Prehistoric groundstone tools including slabs (metate, mo-pan) and mullers (mano, mo-bang) are often considered to be tools that were used to process cereals in ancient China. Most archaeologists believe that groundst...Prehistoric groundstone tools including slabs (metate, mo-pan) and mullers (mano, mo-bang) are often considered to be tools that were used to process cereals in ancient China. Most archaeologists believe that groundstone tools are indicators of an agrarian economy. This study employed starch grain analysis to examine a slab and a muller excavated from the Shangzhai Site (7500-7000 cal a BP), Beijing. Identifiable starch grains recovered from the stone tools were classified into 9 genera and 12 species, most of which were from acorns and foxtail millets. Remains from the oak species Q. mongolicus, Q. acuttssima, and Q. dentate were identified as well as a few starch grains from broomcorn (Panicum miliaseum) and bean (Vigna sp.). Other starch grains were from unidentifiable roots and grasses. A variety of starch grains indicates that the grinding stone tools were used to process not only cereals, but also other seeds or roots that had to be ground or husked, thus bringing into question the aforementioned cereal hypothesis. Because the numbers of starch grains from nuts and millets were so large, both gathering and cultivation might have been important economic patterns before 7000 years ago in Beijing area. Moreover, the starch remains are derived from plants that indicate that the paleoclimate of Beijing was wetter and warmer than today’s.展开更多
The Hengduan Mountains(henceforth H-D Mountains) on the Tibet Plateau are a distribution and diversity center for many alpine genera. We examine patterns of genetic variation in an arctic-alpine plant to evaluate the ...The Hengduan Mountains(henceforth H-D Mountains) on the Tibet Plateau are a distribution and diversity center for many alpine genera. We examine patterns of genetic variation in an arctic-alpine plant to evaluate the possibility that the H-D Mountains constitute the area of origin of the species as well as to uncover postglacial migration routes. 220 individuals of the arctic-alpine plant Koenigia islandica were sampled from 26 populations distributed in western China and northern Finland. DNA haplotypes were identified using restriction site analysis of two chloroplast DNA intergene spacer regions, atpB-rbcL and trnL-trnF. We examined the geographical distribution of haplotype diversity in relation to latitude, and also compared various indices of diversity in putatively glaciated and unglaciated regions. Patterns of migration were inferred using nested clade analysis. A total of 25 haplotypes were detected. High haplotype diversity was found in the H-D Mountains. H3 and its radiated haplotypes were distributed in the Himalayas. Two haplotypes were fixed concurrently in the H-D Mountains and northern Finland. High genetic diversity of K. islandica and high species diversity of K. islandica are expected in the origin area. Our observations suggest that the H-D Mountains are not only the place of origin of K. islandica, but also the refugia for K. islandica on the Tibet Plateau. What is more, the migration route for the arctic-alpine plant K. islandica must have originated in the region defined by the H-D Mountains in western China extending northward to the Arctic circumpolar, and moved westward along the Himalayas, then northward across the Altay Mountains and the Central Siberian Plateau at different time periods.展开更多
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40771205)National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (Grant No. 40625002)Knowledge Innovation Project from Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZC2-YW-315-5)
文摘Prehistoric groundstone tools including slabs (metate, mo-pan) and mullers (mano, mo-bang) are often considered to be tools that were used to process cereals in ancient China. Most archaeologists believe that groundstone tools are indicators of an agrarian economy. This study employed starch grain analysis to examine a slab and a muller excavated from the Shangzhai Site (7500-7000 cal a BP), Beijing. Identifiable starch grains recovered from the stone tools were classified into 9 genera and 12 species, most of which were from acorns and foxtail millets. Remains from the oak species Q. mongolicus, Q. acuttssima, and Q. dentate were identified as well as a few starch grains from broomcorn (Panicum miliaseum) and bean (Vigna sp.). Other starch grains were from unidentifiable roots and grasses. A variety of starch grains indicates that the grinding stone tools were used to process not only cereals, but also other seeds or roots that had to be ground or husked, thus bringing into question the aforementioned cereal hypothesis. Because the numbers of starch grains from nuts and millets were so large, both gathering and cultivation might have been important economic patterns before 7000 years ago in Beijing area. Moreover, the starch remains are derived from plants that indicate that the paleoclimate of Beijing was wetter and warmer than today’s.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41072251)the State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS (Grant No. 113106)the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (Grant No. 20123401110005)
文摘The Hengduan Mountains(henceforth H-D Mountains) on the Tibet Plateau are a distribution and diversity center for many alpine genera. We examine patterns of genetic variation in an arctic-alpine plant to evaluate the possibility that the H-D Mountains constitute the area of origin of the species as well as to uncover postglacial migration routes. 220 individuals of the arctic-alpine plant Koenigia islandica were sampled from 26 populations distributed in western China and northern Finland. DNA haplotypes were identified using restriction site analysis of two chloroplast DNA intergene spacer regions, atpB-rbcL and trnL-trnF. We examined the geographical distribution of haplotype diversity in relation to latitude, and also compared various indices of diversity in putatively glaciated and unglaciated regions. Patterns of migration were inferred using nested clade analysis. A total of 25 haplotypes were detected. High haplotype diversity was found in the H-D Mountains. H3 and its radiated haplotypes were distributed in the Himalayas. Two haplotypes were fixed concurrently in the H-D Mountains and northern Finland. High genetic diversity of K. islandica and high species diversity of K. islandica are expected in the origin area. Our observations suggest that the H-D Mountains are not only the place of origin of K. islandica, but also the refugia for K. islandica on the Tibet Plateau. What is more, the migration route for the arctic-alpine plant K. islandica must have originated in the region defined by the H-D Mountains in western China extending northward to the Arctic circumpolar, and moved westward along the Himalayas, then northward across the Altay Mountains and the Central Siberian Plateau at different time periods.
