語 –––  感想

附錄 –––  香港石刻的保育

附註







[map of sites]

Map showing locations of Hong Kong’s rock carvings. The status of Lung Ha Wan has been disputed. Tung Chung and upper Shek Pik are believed to be later than the others.

顯示香港石刻位置的地圖。至於龍蝦灣的一處是否石刻存在爭議。東涌及上石壁的石刻的年代已被確信晚於其它石刻。







  SAMPLE PAGES 



[first sample page]



[second sample page]



[third sample page]






For more sample pages, see this pdf of the Macau section that was made for the Macau media.