Subsistence strategies of prehistoric hunter-gatherers on the Tibetan Plateau during the Last Deglaciation

The study of prehistoric hunter-gatherer subsistence strategies on the Tibetan Plateau is important for understanding the mechanisms and processes of human adaption to high altitude environments.But to date,only a few Paleolithic sites have been found on the Tibetan Plateau with clear stratigraphy and reliable dating.These sites are mainly distributed in the Qinghai Lake Basin on the northeastern part of the plateau,and the sporadic fauna and flora remains excavated provide limited information about the subsistence strategies of hunter-gatherers.In 2014,relatively abundant animal remains were unearthed in the Lower Cultural Layer (LCL,15400-13100 cal yr BP) of the"151 site"located in the Qinghai Lake Basin,providing important information about human subsistence strategies on the Tibetan Plateau during the Last Deglaciation.Zooarchaeological analysis of these faunal remains indicates that hunter-gatherers at the"151 site"mainly targeted large ungulates of Bos and wild horse/ass,and only brought back the most nutritious parts of animal carcasses including upper and intermediate limb bones,heads,and trunks (ribs and vertebrae).People then processed and consumed the carcasses around single hearths.Our comprehensive analyses of contemporaneous sites in the Qinghai Lake Basin show that a subsistence strategy involving opportunistic hunting of ungulates,high mobility,and short occupation of campsites was used by terminal Pleistocene huntergatherers to adapt to the high-altitude environment on the Tibetan Plateau.This subsistence strategy may have been a first step of gradual hunter-gatherer adaptation to the extreme conditions on the Tibetan Plateau after the Last Glacial Maximum,and laid the foundation for the widespread distribution of hunter-gatherers on the plateau during the Holocene.

Social development and living environment changes in the Northeast Tibetan Plateau and contiguous regions during the late prehistoric period

The relationship between the evolution of human societies and their living environments has been discussed intensively in recent decades.It is important to understand the patterns and mechanisms of human–environment interaction and evolution in order to cope with rapidly changing environments in the modern world.We reviewed the results of dating,archaeobotanical,and zooarchaeological studies from 139 prehistoric sites in the Northeast Tibetan Plateau(NETP)and contiguous regions(NETP-CR:i.e.,the Hexi Corridor and western margin of the Chinese Loess Plateau)and compared them with paleoenvironmental records to study variations in spatiotemporal patterns of social development in the area and their relationships with climate and vegetation changes.Our results show that hunter-gatherer groups occupied vast areas of the NETP at low intensities during^15,000–5500 BP(years before present).This was directly related to forest cover and climate change.An increase in temperature and precipitation turnover of vegetation from desert steppe to alpine meadow/subalpine shrub,and recovery of animal population on the Tibetan Plateau created more food resources and space for hunter-gatherers.Millet farmers settled extensively below 2500 m a.s.l.(meters above sea level)in the NETP-CR between^5500 and 3600 BP,and might have coexisted with hunting groups above 2500 m a.s.l.via subsistence exchange.The distribution of human settlements during that period was affected by climate change,with the relatively warm and wet climate promoting the expansion of millet agriculture to the NETP-CR during 5500–4500 BP,while climate deterioration caused humans to retreat to lower altitudes.During 3600–2200 BP,a range of livelihoods emerged in different regions of the NETPCR.This was promoted by early trans-Eurasian exchange and the development of an agro-pastoral economy that utilized cold-tolerant crops and livestock.This eventually promoted the expansion of permanent human settlements to high-altitude areas in the NETP.This study found that human societies adopted various strategies to adapt to the changing living environment throughout late prehistoric times in the NETP-CR.The results provide a long-term perspective on the trajectory of regional socio-environmental co-evolution.

Pottery lipid analysis at the Shangzhai site,Beijing,and its implication for subsistence strategy

As the crossroads of prehistoric cultures,the Beijing region is an important area for studying the exchange of prehistoric culture and the spread of millet agriculture.Although millet remains have been found in the Donghulin site during the Early Neolithic Age,there is little millet remains during the Middle and Late Neolithic Age,so there is a gap of approximately2,000 years since the time of the Donghulin site.The Shangzhai site is located in the Pinggu Basin in eastern Beijing,and it has a large time span with sequential strata;however,there are few large animals and plant remains found at this site,thus the subsistence strategy of ancient people remains unclear.In this study,the absorbed lipids of pottery sherds unearthed in the Neolithic cultural layer of the Shangzhai site were extracted and analysed.The results show that these potteries were used to process millet,the meat of terrestrial non-ruminants and wild ruminants,and dairy of wild ruminants,providing new insights for the subsistence strategy and the development of millet agriculture in the Middle and Late Neolithic Age of Beijing.In addition,the food processing in pottery may be an internal heating method,such as stone boiling.

