Local millet farming and permanent occupation on the Tibetan Plateau

Lü, Hongliang

doi:10.1007/s11430-022-1018-7

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…of the TP [24]. This pattern has been further corroborated and enriched by subsequent archaeological and genetic discoveries [28][29][30]. Although this occupation timeline has been basically outlined, the process details and the variation in human behavior across cultures remain unclear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 73%

GIS and Machine Learning Models Target Dynamic Settlement Patterns and Their Driving Mechanisms from the Neolithic to Bronze Age in the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Li,

Dong,

Che

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

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Traditional GIS-based statistical models are intended to extrapolate patterns of settlements and their interactions with the environment. They contribute significantly to our knowledge of past human–land relationships. Yet, these models are often criticized for their empiricism, lopsided specific factors, and for overlooking the synergy between variables. Though largely untested, machine learning and artificial intelligence methods have the potential to overcome these shortcomings comprehensively and objectively. The northeastern Tibetan Plateau (NETP) is characterized by diverse environments and significant changes to the social system from the Neolithic to Bronze Age. In this study, this area serves as a representative case for assessing the complex relationships between settlement locations and geographic environments, taking full advantages of these new models. We have explored a novel modeling case by employing GIS and random forests to consider multiple factors, including terrain, vegetation, soil, climate, hydrology, and land suitability, to construct classification models identifying environmental variation across different cultural periods. The model exhibited strong performance and a high archaeological prediction value. Potential living maps were generated for each cultural stage, revealing distinct environmental selection strategies from the Neolithic to Bronze Age. The key environmental parameters of elevation, climate, soil erosion, and cultivated land suitability were calculated with high weights, influencing human environmental decisions synergistically. Furthermore, we conducted a quantitative analysis of temporal dynamics in climate and subsistence to understand driving mechanisms behind environmental strategies. These findings suggest that past human environmental strategies were based on the comprehensive consideration of various factors, coupled with their social economic scenario. Such subsistence-oriented activities supported human beings in overcoming elevation limitation, and thus allowed them to inhabit wider pastoral areas. This study showcases the potential of machine learning in predicting archaeological probabilities and in interpreting the environmental influence on settlement patterns.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 73%

GIS and Machine Learning Models Target Dynamic Settlement Patterns and Their Driving Mechanisms from the Neolithic to Bronze Age in the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Li,

Dong,

Che

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

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“…The Northwest Sichuan Highland is situated on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. The initial peopling of this extreme environment has received much attention as to understand the capacity of human adaption as well as the history of the Sino-Tibetan family (Aldenderfer, 2011; d’Alpoim Guedes and Aldenderfer, 2020; Lu, 2023). Upper Paleolithic sites (Piluo, Fulin, Shizishan, Yanyundong, etc.)…”

Section: Archeological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local adaptation and subsistence strategy of Yangshao migrants in Northwestern Sichuan in China during the Middle Neolithic (5300–4700 cal. BP)

Tang,

Wang,

Liu

et al. 2023

The Holocene

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Migration is a frequent phenomenon in human history. Previous studies mainly used migration as a simple process to account for any cultural changes observed in migrant communities. Recent studies, however, have recognized that migration is embedded in both environmental and social contexts, thus making it necessary to study the consequence of migration on a case-by-case basis. To better understand the changes associated with migrational processes, this case study investigates the subsistence pattern of a Neolithic site (5300-4700 cal. BP), Liujiazhai, in Northwestern Sichuan Highland by employing microbotanical residue analysis on pottery vessels. Our results on millet phytolith contribute to the overall picture of millet agriculture in Yangshao and Majiayao migrant communities and enrich our understanding of how varying crop patterns in Neolithic western China are likely a consequence of migration. In addition, we suggest that Liujiazhai migrants adapted to the high-altitude environment by utilizing more local wild plant resources. This study shows that, although Yangshao migrants were still connected to their homeland in terms of material culture, relocating to the challenging environment in NW Sichuan requires adaptive strategies that diverged the Yangshao migrants, including Liujiazhai, from their home culture. Hence, this study exemplifies how migration is an agent of change.

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“…Identification of animal remains is fundamental in the field of zooarchaeology and a large number of modern animal bones are required for comparison as reference specimens. The Tibetan Plateau is home to a diverse array of wildlife, including over 1,100 different species comprising 190 mammals, 817 avian species, 55 reptiles, 45 amphibians, and 159 fish, of which many are indigenous to the Tibetan Plateau's unique ecosystem (Wu and Wu, 1992;Ma, 2004;TZCLG, 2005;Liu et al, 2013;Lu, 2018). For instance, among the 29 mammalian species found in Qiangtang Plateau, 11 ungulates are endemic to the Plateau, such as Bos mutus, Pantholops hodgsonii, and Equus kiang (Lu, 2018).…”

Section: Animal Resource Use Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Tibetan Plateau is home to a diverse array of wildlife, including over 1,100 different species comprising 190 mammals, 817 avian species, 55 reptiles, 45 amphibians, and 159 fish, of which many are indigenous to the Tibetan Plateau's unique ecosystem (Wu and Wu, 1992;Ma, 2004;TZCLG, 2005;Liu et al, 2013;Lu, 2018). For instance, among the 29 mammalian species found in Qiangtang Plateau, 11 ungulates are endemic to the Plateau, such as Bos mutus, Pantholops hodgsonii, and Equus kiang (Lu, 2018). Although Tibetan Plateau animal specimens are chiefly held in museums and research institutions, only skulls are typically preserved due to storage constraints, causing issues with animal taxonomy and rendering postcranial bones unsuitable for zooarchaeological research.…”

Section: Animal Resource Use Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Human sedentism and use of animal resources on the prehistoric Tibetan Plateau

Wang,

Zhang,

Chen

et al. 2023

J. Geogr. Sci.

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The transition of human societies from high mobility to sedentary lifestyles had a profound impact on subsistence, technology, and the origin of civilization. Sedentism was influenced by various factors such as climate change, population growth, resource pressure, and technological innovation. The Tibetan Plateau, due to its alpine and hypoxic conditions, is an ideal region to study human adaptation to extreme environments. However, the prehistoric process of sedentism on the Tibetan Plateau is unclear and the chronological sequence and driving mechanism of sedentism on the Tibetan Plateau are still controversial. Previous studies have focused on the diffusion of agriculture from low to high elevation areas, with little attention given to the role of animal resources in sedentism. Seasonality analysis using animal remains is crucial in determining whether a site was occupied year-round. To establish the seasonal calendar of animal resource utilization, it is recommended to create a database of skeletal morphology, whole genome, and proteome of contemporary Tibetan Plateau fauna to aid in the identification of animal remains from archaeological sites. Thus, intricate web of human-animal-environment relationship and the role of animal resources in human sedentism on the Tibetan Plateau can then be evaluated.

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Local millet farming and permanent occupation on the Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 12 publications

References 18 publications

GIS and Machine Learning Models Target Dynamic Settlement Patterns and Their Driving Mechanisms from the Neolithic to Bronze Age in the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau

GIS and Machine Learning Models Target Dynamic Settlement Patterns and Their Driving Mechanisms from the Neolithic to Bronze Age in the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Local adaptation and subsistence strategy of Yangshao migrants in Northwestern Sichuan in China during the Middle Neolithic (5300–4700 cal. BP)

Human sedentism and use of animal resources on the prehistoric Tibetan Plateau

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