Spatial and temporal variations in prehistoric human settlement and their influencing factors on the south bank of the Xar Moron River, Northeastern China

doi:10.1007/s11707-016-0572-5

Front. Earth Sci.

2017, Vol. 11

Issue (1) : 137-147 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-016-0572-5

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Spatial and temporal variations in prehistoric human settlement and their influencing factors on the south bank of the Xar Moron River, Northeastern China

Xin JIA¹(

), Shuangwen YI¹, Yonggang SUN², Shuangye WU^1,³, Harry F. LEE⁴, Lin WANG⁵, Huayu LU¹

¹. School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
². School of History and Culture, Chifeng University, Chifeng 024000, China
³. Department of Geology, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH 45469, USA
⁴. Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
⁵. School of Architecture, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China

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Abstract

The West Liao River Basin is the hub of ancient civilizations as well as the birthplace of rain-fed agriculture in Northern China. In the present study, based on 276 archaeological sites on the south bank of the Xar Moron River, Northeastern China, we trace the changes in prehistoric cultures as well as the shifts in the spatial and temporal patterns of human settlement in the West Liao River Basin. Location information for those sites was obtained from fieldwork. Factors such as climate change, landform evolution of the Horqin Dunefield, and subsistence strategies practiced at the sites were extracted via the meta-analysis of published literature. Our results show that the Holocene Optimum promoted the emergence of Neolithic Culture on the south bank of the Xar Moron River. Monsoon failure might have caused the periodic collapse or transformation of prehistoric cultures at (6.5, 4.7, 3.9, and 3.0) kyr B.P., leaving spaces for new cultural types to develop after these gaps. The rise and fall of different cultures was also determined by subsistence strategies. The Xiaoheyan Culture, with mixed modes of subsistence, weakened after 4.7 kyr B.P., whereas the Upper Xiajiadian Culture, supported by sheep breeding, expanded after 3.0 kyr B.P. Global positioning system data obtained from the archaeological sites reveal that cultures with different subsistence strategies occupied distinct geographic regions. Humans who subsisted on hunting and gathering resided at higher altitudes during the Paleolithic Age (1074 m a.s.l.). Mixed subsistence strategies led humans to settle down at 600–1000 m a.s.l. in the Neolithic Age. Agricultural activities caused humans to migrate to 400–800 m a.s.l. in the early Bronze Age, whereas livestock production shifted human activities to 800–1200 m a.s.l. in the late Bronze Age.

Keywords climate change dunefield evolution subsistence strategy the Holocene West Liao River Basin

Corresponding Author(s): Xin JIA

Just Accepted Date: 12 April 2016 Online First Date: 03 May 2016 Issue Date: 23 January 2017

Cite this article:

Xin JIA,Shuangwen YI,Yonggang SUN, et al. Spatial and temporal variations in prehistoric human settlement and their influencing factors on the south bank of the Xar Moron River, Northeastern China[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2017, 11(1): 137-147.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/10.1007/s11707-016-0572-5
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/Y2017/V11/I1/137

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