Agricultural Transformations and Their Influential Factors Revealed by Archaeobotanical Evidence in Holocene Jiangsu Province, Eastern China

Abstract

The development and adoption of agriculture has been investigated for decades, and remains a central topic within archaeology. However, most previous studies focus on the crop’s domestication centers, leading to gaps in knowledge, particularly in transitional zones between these centers. This paper reviews published archaeobotanical evidence and historical documents to reconstruct the trajectory of agricultural systems in Holocene Jiangsu Province. Comparing these new results to paleoclimate information, historical documents, and archaeological data enables us to better understand the underlying influences of past agricultural development. Our results indicate that a warm and wet climate may have promoted ancient peoples to first settle in Jiangsu between 8,500 and 6,000 BP and adopt rice farming. The continuous warm and wet climate may have facilitated the rapid development and expansion of rice agriculture, ultimately contributing to large-scale human settlement in 6,000–4,000 BP in Jiangsu Province. Between 4,000 and 2,300 BP during a cooler and drier climate millet agriculture diffused southward, facilitating a mixed rice and millet agricultural system. This mixed farming supported a continuesd widespread settlement and population growth in Jiangsu. After 2,300 BP, political instability in north China resulted in further southeastward migration, advanced planting technology was brought about to south China, facilitating highly developed agricultural systems and rapid population expansion in Jiangsu. Population growth led to the establishment of Jiangnan as the regional economic center, where people chose high-yielding rice and wheat rather than millet.

Species Diversity and Distribution Pattern of Heritage Trees in the Rapidly-Urbanizing Province of Jiangsu, China

“…Jiangsu Province (30 C, and the annual average precipitation is 998.5 mm [38]. The main soil types of Jiangsu from north to south are brown soil, leached cinnamon soil, yellow-brown soil, and red-yellow soil.…”

The “2.8 ka BP Cold Event” Indirectly Influenced the Agricultural Exploitation During the Late Zhou Dynasty in the Coastal Areas of the Jianghuai Region

“…Afterwards, the earliest carbonized rice remains were identified around 7,000 cal a BP from the Longqiuzhuang site in central Jiangsu Province (Wang and Zhang, 1998 ; Archaeology Team of Longqiuzhuang Site, 1999 ). Previous studies considered that rice farming predominated in Jiangsu Province since the Bronze Age (Li et al, 2021 ) and included the coastal areas of the Jianghuai Region represented by the Datongpu site.…”

“…Owing to the relatively stable shallow sea environment which dominated the coastal area of eastern China, the land was submerged during the Holocene Optimum in the eastern coastal area of China ( Figure 1 ), and gradually accumulated sediment and was exposed after 7–6 ka BP (Ling, 1990 ; Xue, 2002 ; Li, 2014 ; Zheng et al, 2018 ). People began to move eastward to the coastal areas of Jianghuai Region after 5 ka BP (Li et al, 2021 ). However, owing to the occasional marine transgression, few people settled in this area and instead settled in regions with slightly higher elevations, such as the piedmont area (e.g., Tenghualuo site in Lianyungang City) or knolls (e.g., Qingdun site in Hai'an County) (Li et al, 2021 ).…”

Sex-Biased Population Admixture Mediated Subsistence Strategy Transition of Heishuiguo People in Han Dynasty Hexi Corridor

“…Among the studies of adaptive changes, the evaluation of the factors leading to significant changes in subsistence strategy in human prehistory and history is a fascinating topic. Climate change, technological innovation, rapidly growing population, trans-continental cultural exchange, human migration, and geopolitics are clear potential candidates ( Cohen, 1975 ; Bonsall et al, 2002 ; Gao et al, 2007 ; Pokharia et al, 2017 ; Cheung et al, 2019 ; Petraglia et al, 2020 ; Yang et al, 2020 ; Li et al, 2021 ). Climate change is well-studied and considered one of the most guiding factors of shifting subsistence strategies.…”