西南夷是指中國古代分布在今四川西南、西北和云南、貴州等地區(qū)各個族群的總稱。新石器時代晚期，西南夷地區(qū)形成了15個文化區(qū)域。春秋戰(zhàn)國時代，西南夷地區(qū)形成了13個青銅文化區(qū)域，區(qū)分為農(nóng)耕、半農(nóng)半牧以及游牧等三種經(jīng)濟類型的社會以及酋邦和部落兩種政體。本書首次建立起先秦秦漢時期西南民族政治與文化發(fā)展演進的歷史序列，對西南民族地區(qū)政治與文化的演進提出若干創(chuàng)新觀點，為中國古代國家與文明的形成提供了新的理論分析模式。
　　The Southwest Yi（Southwest Minority Groups）is the generic term for the ancient ethnic groups distributed in southwest and northwest of Sichuan， Yunnan， Guizhou regions. At the late Neolithic age， the area of the Southwest Yi formed 15 cultural regions. At the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period， the area of the Southwest Yi formed 13 bronze cultural regions， divided into farming， half farming and half nomadism ，and nomadic economic types of societies and two regimes of tribe and chiefdom.
　　This book is first established the series of historical evolution of political and cultural development of the ethnic groups of southwest China during the period of the pre-Qin，Qin and Han period， puts forward some innovation viewpoint in evolution of politics and culture of the ethnic groups in southwest China， and provides a new theoretical analysis model for the formation of the ancient states and civilization of China.