Changes in Wood Utilization Due to Iron Age Jade Mining in the Western Hexi Corridor: Wood Charcoal Investigations

Abstract

Charcoal remains from archeological sites are used not only to reconstruct the historical composition of local woodlands but also to examine the history of the human use of wood. Nevertheless, key questions such as how and why people may have selected particular woody taxa from locations long distances from their habitat have rarely been addressed. In the present study, we analyze charcoal remains from the ancient Jingbaoer (JBR) jade mine in the Mazong Mountains (Mazong Shan) of Northwest China to explore patterns in the collection and use of wood by Iron Age people. Factors affecting the choice of wood collected at the JBR site are discussed by combining the results of pollen records and charcoal analysis. Our results suggest that tamarisk (Tamarix L.), a shrub dominant in the local area, was the main source of wood for JBR miners and was used as firewood depending upon its local availability. The miners may also have used wood from species sourced further away, such as Pinus L. and Picea L., because of the local scarcity of these trees in such a dry environment. The agropastoralist subsistence system practiced by the JBR miners supports the hypothesis of the collection of wood from distant locales. This study highlights diverse patterns of wood collection in an area scarce in woody plants and provides new evidence for understanding how Iron Age people adapted to extremely arid environments.

Seeing the wood for the trees: active human–environmental interactions in arid northwestern China

“…Additionally, an abundance of Prunus wood fragments was found in these two sites, and people might have transported Picea wood over long distances to burn at Donghuishan (Shen et al, 2018). The long-distance transport of Picea and Pinus was also recognized in the assemblage from the Jingbaoer jade mine (Liu et al, 2021). At the Yingwoshu and Sanjiaocheng sites, abundant Morus wood fragments were identified, possibly indicating the early cultivation of mulberry (Shen et al, 2018).…”

“…Generally, spruce wood has preferential properties, as its timber is straight, tall, and easily worked, presumably contributing to the selection and transportation of this specific species. Since 2500 BP, the long-distance collection of coniferous woods seems to have been a more regular activity, as evidenced at the Jingbaoer jade mine, where Picea and Pinus wood fragments are recovered well outside their natural ecological distribution (Liu et al, 2021). In the Turpan Basin, Picea wood fragments were found in sediments from a series of Subeixi sites, which may have been collected from the Tianshan Mountains (Jiang et al, 2013;Jiang, 2022).…”

Seeing the Wood for the Trees: Active human-environmental interactions in arid northwest China

“…Additionally, an abundance of Prunus wood fragments was found in these two sites, and people might have transported Picea wood over long distances to burn at Donghuishan (Shen et al, 2018). The long-distance transport of Picea and Pinus was also recognized in the assemblage from the Jingbaoer jade mine (Liu et al, 2021). At the Yingwoshu and Sanjiaocheng sites, abundant Morus wood fragments were identified, possibly indicating the early cultivation of mulberry (Shen et al, 2018).…”

“…where Picea and Pinus wood fragments are recovered well outside their natural ecological distribution (Liu et al, 2021). In the Turpan Basin, Picea wood fragments were found in sediments from a series of Subeixi sites, which may have been collected from the Tianshan Mountains (Jiang et al, 2013;Jiang, 2022).…”

Conservation of Culture Heritage Tourism: A Case Study in Langkawi Kubang Badak Remnant Charcoal Kilns

“…One of the benefits of charcoal kilns being in ghost towns is that conservation of the cultural heritage might be secured as the area is huge and probably no development will be undertaken to destroy the charcoal kilns. Some examples of charcoal kilns located in ghost towns are the Piedmont charcoal kilns in Wyoming [30], Wildrose charcoal kilns in California [31], Canyon Creek charcoal kilns in Montana [32,33], the Nicholia or Birch Creek charcoal kilns in Idaho [34], Frisco charcoal kilns in Utah [32], and Panaca Summit [35], Tybo [36], and Bristol Well charcoal kilns in Nevada [32].…”