Collections & Research Staff
Chen Shen
Senior Curator, Bishop White Chair of East Asian Archaeology
B.A., Archaeology, Wuhan University, China, 1987
M.A., Archaeology, University of Tulsa, OK, 1992
Ph.D., Anthropological Archaeology, University of Toronto, 1997
Dr. Shen joined the ROM in 1997 as the first Bishop White Curator of East Asian Archaeology, an endowed curatorship, and began the Canadian-Chinese collaborative archaeological fieldworks in China. Currently, Dr. Shen is leading several projects in Pleistocene archaeology in Northern China - Nihewan, Luonan, and Shandong projects. His research focuses on human origins and lithic technology development in East Asia. These projects are supported by research grants from Canada's Social Sciences and Humanity Research Council, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (U.S.), the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the ROM Governors. The work of Dr. Shen’s team in East Asia has revealed the earliest hominid site, approximately 1.66 million years old. Since 2009, in collaboration with scientists from Beijing’s Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dr. Shen’s fieldwork involves excavations at the Zhoukoudian site, renowned for the discovery of the Peking Man fossils in the early 20th century as well as being a central location for the study of human evolution.
Dr. Shen is responsible for the development of the ROM's Chinese galleries, exhibitions, and collection management. His research focuses on the study of prehistoric stone tools and pottery, Bronze-Age archaeological materials including bone, jade and bronze artifacts, as well as coin and mirror collections. Dr. Shen has curated numerous exhibitions at the ROM, including 2002’s critically acclaimed Treasures from a Lost Civilization: Ancient Chinese Art from Sichuan. Dr. Shen has also been integral in fostering working relationships between the ROM and numerous renowned museums in China, including the Palace Museum and the National Museum of China (both in Beijing), and Nanjing Museum (Jiangsu Province). Currently, he is involved in organizing workshops and symposiums on cultural heritage management and preservation in China. Dr. Shen is an Academic Trustee of the Archaeological Institute of America.
Dr. Shen is a professor at the Anthropology Centre of the Eastern Asian Study Department at the University of Toronto, where he teaches courses in Art and Archaeology of Early China, and Technology and Material Culture in Ancient China. He is the author of Anyang and Sanxingdui: Unveiling the Mysterious of Ancient Chinese Civilizations and the senior editor of Current Research in Chinese Pleistocene Archaeology. Dr. Shen has published many academic papers in both English and Chinese languages.
Dr. Chen Shen is the curator of The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army, and is responsible for developing the content of the exhibition’s Canadian national tour.
Recent Publications
| 2010 | Li Z Y, Shen C. "Use-wear analysis confirms the use of Palaeolithic bone tools by the Lingjing Xuchang early human." Chinese Science Bulletin, 2010, 55:2282-2289, doi: 10.1007/s11434-010-3089-4 (corresponding author). |
| 2010 | Shen C. The Warrior Emperor and China's Terracotta Army. Royal Ontario Museum Press: Toronto. |
| 2010 | Shen C. “Evaluating Values of World Heritage Sites and Cultural Tourism in China” In Heritage Values in Contemporary Society Edited by George S. Smith, Phyllis M. Messenger, and Hilary A. Soderland. Walnet Creek, California: 255 – 266. |
| 2010 | Shen, C. and H. Chen “Cultural Heritage Management in China: Current Practices and Problems” In Cultural Heritage Management: A Global Perspective. Edited by Phyllis M. Messanger and George S. Smith. University Press of Florida: Gainesville: 70 – 81. |
| 2010 | “Soldiers of Fortune”. ROM Magazine, vol. 42, No. 4 (Spring), p. 22-23. |
| 2009 | Zhang X L, Shen C, Gao X, et al. "Use-wear evidence confirms the earliest hafted chipped-stone adzes of Upper Palaeolithic in Northern China." Chinese Science Bulletin, doi: 10.1007/s11434-009-0566-8 (corresponding author). |
Publications List (PDF)
Current Exhibition
The Warrior Emperor & China’s Terracotta Army
ROM Blog
ROM Profile: Dr. Chen Shen
Galleries
Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Gallery of China
ROM Gallery of Chinese Architecture
Research Projects
Luonan Project
Nihewan Project
Shandong Project
Chinese Coins
Hollow-brick Han Tomb
Conversations: Dr. Chen Shen
July 14, 2010
Dr. Chen Shen is the Bishop White Chair of East Asian Archaeology at the ROM, and is the senior curator who developed the exhibition The Warrior Emperor and China's Terracotta Army.
This exciting series offers a behind the scenes look at the various curatorial research, education, and programming that is currently happening around the Museum.
Video Podcast (22MB, 2min 23sec)
Written Transcript (PDF)
Building Up and Digging Down: New Archaeological Evidence for Construction of the Tomb Complex of the First Emperor
June 24, 2010
Explore the construction of the First Emperor's vast tomb complex and how recent discoveries have changed our understanding its construction. Dr. Chen Shen, Senior Curator and Bishop White Chair, East Asia Art & Archaeology and curator of The Warrior Emperor and China's Terracotta Army, is the first speaker in The Enduring Genius of China Lecture Series.
Audio Podcast (40MB, 58min 11sec)
Written Transcript (PDF)
Other Links
Archaeological Institute of America (AIA)
Archaeological Newsletter - Who Owns the Cave? - Zhoukoudian Cave Revisited
Canada's Social Sciences and Humanity Research Council
Chinese Academy of Sciences
University of Toronto Department of Anthropology
University of Toronto Department of
East Asian Studies
Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research
Contact Information
Department of World Cultures
Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queen's Park
Toronto, ON.
M5S 2C6
Tel.: 416.586.5691
Fax: 416.586.5877
E-mail: worldcultures@rom.on.ca
Dr. Chen Shen, Senior Curator, Department of World Cultures.
Dr. Chen Shen at the Museum of Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, China.
Dr. Chen Shen excavating a one million year old Palaeolithic site in the Nihewan Basin, Northern China, 2006.
Dr. Chen Shen excavating a Late Pelaeolithic site at shizhitan, Shanxi Province, China, with his student Song Yanhua.