跨欧亚大陆交流的响应——新石器至青铜时代中国北方农业区、牧业区和农牧交错带生业模式演变过程及影响因素

Significant spatiotemporal variation in human livelihood patterns and its relationship to trans-Eurasian exchange and climate change in north China during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age, has been intensively studied in recent years, but the comprehensive influence of natural and social factors on this variation is not well understood. Therefore, we analyze archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological and carbon isotopic data from late Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions of north China. Our results demonstrate human subsistence strategies transformed at different speeds in these three geographic areas after wheat, barley, and sheep, goats, and cattle were introduced into north China. Introduced crops and livestock dominated human livelihoods in pastoral regions and became important subsistence in areas above ~1500 m a.s.l. in agro-pastoral regions after ~3600 BP. In agricultural regions, indigenous millet crops were the most important subsistence throughout 6000– 2200 BP, but wheat use increased significantly around 2700 BP. Our study suggests that the introduction of new crops and herbivorous livestock related to the prehistoric trans-Eurasian exchange, and their adaptive advantage in high-cold environments might have rapidly facilitated human adaptability and social development in pastoral regions and northwest margin of agro-pastoral regions during the Bronze Age.

Spatial and temporal variations in prehistoric human settlement and their influencing factors on the south bank of the Xar Moron River, Northeastern China

The West Liao River Basin is the hub of ancient civilizations as well as the birthplace of rain-fed agriculture in Northern China. In the present study, based on 276 archaeological sites on the south bank of the Xar Moron River, Northeastern China, we trace the changes in prehistoric cultures as well as the shifts in the spatial and temporal patterns of human settlement in the West Liao River Basin. Location information for those sites was obtained from fieldwork. Factors such as climate change, landform evolution of the Horqin Dunefield, and sub- sistence strategies practiced at the sites were extracted via the meta-analysis of published literature. Our results show that the Holocene Optimum promoted the emergence of Neolithic Culture on the south bank of the Xar Moron River. Monsoon failure might have caused the periodic collapse or transformation of prehistoric cultures at （6.5, 4.7, 3.9, and 3.0） kyr B.P., leaving spaces for new cultural types to develop after these gaps. The rise and fall of different cultures was also determined by subsistence strategies. The Xiaoheyan Culture, with mixed modes of subsistence, weakened after 4.7 kyr B.P., whereas the Upper Xiajiadian Culture, supported by sheep breeding, expanded after 3.0 kyr B.P. Global positioning system data obtained from the archaeological sites reveal that cultures with different subsistence strategies occupied distinct geographic regions. Humans who subsisted on hunting and gathering resided at higher altitudes during the Paleolithic Age （1074 m a.s.1.）. Mixed subsistence strategies led humans to settle down at 600-1000 m a.s.1. in the Neolithic Age. Agricultural activities caused humans to migrate to 400-800 m a.s.1, in the early Bronze Age, whereas livestock production shifted human activities to 800-1200 m a.s.l, in the late Bronze Age.

Spatiotemporal evolution of prehistoric Neolithic-Bronze Age settlements and influencing factors in the Guanting Basin, northeast Tibetan Plateau

For almost two decades, the relationship between prehistoric natural disasters that struck the Guanting Basin in northeast Tibetan Plateau and the destruction of Lajia, an archeological site, has attracted scholarly attention and been widely discussed. Whereas most studies have focused on the impacts of disasters on a single site within the Guanting Basin, few have examined patterns of spatiotemporal evolution of human settlements from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. Consequently, there is a lack of clarity on the processes and mechanisms underlying the evolution of prehistoric human-land relationships in the Guanting Basin. We therefore examined spatiotemporal variations in settlements in the Guanting Basin during the period, based on the locations, altitudes, and areas of archaeological sites. We found that four sites were located on the third terrace of the Yellow River during the late Yangshao period(5500–5000 cal yr BP) and distributed within a small area. During the period between the Majiayao and Qijia cultures(5300–3600 cal yr BP), the number of sites evidently increased and the scale and distribution of settlements expanded, with settlements generally shifting toward the lower elevation areas of the Guanting Basin.During the Xindian period(3400–2700 cal yr BP), the number and scale of sites showed a downward trend and the distribution of settlements contracted. The Xindian settlement underwent altitude-based spatial differentiation, with some groups moving to areas at higher altitudes and others remained in lower altitude areas. Moreover, we found that the number, scale, and distribution range of Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in the Guanting Basin were closely related to the evolution and distribution patterns of prehistoric cultures in the regions of Gansu and Qinghai, which were further affected by climate change and agricultural development. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the altitudinal distribution pattern of Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements in the Guanting Basin was influenced by paleofloods rather it was primarily influenced by changes in subsistence strategies.