Cereals, soils and iron at Sanyangzhuang: Western Han agricultural production in the Central Plains

Abstract

Abstract

Mammal tracks record anthropogenic environmental influence in late-Holocene inland dunes of the European Sand Belt, Poland

“…An association of cattle footprints with human settlements, by their location near fields and houses, has been previously documented in other geographic regions (e.g. Marshall et al, 2021;Qin et al, 2019). Smaller human footprints observed at our sites (often around 20 cm or less) may belong to adolescents and children; this would be consistent with children's roles in herding or shepherding (Tangka and Jabbar, 2005).…”

“…There are also, dispersed within the archaeological literature, records of cattle, horse and other domestic animal hoofprints found in a number of substrates, including sand, often associated with human settlements such as agricultural fields and houses (e.g. Inoue and Sakaguchi, 1997; Murphy, 2011; Marshall et al, 2021; Qin et al, 2019).…”

Subsistence and persistence: agriculture in the Central Plains of China through the Neolithic to Bronze Age transition

“…While efforts are underway to study human diet in regions beyond the Central Plains, much work remains to be done in investigating agriculture systematically, and combining the results of archaeometric approaches synthetically. Incorporating starch (Qin et al 2019) and phytolith (Song et al 2017) analyses into a holistic archaeobotanical reconstruction, for example, would provide a more complete picture of plant-derived food processing and use, while systematic sampling strategies are necessary for a more nuanced picture of plant-and animal-use practices (Crawford et al 2005). Analysis of soil formation could yield information about field preparation and manuring, as well as flooding events or environmental degradation (Zhuang & Kidder 2014).…”

“…Incorporating starch (Qin et al . 2019) and phytolith (Song et al 2017) analyses into a holistic archaeobotanical reconstruction, for example, would provide a more complete picture of plant-derived food processing and use, while systematic sampling strategies are necessary for a more nuanced picture of plant- and animal-use practices (Crawford et al . 2005).…”

Staple food and possible famine food in Han Dynasty Guanzhong: Archeobotanical and stable isotopic perspectives

“…Ancient documents demonstrate that poor harvest and famine caused by nature disasters occurred during the Han Dynasty (Chen, 2002b). In recent years, archaeological researches have provided new perspectives to reveal agricultural economic conditions and uncovered the best‐preserved western Han agricultural settlements to date (Qin et al, 2019; Zheng, 2021). However, archaeological evidence of agricultural yield fluctuations and adaptive strategies during the Han Dynasty in ancient China is lacking.…”