The Archaeological Team of the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses of Xi'an Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences 2010

At its meeting in Oviedo, the Jury for the 2010 Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences, made up of Mr. Lluis Xabel Álvarez, Gonzalo Anes y Álvarez de Castrillón, Marquess of Castrillón, Mr. Raúl Bocanegra Sierra, Ms. María Emilia Casas Baamonde, Ms. Leslie Crawford, Mr. José Luis García Delgado, Mr. Severino García Vigón, Mr. Manuel Jesús González, Mr. Luis González Seara, Ms. Carmen Iglesias, Mr. Manuel Menéndez Menéndez, Mr. Adolfo Menéndez Menéndez, Mr. José Manuel Otero Novas, Mr. Alberto Pico Maeso, Mr. Rafael Puyol Antolín, chaired by Mr. Manuel Fraga Iribarne and with Mr. Juan Vázquez García acting as secretary, has decided by majority vote to confer the 2010 Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences on the archaeological team  of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang in Xi’an.

The archaeological team of the Terracotta Warriors of Xi’an is undertaking a multidisciplinary research project enabling the study of an important period of formation of the Chinese Empire that goes back over two thousand years into the past and which had an enormous impact on the make-up of that society.

The Jury has wished to pay tribute to a team of archaeologists and other scientists who have unearthed this great tomb complex and, in particular, the work that has revealed to the world the cultural importance of China and of its civilization that spans thousands of years, its social organisation and its artistic splendour. The team has made it possible for millions of people from all over the world to enter into contact for the first time with a fundamental chapter in the history of civilizations. It has also opened up an extraordinarily prolific path for multiples fields of knowledge.

Oviedo, 19th May 2010