Evolution of Neolithic site distribution (9.0–4.0 ka BP) in Anhui, East China

Abstract

Based on archaeological surveys of Neolithic cultural development and GIS spatial analysis, this study reproduced the main characteristics of temporal distribution and settlement selection of the sites from the Neolithic Age in Anhui and identified a relationship between environmental evolution and human activity. The results show that altitude, slope direction, and slope gradient were consistent among the settlements at different stages of the Neolithic Age in Anhui, and the sites were mostly distributed in hilly and plain areas on southeast-or south-facing slopes of low gradients close to rivers. We determined that early Neolithic Age (9.0-7.0 ka BP) sites were scattered in small numbers and likely had little cultural exchange with communities of other provinces. The environmental characteristics of various regions in Anhui indicated that the climate was warm and humid with extensive water distribution. The sites of the mid Neolithic Age (7.0-5.0 ka BP) increased rapidly with wide distribution. They were mainly distributed in the plain area north of the Huaihe River and the southwestern areas of Anhui. In the mid Neolithic Age, the warm and humid climate gradually dried, and our ancestors slowly developed cultural exchanges. The largest number of sites existed during the late Neolithic Age (5.0-4.0 ka BP), and were distributed throughout the province. During this period, the overall climate was relatively dry, but humans could still obtain water and other resources through migration. The relatively benign climate facilitated cultural interaction and exchange, which increased during this time, and the Wanjiang culture

Holocene Environmental Archaeology of the Yangtze River Valley in China: A Review

“…However, the distribution pattern of the settlement sites in each period was related to the geomorphologic conditions in the eastern part of the basin, which were highly susceptible to river swings and flood disasters. Wu et al [21,61,62,129], Luo et al [130], and Zong et al [131] also extensively used a large quantity of chronology, micropale-ontology, and sedimentary borehole data, in combination with archaeological site sur-veys and geographic information technologies, to explore the impact of ancient water landscape and Holocene environmental changes of Anhui, Shanghai, and Zhejiang on the rise and fall of prehistoric cultures and settlement transmutations.…”

“…Environmental archaeology is an interdisciplinary science combining archaeolog-ical science, geochronology, Quaternary geology, zoology, botany, sedimentology, stra-tigraphy, geochemistry, micropaleontology, remote sensing, GIS, and other natural sciences [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Primarily through the analysis and research of sediments from archae-ological site stratigraphy and the natural stratigraphic profile, environmental archae-ology reveals environmental processes occurring since the dawn of humanity, particu-larly human-related environmental issues during the Holocene [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. The goal of environmental archaeology is to understand how the natural environment impacted the survival of ancient humans and how ancient humans lived and developed through their simultaneous adaptation to and influence on the environment [21][22][23][24][25][26].…”

“…Primarily through the analysis and research of sediments from archae-ological site stratigraphy and the natural stratigraphic profile, environmental archae-ology reveals environmental processes occurring since the dawn of humanity, particu-larly human-related environmental issues during the Holocene [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. The goal of environmental archaeology is to understand how the natural environment impacted the survival of ancient humans and how ancient humans lived and developed through their simultaneous adaptation to and influence on the environment [21][22][23][24][25][26]. Environ-mental archaeology focuses on the environmental evolution and human-landscape in-teractions closely related to the development of human civilization [4,[27][28][29].…”

Spatial Expansion of Human Settlement during the Longshan Period (~4.5–~3.9 ka BP) and Its Hydroclimatic Contexts in the Lower Yellow River Floodplain, Eastern China

“…Moreover, the Dawenkou period was selected as the pre-Longshan period (~6500-~4600 a BP) in southwestern Shandong and north Anhui Provinces (Table 1). Although here the durations of the pre-Longshan period in southwestern Shandong and northern Anhui Provinces lasted for a shorter time than those in Henan and southern Hebei Provinces, the site numbers of the Beixin Culture in Shandong Province [93] and the Shishanzi Culture in Anhui Province [94] are very small. These factors do not change the overall spatial patterns of human settlement distribution during the pre-Longshan period in southwestern Shandong and northern Anhui Provinces [93,94].…”

“…Although here the durations of the pre-Longshan period in southwestern Shandong and northern Anhui Provinces lasted for a shorter time than those in Henan and southern Hebei Provinces, the site numbers of the Beixin Culture in Shandong Province [93] and the Shishanzi Culture in Anhui Province [94] are very small. These factors do not change the overall spatial patterns of human settlement distribution during the pre-Longshan period in southwestern Shandong and northern Anhui Provinces [93,94]. Consequently, the different durations of the pre-Longshan period in different provinces do not influence the results, and this could serve the purpose of this study: presenting the spatial pattern differences in archaeological site distribution during the pre-Longshan and Longshan periods.…”