River floodplain aggradation history and cultural activities: Geoarchaeological investigation at the Yuezhuang site, Lower Yellow River, China

Zhuang, Yijie; Bao, Wenbo; French, Charles

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2013.02.020

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…However, the accelerating increase in the Yulin district since 5 ka BP made the land use percentages in the three areas reach similar levels (Yunlin district: 7.60%, Yiluo valley: 9.48%, and Wei River valley: 11.19%). These asynchronous increases in the three areas indicates an expansion of land use from the southeastern middle Yellow River basin to the entire region between 8 and 4 ka BP, which is also revealed in previous qualitative and semi-quantitative studies (Dong et al, 2007; Huang et al, 2007; Li et al, 2011, 2013; Ren, 2000; Ren and Beug, 2002; Rosen, 2008; Wang et al, 2004, 2011, 2013; Xu et al, 2002; Zhuang and Kidder, 2014; Zhuang et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Spatial and temporal changes of prehistoric human land use in the Wei River valley, northern China

Finke

et al. 2016

The Holocene

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Agricultural land use has been established as the dominant prehistoric human activity in early cultural centers for thousands of years. However, because of lack of data, there is still considerable debate about the amount and spatial distribution of prehistoric land use across the world. Quantitative reconstruction of it on the basis of human activity records, for example, archaeological data, is the key to resolving the issue. Here, we focus on one of the most representative regions for prehistoric human activity in northern China, the Wei River valley. Based on archaeological and environmental data, a recently developed quantitative prehistoric land use model (PLUM) is applied to reconstruct spatial and temporal changes of land use between 8 and 4 ka BP. The results reveal that in line with increases in the total number of archaeological sites (from 24 to 3222) and population (from 4000 to 1,550,000), the land area of the valley used by humans increased from 0.2% to 12% during the study interval, expanding from the gentle slopes along the lower reaches of the river to the middle and upper reaches. Meanwhile, the average population for an individual site increased from 160 to 481, but the average land use area per site decreased from 12.84 to 4.68 km2. Since 6 ka BP, the significant land use increase occurred synchronously in the Wei River valley and other key regions of agricultural origin across the world, which highlights the important role of agriculture activity in transforming the nature of global land cover during the prehistoric period.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Spatial and temporal changes of prehistoric human land use in the Wei River valley, northern China

Finke

et al. 2016

The Holocene

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“…Geoarchaeological research at Yuezhuang complements the view that anthropogenic activities, including cultivation, were crucial to the Houli Culture adaptation. The geophysical and geochemical characteristics of the sediment provide further evidence that cultural activities on the floodplain included clearing and farming (Zhuang et al, 2013). Continuing sedimentation during the occupation also likely facilitated plant cultivation over the lifespan of the Yuezhuang occupation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…BP following a 5000-year episode of alternating erosion and deposition that began to stabilize c. 9000 cal. BP (Zhuang et al, 2013). Low mountains, part of the Shandong Highlands, rise to just over 200 m about 3 km to the east.…”

Section: The Yuezhuang Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

People and plant interaction at the Houli Culture Yuezhuang site in Shandong Province, China

et al. 2016

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Palaeoethnobotanical research at the Yuezhuang site, a Houli Culture settlement in Jinan, Shandong Province, China, dating to 8000–7700 cal. BP, documents human–environment interaction and the local subsistence economy soon after the initiation of food production in the region. This economy supported a sizeable community that occupied a kilometer stretch of floodplain along the Nandasha River. The research explores plant domestication, the extent to which the Yuezhuang population had developed a food production niche, and, to a lesser extent, the development of agriculture in the lower Yellow River valley. In order to do so, charred seeds from a variety of plant taxa were recovered by flotation of sediment from pits and cultural strata. Just over 30% of the seed assemblage is rice ( Oryza sativa), broomcorn/common millet ( Panicum miliaceum), and foxtail millet ( Setaria italica subsp. italica). The status of several other plants such as soybean ( Glycine max subsp. max or G. max subsp. soja), perilla ( Perilla sp.), and chenopod ( Chenopodium sp.) that are also cultivated in East Asia is also assessed. Most of the plant taxa are from open, sunlit, and anthropogenic, disrupted habitats. Diverse grasses similar to those found at later sites indicate that the farming niche documented at the late Neolithic Longshan Culture in Shandong Province was being established by 8000–7700 cal. BP. The plant remains assemblage is compared with three assemblages, two belonging to the Houli Culture and one from the late Neolithic Longshan Culture. Anthropogenic habitats and their formation, maintenance and use, wetland exploitation, cultivation, hunting–gathering–fishing, and animal management characterize the mature (late) Houli Culture niche.

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“…3c). A micromorphological study of Yuezhuang provided us with a detailed account of the location in the context of site formation processes in relation to the Yellow River's alluvial history (Zhuang et al, 2013). The reconstructed sequence consists of frequent alternations of short-period surface stabilities and succeeding alluviation, with human occupations corresponding to those shortterm surface stabilities.…”

Section: Along the Mountain Chain Foothillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foothills and intermountain basins: Does China's Fertile Arc have ‘Hilly Flanks’?

Ren

Lemoine

et al. 2016

Quaternary International

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River floodplain aggradation history and cultural activities: Geoarchaeological investigation at the Yuezhuang site, Lower Yellow River, China

Cited by 14 publications

References 18 publications

Spatial and temporal changes of prehistoric human land use in the Wei River valley, northern China

Spatial and temporal changes of prehistoric human land use in the Wei River valley, northern China

People and plant interaction at the Houli Culture Yuezhuang site in Shandong Province, China

Foothills and intermountain basins: Does China's Fertile Arc have ‘Hilly Flanks’?

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