Evolution of Holocene alluvial landscapes in the northeastern Songshan Region, Central China: Chronology, models and socio-economic impact

Lü, Peng; Lü, Jianqing; Zhuang, Yijie; Chen, Panpan; Wang, Hui; Yi, Tian; Mo, Duowen; Xu, Jun; Gu, W; Hu, Yayi; Wei, Qingli; Yan, Lijie; Wang, Xia; Hongjuan, Zhai

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2020.104956

Cited by 17 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(30 reference statements)

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“…There are many different kinds of geomorphic landforms located at the transition zone between the Loess Plateau and the North China Plain (Lu et al, 2014). According to the altitude, topographic relief, accumulation rates and sedimentary characteristics of different deposits in the area, Lu et al (2021) divided the regional topography into several types of landforms, which include mountains, hills, tablelands and plains. At present, Zhengzhou is located in the plains.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to the accumulation of sediment through both natural and human activities, the distribution of these elevated geomorphic FIGURE 5 | The landscape evolution in the area of Zhengzhou Shang City (During 12,000-10,000 BP, the landform was changed to alluvial plain. During middle Holocene periods (8,000-4,000 BP), there were many natural water areas under a warm and humid climate and river aggradation (Chen et al, 2015;Tan et al, 2020;Lu et al, 2021). In 3,600 BP, the Shang city was built.…”

Section: The Holocene Landscape Evolution Of Site Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During 12000-10000 BP, the area exhibited transitional characteristics from loess tableland to alluvial plain (Figure 5). During the middle Holocene periods (8000-4000 BP), the regional hydrological conditions were favorable under the background of a warm and humid climate (Chen et al, 2015;Tan et al, 2020) and river aggradation (Lu et al, 2021). There were many natural water areas like lakes and wetlands.…”

Section: Figure 6 |mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of Ancient Landscape Changes on the City Arrangement of the Early Shang Dynasty Capital Zhengzhou, Central China

et al. 2021

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Buried underneath modern Zhengzhou city in Henan Province, China, lies the archeological remains of one of the ancient capital cities of the Shang dynasty (1766 – 1122 BCE). Although it is likely that people planned this Shang capital city according to the demands of the surrounding environment, there is no clear relationship between the current environment, such as the hydrology and topography, and the ancient city’s layout. To better understand the relationship between planning principles used during the Shang dynasty and the nearby environment at Zhengzhou, we measured and sampled stratigraphic exposures at excavation locations throughout Zhengzhou. Through these excavations we obtained both absolute and relative chronological data from each culture layer, enabling us to use geospatial interpolation and analysis methods to reconstruct the ancient landscape. The results show that ancient city’s different activity areas had a close relationship with their environmental context. For example, the Shang dynasty palace was located on high ground and workshops were located down below along the courses of ancient rivers. In conclusion, we argue that research that merges geomorphology and archeology is a necessary prerequisite for understanding the development of urban areas.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Holocene Landscape Evolution Of Site Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figure 6 |mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of Ancient Landscape Changes on the City Arrangement of the Early Shang Dynasty Capital Zhengzhou, Central China

et al. 2021

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“…For example, in the Songshan area, the western loess area experienced several fluvial deposition-erosional cycles since the terminal Late Pleistocene. A large-scale alluvial aggradation took place in the Middle Holocene, resulting in the formation of lakes, marshes and wetlands (Lu et al, 2020). And in the Luoyang Basin, during the late-middle Holocene (5300/5010∼2130/1870 BC), the loess tablelands and gullies experienced erosion of mountain slopes, resulting in increased accumulation in valleys and the formation of clay-rich and water-filled depressions.…”

Section: Valley-rice Planting and Palaeogeomorphologic Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The floodplain on both sides of the Yiluo River in the central Luoyang Basin was cut down around 7,000 years ago, forming a vast area of dry and stable T1 terraces (Zhang et al, 2019). In the low-lying area the eastern Songshan plains, some of these lakes converged into large water areas and lasted throughout the Late Pleistocene and Early-Middle Holocene period (Lu et al, 2020). In short, the plain terraces of Luoyang Basin are generally dry, and the eastern Songshan plain was full of lakes and marshes, with both areas lacking stable, lowland environments allowing for rice cultivation.…”

Section: Valley-rice Planting and Palaeogeomorphologic Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agriculture, the Environment, and Social Complexity From the Early to Late Yangshao Periods (5000–3000 BC): Insights From Macro-Botanical Remains in North-Central China

Zhang

et al. 2021

Front. Earth Sci.

