Calendrical Anchors for Ancient Civilizations: AI-Driven Chronological Resolution of the Western Zhou Bronze Age
Ching-an Hsiao · 2025
Historical periodization, due to its inherent complexity, often generates significant scholarly debate, hindering the precise dating of events and artifacts. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) offer new opportunities to address this challenge, enabling both the achievement of research objectives and the redefinition of methodological paradigms. This study employs a novel approach, the "Historical Eigen-dating Method," integrating AI-assisted literature reviews with an ontological framework to reassess the dating of the Xiao Yu Ding (小盂鼎), a prominent bronze vessel from the Western Zhou period. Through non AI analysis of key evidence and points of contention, we propose two possible dates for the Xiao Yu Ding, corroborated by the Jing Fang Ding (静方鼎). This new paradigm and its findings contribute to resolving longstanding chronological disputes in early Chinese history.