Asynchronous Transformation of Cropping Patterns from 5800–2200 cal BP on the Southern Loess Plateau, China

Liu Yang, Yishi Yang, Shanjia Zhang, Haiming Li, Huihui Cao, Yifu Cui, Fengwen Liu and Minmin Ma ()
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Liu Yang: College of Humanities, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023, China
Yishi Yang: Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Lanzhou 730000, China
Shanjia Zhang: MOE Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System, College of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Haiming Li: College of Humanities & Social Development, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Huihui Cao: MOE Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System, College of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Yifu Cui: College of Tourism, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou 362021, China
Fengwen Liu: Institute for Ecological Research and Pollution Control of Plateau Lakes, School of Ecology and Environment Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650504, China
Minmin Ma: MOE Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System, College of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-18

Abstract: Archaeobotanical studies have largely illuminated spatiotemporal differences in agricultural development across the Loess Plateau. However, the particularities of local agricultural development have not been adequately studied for complex geographical, environmental, and prehistoric contexts. Here, new archaeobotanical data and radiocarbon dating results from 27 Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Baoji are reported. Combining these data with published archaeobotanical datasets, this study explores shifts (and underlying driving factors) in cropping patterns from the late Neolithic to Bronze Age on the southern Loess Plateau (SLP). Regional geographic, environmental, and climatic factors produced mixed millet-rice agricultural systems in the Guanzhong Plain (GZP) and western Henan Province (WHN) and foxtail and broomcorn millet dry-farming systems in the Upper Weihe River (UWR) from 5800–4500 cal BP. Wheat and barley were added to the agricultural systems of the UWR as auxiliary crops after ~4000 cal BP, while cropping patterns remained largely unchanged in GZP and WHN from 4500–3500 cal BP. Cultural exchanges and technological innovations may have influenced the formation of different agricultural patterns across the three regions (i.e., GZP, WHN, and UWR) from 4500–3500 cal BP. From 3500–2200 cal BP, wheat and barley became increasingly important crops on the SLP, although their importance varied spatially, and rice was rarely cultivated. Spatiotemporal variation in cropping patterns was driven by altered survival pressures associated with climate deterioration and population growth from 3500–2200 cal BP. This process was reinforced by internal social developments, as well as interactions with close northern neighbors, in the Shang-Zhou period.

Keywords: archaeobotany; cropping patterns; climate change; trans-continental cultural exchange; southern Loess Plateau (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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