On the afternoon of June 7, 2026, at the invitation of the School of History and Archaeology, Nanjing Normal University, Hu Yingfang, Associate Director and Research Librarian of the First Archaeological Research Department of Jiangsu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, delivered a lecture entitled A Study on the Developmental Process of Prehistoric Cultures in the Western Taihu Lake Region in Lecture Hall 108, Building 200, Suiyuan Campus. This lecture was the 175th in the Archaeology Series Lectures of Nanjing Normal University and the 2nd session of the Regional Civilization Forum. Hosted by Associate Professor Peng Hui, the event drew more than one hundred teachers, students and members of the public from inside and outside the university.

Having worked on the front line of archaeological practice for two decades, Ms. Hu possesses profound knowledge of prehistoric civilizations in the western Taihu Lake region. Focusing on the evolutionary trajectory of local prehistoric civilizations, she integrated the latest archaeological discoveries from the Jiangsu Regional Civilization Origin Exploration Project and sorted out the developmental pedigree of prehistoric cultures in western Taihu Lake, presenting a remarkable lecture.Taking the 8,100-year-old Baojia Site in Liyang as the starting point, she confirmed it as the earliest prehistoric site in the Taihu Lake Rim. She elaborated on the distinctive Luotuodun Culture native to western Taihu Lake, noting that it coexisted contemporaneously with the Majiabang Culture in the eastern area, which fills the research gap of prehistoric cultures in western Taihu Lake dating back to 7000–6000 BP.Furthermore, referencing major sites including Sanxingcun and Xuecheng, she analyzed how the transitional landform from mountains to plains in western Taihu Lake forged its distinctive cultural features. She also illustrated the evolutionary process of regional cultures: from independent development and the coexistence of east-west cultural disparities to gradual integration and unification. Based on current archaeological evidence, Ms. Hu verified that the lower reaches of the Yangtze River serve as a core area for the origin of the pluralistic and integrated Chinese civilization.