Out of Africa through the peopling of Eurasia. Ancient DNA and migration routes, 70,000–5,000 BCE.

Where farming emerged and how population concentrated differently in China and Europe. Convergence vs. persistent dispersal, 9,000 BCE–1000 AD.

Distance from the steppe as a predictor of state size. The geographic constraint that separates Chinese from European political development.

From competing chiefdoms to territorial empire. 38 archaeological sites across six periods, 3300–206 BCE.

China's great demographic shift from north to south. The Huai River divide, centroid drift, and Skinner macro-regions, 2 AD–1982.

How long did emperors last? Dynasty-level patterns in ruler tenure, succession, and violent removal.

How the Chinese state taxed, spent, and borrowed across two millennia. Revenue extraction, expenditure composition, and the land tax.