Early–middle Holocene ecological change and its influence on human subsistence strategies in the Luoyang Basin, north-central China

Zhang, Junna; Xia, Xinyu; Zhang, Xiaohu; Storozum, Michael; Huang, Xiaozhong; Han, Jianye; Hong, Xu; Zhao, Haitao; Cui, Yifu; Dodson, John; Dong, Guanghui

doi:10.1017/qua.2017.104

Cited by 26 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Agricultural intensification occurred in both the Yellow River valley and the Yangtze River valley during the 7th millennium (Dong et al, 2016; Fuller et al, 2009; Zhao, 2014), and the cultivation of foxtail/broomcorn millet and rice became the primary subsistence strategy in these two areas before 6000 BP. The expansion of farming lifestyles during 6000–4000 BP (Figures 3(d) and 4(d)) significantly promoted the increase of human settlement intensity in the NEAMR and south China, while climate change and sea-level change may have influenced natural environments with respect to farming activities and human habitation during the late Neolithic period (Dong et al, 2012; Liu et al, 2018; Zhang et al, 2018; Zheng et al, 2018). The intensity of human settlement on the TP and IAR was very low before 5500 BP when hunter–gathers seasonally migrated in the area (Zhang et al, 2016).…”

Section: ⅲ Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal variation in human settlements and their interaction with living environments in Neolithic and Bronze Age China

Dong

Zhang

et al. 2022

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

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It is evident that the origin, development, and expansion of agriculture and animal husbandry during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods across Eurasia facilitated the increase of the world population and emergence of ancient civilizations, as well as altering human livelihoods, especially in East Asia. However, different areas of China have different histories in terms of the development of agriculture and of extensive human settlement during that period, and the spatial differences in human–environment interaction are not yet well understood. Here, we review up-to-date results of radiocarbon dating, archaeobotanical, and zooarchaeological analysis from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in China, along with high-resolution paleoclimatic records, to explore the spatiotemporal variation of human settlement and its relationship to the development of agriculture and to climate change in different areas during the period 10,000–2200 BP. The results suggest that human settlement intensities in the northern East Asia Monsoon Region and south China were relatively low during 10,000–6500 BP, with a small peak during ∼8000–7500 BP, and evidently increased since ∼6500 BP, whereas farming groups began to settle intensively on the Tibetan Plateau and the inland arid region since ∼5200 BP and ∼4000 BP, respectively. The spatiotemporal variation in the intensification of human settlement in China during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods was primarily induced by agricultural intensification and expansion across prehistoric Eurasia; climate change may have influenced the hydrothermal and vegetation conditions for crop cultivation and livestock production. The asynchronous intensive human settlements in different areas of China resulted in spatial differences in the impact of activities by human on the environments surrounding them during 10,000–2200 BP, shedding light on the evolution of the human–land relationship in China during the Neolithic and Bronze periods.

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Section: ⅲ Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal variation in human settlements and their interaction with living environments in Neolithic and Bronze Age China

Dong

Zhang

et al. 2022

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

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“…The increasing sediment accumulation brought sediment-rich clay and ponding depressions which provided the appropriate setting for rice cultivation. It is credible that there are large floodplain areas suitable for rice cultivation on both sides of the Luo River near the he Suyang site (Rosen et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2018;.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Agriculture and Society in the Yiluo River Basin: Archaeobotanical Evidence From the Suyang Site

Yang

Duan

Cheng³

et al. 2022

Front. Earth Sci.

