New evidence for early 4th millennium BP agriculture in the Western Himalayas: Qasim Bagh, Kashmir

Spate, Michael; Zhang, Guilin; Yatoo, Mumtaz A.; Betts, Alison

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.12.038

Cited by 22 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Wilkin et al 83 recently suggested that the introduction of millet and possibly cereal farming in Mongolia may have played a role in the development of more complex social systems there as well. The apparent switch to more heavily irrigated crops during the key transitional period in the oases on the peripheries of the Taklimakan Desert, further support the growing evidence that illustrate a link between more elaborate and hierarchical political systems and farming in Central Asia 43 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

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Prehistoric agriculture and social structure in the southwestern Tarim Basin: multiproxy analyses at Wupaer

Yang

Zhou

Spengler

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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The oasis villages of the Tarim Basin served as hubs along the ancient Silk Road, and they played an important role in facilitating communication between the imperial centers of Asia. These villages were supported by an irrigated form of cereal farming that was specifically adapted to these early oasis settlements. In this manuscript, we present the results from new archaeobotanical analyses, radiocarbon dating, and organic carbon isotopic studies directly from carbonized seeds at the Wupaer site (1500-400 BC) in the Kashgar Oasis of the western Tarim Basin. Our results showed that early farming in the oasis relied on a mixed wheat and barley system, but after 1200 BC was intensified through more elaborate irrigation, the introduction of more water-demanding legumes, and possibly a greater reliance on free-threshing wheat. These crops and the knowledge of irrigated farming likely dispersed into the Tarim Basin through the mountains from southern Central Asia. Improved agricultural productivity in the Tarim Basin may also have led to demographic and socio-political shifts and fed into the increased exchange that is colloquially referred to as the Silk Road. The Tarim Basin is located at the central point of the historic Eurasia trade routes; resting in the rain shadows of the Kunlun and Tianshan mountains, it is one of the driest and least arable areas in Asia. The Taklimakan Desert occupies the middle of the basin, and while receiving almost no rainfall, it evaporates up to 3,000 mm per annum. Glacial-melt streams from the mountains flow into the desert and mostly disappear in its hinterland. This landscape gave birth to the beaded oases that characterized the historic Silk Road. Archaeological and historical evidence attests to the presence of agricultural city-states or politically organized villages in these oases, likely being founded as early as the fifth century BC 1. Archaeologists have suggested that many of these urbanized oases housed populations of thousands to tens of thousands, with some notable examples including Qiuci, Yumi, Yanqi, and Loulan (Fig. 1) 2,3. Historians refer to these pockets of dense human occupation as the "Western Regions" 2,3. Prehistorically, these oases played a prominent role in cultural exchange and diffusion during the early globalization process 4-10. These city-states helped connect the two ends of ancient Eurasia and were the main channel between peoples in the regions of northern China and southwest Asia 11-14. For decades, archaeologists have recognized cultural similarities between ancient peoples in the Tien Shan Mountains, Pamirs Plateau, Ferghana Basin, and those that lived across the oases of Xinjiang 12,15,16. The study of the origin and evolution of these city-states, their cultural adaptations, and their response to climate change has been the focus of global historians, archaeologists, and paleoclimate scholars 9,17. Since the Swedish archaeologists, Bergman, first found the well-preserved mummies of the Xiaohe Cemetery in Lop Nur in 1934 18 , new prehistoric se...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

“…Peas have been reported at the site of Qasim Bagh (2000-1500 BC) and Kanispur (2700-2000 BC) in the Kashmir Valley of the Pamir Mountains 43,54 . Vigna sp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prehistoric agriculture and social structure in the southwestern Tarim Basin: multiproxy analyses at Wupaer

Yang

Zhou

Spengler

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…These river valleys have served as agricultural experimentation zones for millennia . Farmers grew both southwest and northeast Asian crops in these foothills for the first time in the late 3rd millennium bce, representing some of the earliest agriculture in Central Asia (Spengler et al 2014;Spate et al 2017;Zhou et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The southern Central Asian mountains as an ancient agricultural mixing zone: new archaeobotanical data from Barikot in the Swat valley of Pakistan

Spengler

Tang

Nayak

et al. 2020

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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The mountain foothills of inner Asia have served as a corridor of communication and exchange for at least five millennia, using historically documented trade routes such as the Silk Road and the Tea-Horse Road. Recent research has illustrated the important role that this mountain corridor played in the dispersal of crops and farming technology between northeast and southwest Asia 5,000 to 1,000 years ago. However, the role of the mountain valleys along the southern rim of the Pamirs and Himalaya in facilitating crop dispersals has not yet been fully explored. Notably, ongoing debates over secondary dispersals of Hordeum (barley) and Triticum (wheat) into China and the routes of dispersal for the East Asian crops Oryza sativa (rice), Prunus persica (peach) and P. armeniaca (apricot) into northern India are continuing topics of inquiry. In this article, we add to these discussions by focusing on archaeobotanical remains from the Barikot site (ca. 1200 bce–50 ce) in the Swat valley of northern Pakistan. The Swat valley is an ancient settlement zone in the Hindu Kush-Karakoram foothills, whose cultural features have always had a strong link with inner Asia. The archaeobotanical assemblage illustrates that a diverse array of crops, with origins across Asia, were cultivated around the same settlement. Additionally, these farmers likely implemented seasonal cropping cycles and irrigation that required various labour inputs and water management regimes.

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“…In the present research it was learnt that similarities in material culture between the new sites in Baramulla District, the known sites in Kashmir and South Asia Neolithic sites are considerable, and this suggests possible interactions due to trade and other reasons (seasonal movement such as transhumance) (Spate et al 2017). The geographic position of Baramulla District at a cross roads of communications routes is important, perhaps allowing it to act as a hub between the northern regions of Pakistan and Central Asia on the north western side, and rest of Kashmir on south eastern side (Burzahom, Gufkral and Kanispora).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…The results from the new Neolithic sites has shown similarities (and analogies) in material culture with sites located in northern areas of Pakistan, as well as with the sites of Burzahom, Gufkral and Kanispora in Kashmir itself. These similarities were mainly in pottery, stone tools, and botanical remains from pits (Spate et al 2017). Therefore, based on the homogeneity in material culture these sites have been described sometimes as part of 'Inner Asian Complex' (Stacul 1987 and sometimes 'Northern Neolithic Complex' Allchin 1993a: 160, 1993b: 116;Pande : 134, 1970.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New evidence for early 4th millennium BP agriculture in the Western Himalayas: Qasim Bagh, Kashmir

Cited by 22 publications

References 24 publications

Prehistoric agriculture and social structure in the southwestern Tarim Basin: multiproxy analyses at Wupaer

Prehistoric agriculture and social structure in the southwestern Tarim Basin: multiproxy analyses at Wupaer

The southern Central Asian mountains as an ancient agricultural mixing zone: new archaeobotanical data from Barikot in the Swat valley of Pakistan

Kashmir and Swat During Neolithic Times – A Comparative Analysis of Material Culture Between the Sites of Two Distinct Regions

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