Spatial distribution of an ancient agricultural oasis in Juyan, northwestern China

doi:10.1007/s11707-014-0452-9

Front. Earth Sci.

2014, Vol. 8

Issue (3) : 338-350 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-014-0452-9

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Spatial distribution of an ancient agricultural oasis in Juyan, northwestern China

Ningke HU^1,²,Xin LI^1,^*(

)

1. Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
2. College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China

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Abstract

Activities related to agricultural cultivation are some of the major human drivers of landscape change on the Earth’s surface. Archaeological remains can provide qualitative evidence for studies of past agricultural development and environmental conditions. The ancient Juyan Oasis, which once flourished along the historic Silk Road, was a typical oasis of downstream inland river basins in the arid zone of northwestern China. Historical records and archaeological discoveries have qualitatively shown that the oasis supported extensive agricultural activities in this historical period from the Han Dynasty to the early Ming Dynasty (B.C. 202–A.D. 1375), which can be traced back to 2,000 years ago. In this study, different types of archaeological remains (including archaeological sites, ground surface artifacts, ancient cultivation ruins, and agricultural irrigation canals) that were obtained and identified from previous archaeological reports, field inspections, and remote sensing imagery were used to determine the spatial extent of the agricultural oasis in the historical period of interest. Our approach used multiple data sources in order to increase the accuracy and reliability of the results compared to previous studies. Our results distinctly suggested that much of the oasis was cultivated during the historical periods considered. Additionally, the arable land area in the historical period considered was roughly estimated to be approximately (3.39–4.75) × 10⁴ ha. These findings regarding the spatial distribution of this ancient agricultural oasis and its arable land were reasonably determined to represent the ancient agricultural development that occurred in the Juyan Oasis better than results obtained from single sources of data.

Keywords archaeological remain arable land remote sensing Juyan Oasis Silk Road

Corresponding Author(s): Xin LI

Issue Date: 04 July 2014

Cite this article:

Ningke HU,Xin LI. Spatial distribution of an ancient agricultural oasis in Juyan, northwestern China[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2014, 8(3): 338-350.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/10.1007/s11707-014-0452-9
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/Y2014/V8/I3/338

Fig.1 Map of the Heihe River Basin in northwestern China. The purple polygon shows the study area, which is located downstream of the Heihe River and in the northwestern part of the Badain Jaran Desert.

Tab.1 Different types of archaeological remains used in this study

Fig.2 Examples of different types of archaeological remains found in the Juyan Oasis.

Fig.3 Features of ancient cultivation as captured in remotely sensed imagery and confirmed by fieldwork. Labels represent the archaeological remains with different types (yellow triangles, pink dots, and red dots represent sample canal points, ground surface artifacts, and archaeological sites, respectively). Further, (a) adamant white land, (b) ancient cultivation ruins, (c) land in severely wind-eroded strips, (d) uneven land with severe wind erosion, (e) land enclosed by extensive nebkhas, and (f) land enclosed by extensive sand dunes.

Fig.4 Spatial distribution of archaeological remains and estimated extent of the ancient agricultural oasis in the Juyan Oasis.

Fig.5 Estimates for the extent of the ancient agricultural oasis in the Juyan Oasis calculated in this study compared to those calculated in Zhu et al. (1983), Cheng (2007), and Kubota (2010).

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