Spatial Expansion of Human Settlement during the Longshan Period (~4.5–~3.9 ka BP) and Its Hydroclimatic Contexts in the Lower Yellow River Floodplain, Eastern China

Abstract

Obvious spatial expansion of human settlement occurred in the lower Yellow River floodplain during the Longshan period, but the external factors driving this expansion remain unclear. In this study, we first delineated the hydroclimatic changes at both regional and local scales within and around the lower Yellow River floodplain and then examined the relationships of human settlements with hydroclimatic settings between the pre-Longshan and Longshan periods. The results indicate that the site distribution, site density and hydroclimatic conditions exhibited significant shifts during the pre-Longshan and Longshan periods. In the pre-Longshan period, the intense East Asian summer monsoon and abundant monsoon-related precipitation caused widespread development of lakes and marshes in the lower Yellow River floodplain. As a result, the circumjacent highlands of the lower Yellow River floodplain contained concentrated human settlements. However, the persistent weakening of the East Asian summer monsoon and consequent precipitation decline, in conjunction with accelerated soil erosion due to decreasing forest vegetation and strengthening of human activities on the upstream Loess Plateau in the Longshan period, are likely to have jointly caused both shrinking and faster filling of preexisting lakes and marshes. Subsequently, a large area of arable land had been created in the lower Yellow River floodplain and thus was occupied by locally rapid increasing population, resulting in the notable spatial expansion of human settlements during the Longshan period.

Spatial–Temporal Evolution Analysis of the Development of Jingdang and Famen Townships in the Vicinity of the Capital City Site of the Western Zhou Dynasty in China

“…The development of townships is closely related to ecology [55]. A positive ecological environment can promote the healthy and rapid development of townships.…”

Flood Perception from Local Perspective of Rural Community vs. Geomorphological Control of Fluvial Processes in Large Alluvial Valley (the Middle Vistula River, Poland)

“…The most significant urban civilizations of the ancient period of history developed their splendid cultures on alluvial plains, e.g., Sumer in southern Mesopotamia (from Greek: "between rivers") covering the Tigris and Euphrates floodplains [1,2], Ancient Egypt upon the Nile River [3,4], the Harappan in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, with the valleys of the Indus and Upper Ganges Rivers [5,6]. The highly developed cultures in more distant (from a European perspective) locations on the Earth were associated with alluvial plains as well, e.g., the Longshan and the Erlitou in China, in the valley bottoms of Yellow River and its tributaries, the Fen and the Qin Rivers [7,8]; the Mayan Lowlands on the Yucatán Peninsula in present-day Mexico (Usumacinta River floodplain [9]) and Belize [10] and the Olmec heartland of San Lorenzo on the interfluve plains of the Tatagapa and Chiquito Rivers in Veracruz state, Mexico [11,12].…”

How Can We Understand the Past from Now On? Three-Dimensional Modelling and Landscape Reconstruction of the Shuanghuaishu Site in the Central Plains of China

“…Qin Zhen discussed the interaction between human activities and climate in China from 3500 BCE to 220 CE [8]. Li et al, on the other hand, argue that there was spatial heterogeneity in ancient human production activities in the Yellow-Huai river area, east China during the Longshan period (4600~3900 BP) [9]. If we want to recover the overall landscapes of settlement sites, a combination of site excavation information and geographical environmental analysis is necessary [10][11][12][13][14].…”