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In northern China, the Yangshao cultural period (5000–3000 BC) was a critical timespan in the establishment of agricultural economies and the emergence of social complexity. We present the results of archeobotanical analysis from 58 soil samples collected from 12 recently investigated sites located in the Luoyang Basin, and recovered 5290 carbonized plant remains from 9 sites dating to the Late Yangshao period. We compared our novel dataset with previous archeobotanical date, compiling a total of 196 samples from 58 sites in central and western Henan Province. During the Early Yangshao period (5000–4200 BC), a nascent, extensive agricultural economy based primarily on broomcorn millet, with lesser foxtail millet and rice, was developing in small settlements (<0.2 km2) in the loess tablelands and valleys of western Henan province. However, the population pressure—rather than environmental degradation—drove the “foxtail millet-broomcorn millet substitution” during the Middle Yangshao period (4200–3500BC). The intensive agriculture based mainly on foxtail millet facilitated the development of social complexity in the region, as demonstrated by the emergence of size-graded agricultural settlements of medium (0.2–0.6 km2) and large (> 0.6 km2) scale. Notably, millets tend to be less ubiquitous in these larger settlements compared to smaller ones, with differences in millet ubiquity between sites increasing over time. The local surface hydrology influenced by paleoclimatic changes prompted the spread of agriculture from higher loess tablelands and valleys during the early Yangshao period into more marginal loess tablelands and plains by the Middle and Late Yangshao periods. Rice cultivation is concentrated in valley areas and appears to have been closely tied to environments with better hydrothermal conditions. Our research shows that climatic conditions during the Holocene fostered the development of agriculture during the Yangshao Culture period and that the distribution of settlements throughout this time was influenced by highly localized geomorphologic environments delimiting the distribution of crops. The rise of agriculture promoted the formation of complex and stratified economies in the Yangshao Culture period and it was the intensification and elaboration of these new economic and social systems that led to later transformation in agricultural structures and settlement sizes.

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Evolution of fluvial landscapes since the late Pleistocene at the Wangchenggang site of the Ying River Basin, Central China: Implications for the development and change of prehistoric settlements

Liao

Lü

et al. 2022

Geoarchaeology

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Reconstructing the evolution of fluvial landscapes is vital to our understanding of how and why early settlements used or abandoned locations in dynamic alluvial settings, especially places such as China's Central Plains where alluvial landforms have dominated since at least the late Pleistocene era. The Wangchenggang (WCG) site on the upper reaches of the Ying River is considered to be the legendary capital of the Great Yu who, according to historical documents, heroically tamed the big floods and founded the first dynasty of Xia. However, evolution of the alluvial landscape of the Holocene Ying River and its influence on the long‐term settlement change at the WCG site remains unclear. We present a detailed reconstruction of long‐term landscape evolution and settlement change at the site, based on the results of our geoarchaeological investigation, and published paleoclimate and archaeobotanical data. The results show that the region experienced an episode of extensive alluvial accretion in the late Pleistocene. From the end of the late Pleistocene to the early Holocene, the Ying River began to incise the alluvial plain, leading to the formation of the oldest terrace (T3). The middle and late Holocene in the Ying River valleys saw two episodes of alluvial aggradation between 7.7–5.4 ka B.P. (before present) and 4.5–3.8 ka B.P., respectively. Each of these events was followed by an alluvial incision, resulting in the formation of new alluvial terraces. During the historical periods, the youngest terrace T1 was formed. These cyclic changes in the regional fluvial landscape profoundly impacted the location and expansion of prehistoric settlements. During the Peiligang period (9.0–7.0 ka B.P.), the early stages of alluvial aggregation resulted in wide and shallow channels along the rivers. Early humans who relied on gathering and hunting for food chose to establish small settlements along such riverine environments. As alluvial aggradation continued in the Yangshao period (7.0–5.0 ka B.P.), they moved to a higher place, away from the rivers in the southwest, and flourished on high alluvial grounds. When a secondary terrace formed after the Longshan period (5.0–4.0 ka B.P.), people moved eastward again to build an early city on the T2 terraces and T3 terraces of the Ying River. When the water levels rose toward the terrace surfaces, they began to build moats and practiced mixed millet–rice farming. During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770–4256 B.C.), when the river started to down cut on a large scale, humans responded by building settlements on the lower and flat plains in the east.

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Evolution of Holocene alluvial landscapes in the northeastern Songshan Region, Central China: Chronology, models and socio-economic impact

Abstract: International center on space technologies for natural and cultural heritage under the Auspices of UNESCO,

Cited by 17 publications

References 19 publications

The Impact of Ancient Landscape Changes on the City Arrangement of the Early Shang Dynasty Capital Zhengzhou, Central China

The Impact of Ancient Landscape Changes on the City Arrangement of the Early Shang Dynasty Capital Zhengzhou, Central China

Agriculture, the Environment, and Social Complexity From the Early to Late Yangshao Periods (5000–3000 BC): Insights From Macro-Botanical Remains in North-Central China

Evolution of fluvial landscapes since the late Pleistocene at the Wangchenggang site of the Ying River Basin, Central China: Implications for the development and change of prehistoric settlements

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