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The Yiluo River Basin is located in the Central plains of China, an area commonly known as the center of origin of ancient Chinese civilization. Agriculture lays the foundation for social and economic development and triggers societal change and archaeobotany can provide important clues on this issue. archaeobotanical study is an important perspective on the relationship between agriculture and society development. However, relatively few archaeobotanical studies have been conducted in the Yiluo River basin, and the paucity of data has hindered our understanding of the relationship between agriculture and society. Therefore, the archaeobotanical analysis at the Suyang site in the middle reach of the Luo River provides an opportunity to understand how and why agriculture and society developed. Our analytical results of carbonized plant remains and phytolith, coupled with radiocarbon dating, showed that millet was the main crop in the late Yangshao culture (5,500–5000 BP), followed by rice. However, rice cultivation in the area expanded during the Longshan culture (5,000–4000 BP), and its importance as a crop possibly exceeded millet at Suyang. From the late Yangshao to Longshan, rice was cultivated in wet fields by utilizing the Luo River floodplain on a large scale. The proportion of rice at Suyang is the highest among contemporary sites in the Central Plains. It may be related to many reasons such as suitable environmental and geomorphological conditions, advanced water management, the influence of the Qujialing culture, and population growth. In the late Yangshao culture, crop processing seemed to have been concentrated in communal areas. However, during the Longshan culture, different steps of crop processing were scattered throughout the site. This change is hypothesized as a change in the family structure and economic production. After the Yangshao period, the nuclear family became the fundamental unit for social, cultural, and economic production in the Central Plains.

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“…Species such as Eleocharis acicularis , Salix sinopurpurea , and Typha spp. are common in wetlands (HPICRA & SAMPU, 2007; S. Y. Wang et al, 1989; J. N. Zhang & Xia, 2018).…”

Section: Regional Settings and The Wcg Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of fluvial landscapes since the late Pleistocene at the Wangchenggang site of the Ying River Basin, Central China: Implications for the development and change of prehistoric settlements

Liao

Lü

et al. 2022

Geoarchaeology

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Reconstructing the evolution of fluvial landscapes is vital to our understanding of how and why early settlements used or abandoned locations in dynamic alluvial settings, especially places such as China's Central Plains where alluvial landforms have dominated since at least the late Pleistocene era. The Wangchenggang (WCG) site on the upper reaches of the Ying River is considered to be the legendary capital of the Great Yu who, according to historical documents, heroically tamed the big floods and founded the first dynasty of Xia. However, evolution of the alluvial landscape of the Holocene Ying River and its influence on the long‐term settlement change at the WCG site remains unclear. We present a detailed reconstruction of long‐term landscape evolution and settlement change at the site, based on the results of our geoarchaeological investigation, and published paleoclimate and archaeobotanical data. The results show that the region experienced an episode of extensive alluvial accretion in the late Pleistocene. From the end of the late Pleistocene to the early Holocene, the Ying River began to incise the alluvial plain, leading to the formation of the oldest terrace (T3). The middle and late Holocene in the Ying River valleys saw two episodes of alluvial aggradation between 7.7–5.4 ka B.P. (before present) and 4.5–3.8 ka B.P., respectively. Each of these events was followed by an alluvial incision, resulting in the formation of new alluvial terraces. During the historical periods, the youngest terrace T1 was formed. These cyclic changes in the regional fluvial landscape profoundly impacted the location and expansion of prehistoric settlements. During the Peiligang period (9.0–7.0 ka B.P.), the early stages of alluvial aggregation resulted in wide and shallow channels along the rivers. Early humans who relied on gathering and hunting for food chose to establish small settlements along such riverine environments. As alluvial aggradation continued in the Yangshao period (7.0–5.0 ka B.P.), they moved to a higher place, away from the rivers in the southwest, and flourished on high alluvial grounds. When a secondary terrace formed after the Longshan period (5.0–4.0 ka B.P.), people moved eastward again to build an early city on the T2 terraces and T3 terraces of the Ying River. When the water levels rose toward the terrace surfaces, they began to build moats and practiced mixed millet–rice farming. During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770–4256 B.C.), when the river started to down cut on a large scale, humans responded by building settlements on the lower and flat plains in the east.

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Early–middle Holocene ecological change and its influence on human subsistence strategies in the Luoyang Basin, north-central China

Cited by 26 publications

References 61 publications

Spatiotemporal variation in human settlements and their interaction with living environments in Neolithic and Bronze Age China

Spatiotemporal variation in human settlements and their interaction with living environments in Neolithic and Bronze Age China

The Agriculture and Society in the Yiluo River Basin: Archaeobotanical Evidence From the Suyang Site

Evolution of fluvial landscapes since the late Pleistocene at the Wangchenggang site of the Ying River Basin, Central China: Implications for the development and change of prehistoric settlements

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