Exploring the history of cultural exchange in prehistoric Eurasia from the perspectives of crop diffusion and consumption

Dong, Guanghui; Yang, Yishi; Han, Jianye; Wang, Hui; Chen, Fahu

doi:10.1007/s11430-016-9037-x

Cited by 121 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…The oldest directly dated wheat remains in Central Asia have been found in Tasbas, eastern Kazakhstan, and have been dated to ∼4,500 cal a BP (Doumani et al, 2015). Based on archaeobotanical and carbon isotope data of human bones and dating of crop remains found in prehistoric sites in Eurasia, Dong et al (2017) suggested that western Asian crops spread to eastern Central Asia and northwestern China between 4,500 and 4,000 a BP. Further evidence of early agricultural and herding practice in Central Asia stems from the Eneolithic/Early Bronze Age site of Sarazm in northwestern Tajikistan (Frachetti, 2012;Spengler and Willcox, 2013).…”

Section: Holocene Human and Mammal Presence In The Lake Chatyr Kol Camentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomolecular Evidence of Early Human Occupation of a High-Altitude Site in Western Central Asia During the Holocene

et al. 2020

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Reconstructions of early human occupation of high-altitude sites in Central Asia and possible migration routes during the Holocene are limited due to restricted archeological sample material. Consequently, there is a growing interest in alternative approaches to investigate past anthropogenic activity in this area. In this study, fecal biomarkers preserved in lake sediments from Lake Chatyr Kol (Tian Shan, Kyrgyzstan) were analyzed to reconstruct the local presence of humans and pastoral animals in this lowhuman-impact area in the past. Spanning the last ∼11,700 years, this high-altitude site (∼3,500 m above sea level) provides a continuous record of human occupancy in Western Central Asia. An early increase of human presence in the area during the mid-Holocene is marked by a sharp peak of the human fecal sterol coprostanol and its epimer epicoprostanol in the sediments. An associated increase in 5β-stigmastanol, a fecal biomarker deriving from herbivores indicates a human occupancy that most probably largely depended upon livestock. However, sterol profiles show that grazing animals had already occupied the catchment area of Lake Chatyr Kol before and also after a significant presence of humans. The biomarker evidence in this study demonstrates an early presence of humans in a high-altitude site in Central Asia at ∼5,900-4,000 a BP. Dry environmental conditions during this period likely made high altitude regions more accessible. Moreover, our results help to understand human migration in Western Central Asia during the early and mid-Holocene as part of a prehistoric Silk Road territory.

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Section: Holocene Human and Mammal Presence In The Lake Chatyr Kol Camentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomolecular Evidence of Early Human Occupation of a High-Altitude Site in Western Central Asia During the Holocene

et al. 2020

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“…The subsequent revolution in agriculture became one of the most important innovations in human history, which greatly improved the humans' capabilities to adapt to and alter the natural environment. A farming lifestyle spread widely throughout Eurasia between 8,000 and 2,000 BCE [2], roughly corresponding to the Neolithic era in China. Climate change was considered to be a key trigger for the cultural evolution on a regional scale during this period [3], and this might have contributed further to the emergence of early complex societies [4] and ancient civilization in northern China [5].…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Trans-Eurasia culture exchange appeared between 3,000 and 2,000 BCE and intensified in the subsequent millennium [2]. This further altered the relationship between cultural evolution and climate change during the Bronze Age in China (2,000-200 BCE).…”

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confidence: 99%

Understanding past human-environment interaction from an interdisciplinary perspective

Dong

2018

Science Bulletin

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“…1–9]. Archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological, and stable isotopic analyses of floral and faunal remains unearthed from prehistoric sites in China provide valuable datasets for exploring these issues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human paleodiet and animal utilization strategies during the Bronze Age in northwest Yunnan Province, southwest China

et al. 2017

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Reconstructing ancient diets and the use of animals and plants augment our understanding of how humans adapted to different environments. Yunnan Province in southwest China is ecologically and environmentally diverse. During the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, this region was occupied by a variety of local culture groups with diverse subsistence systems and material culture. In this paper, we obtained carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopic ratios from human and faunal remains in order to reconstruct human paleodiets and strategies for animal exploitation at the Bronze Age site of Shilinggang (ca. 2500 Cal BP) in northwest Yunnan Province. The δ13C results for human samples from Shilinggang demonstrate that people’s diets were mainly dominated by C3-based foodstuffs, probably due to both direct consumption of C3 food and as a result of C3 foddering of consumed animals. Auxiliary C4 food signals can also be detected. High δ15N values indicate that meat was an important component of the diet. Analysis of faunal samples indicates that people primarily fed pigs and dogs with human food waste, while sheep/goats and cattle were foddered with other food sources. We compare stable isotope and archaeobotanical data from Shilinggang with data from other Bronze Age sites in Yunnan to explore potential regional variation in subsistence strategies. Our work suggests that people adopted different animal utilization and subsistence strategies in different parts of Yunnan during the Bronze Age period, probably as local adaptations to the highly diversified and isolated environments in the region.

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Exploring the history of cultural exchange in prehistoric Eurasia from the perspectives of crop diffusion and consumption

Cited by 121 publications

References 83 publications

Biomolecular Evidence of Early Human Occupation of a High-Altitude Site in Western Central Asia During the Holocene

Biomolecular Evidence of Early Human Occupation of a High-Altitude Site in Western Central Asia During the Holocene

Understanding past human-environment interaction from an interdisciplinary perspective

Human paleodiet and animal utilization strategies during the Bronze Age in northwest Yunnan Province, southwest China

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