Ancient Loulan City was situated at the northwestern corner of the Lop Nor in Xinjiang. There are different views on the cause and course of its declination. In the present paper, the authors discuss this problem from...Ancient Loulan City was situated at the northwestern corner of the Lop Nor in Xinjiang. There are different views on the cause and course of its declination. In the present paper, the authors discuss this problem from the angle of environmental geology, analyzing changes of ancient river courses in the Loulan area by using spatial remote sensing techniques and reading satellite photos. They conclude that the fall of Loulan was due to landslide and collapse in the upper Konqi River valley where the city was located, which led to the blockage of rivers, the formation of barrier lakes and the cut-off of Loulan's water-supplying sources. As a result, the city was abandoned and finally vanished.展开更多
The temporal-spatial geographic distribution of archaeological sites and its feature between 10.0-2.8 ka BP （ka BP= thousands of years before 0 BP, where ＂0 BP＂ is defined as the year AD 1950） were determined, bas...The temporal-spatial geographic distribution of archaeological sites and its feature between 10.0-2.8 ka BP （ka BP= thousands of years before 0 BP, where ＂0 BP＂ is defined as the year AD 1950） were determined, based on GIS spatial analysis in the Poyang Lake Basin. The relationship between geographic distribution of sites of different periods under subsis- tence existence of ancient civilizations, climate and environmental change was investigated. The results revealed numerous archaeological sites of the Neolithic Age （10.0-3.6 ka BP）. The sites were mainly located in the northern part of the Poyang Lake Basin, a hilly and mountainous area with many river terraces suitable for the development of human civilization. The number of archaeological sites rapidly increased during the Shang and Zhou dynasties （3.6-2.8 ka BP） and spread widely on the floodplains of the middle and lower reaches of Ganjiang River and onto the west, south, and southeast beach areas of the Poyang Lake. Holocene records of climate change suggested that it was possible that climate fluctuations had a great impact on human evolution in the study area. Before 3.6 ka BP, westward and northward expansion of Neolithic cultures in the Poyang Lake watershed occurred under the background of climate amelioration （becoming warmer and wetter）. The ancient people lived in the hilly areas with high elevation. The simple mode of a fishing and gathering economy was mostly suited to this area in the early Neolithic Age. The scope of human activities was expanded and cultural diversity developed in the late Neolithic Age. However, with population growth and increasing survival pressure in a dry-cold climatic stage after 3.6 ka BP, this sim-pie living mode had to be abandoned, and various forms of economy, the majority being ag- riculture, were developed on flood plains of the lower reaches of numerous rivers around Poyang Lake. This promoted flourishing of the Bronze culture of South China.展开更多
文摘Ancient Loulan City was situated at the northwestern corner of the Lop Nor in Xinjiang. There are different views on the cause and course of its declination. In the present paper, the authors discuss this problem from the angle of environmental geology, analyzing changes of ancient river courses in the Loulan area by using spatial remote sensing techniques and reading satellite photos. They conclude that the fall of Loulan was due to landslide and collapse in the upper Konqi River valley where the city was located, which led to the blockage of rivers, the formation of barrier lakes and the cut-off of Loulan's water-supplying sources. As a result, the city was abandoned and finally vanished.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.41371204,No.41571179Major Program of the National Social Science Foundation of China,No.11&ZD183The Collaborative Innovation Center for Major Ecological Security Issues of Jiangxi Province and Monitoring Implementation,No.JXS-EW-00
文摘The temporal-spatial geographic distribution of archaeological sites and its feature between 10.0-2.8 ka BP （ka BP= thousands of years before 0 BP, where ＂0 BP＂ is defined as the year AD 1950） were determined, based on GIS spatial analysis in the Poyang Lake Basin. The relationship between geographic distribution of sites of different periods under subsis- tence existence of ancient civilizations, climate and environmental change was investigated. The results revealed numerous archaeological sites of the Neolithic Age （10.0-3.6 ka BP）. The sites were mainly located in the northern part of the Poyang Lake Basin, a hilly and mountainous area with many river terraces suitable for the development of human civilization. The number of archaeological sites rapidly increased during the Shang and Zhou dynasties （3.6-2.8 ka BP） and spread widely on the floodplains of the middle and lower reaches of Ganjiang River and onto the west, south, and southeast beach areas of the Poyang Lake. Holocene records of climate change suggested that it was possible that climate fluctuations had a great impact on human evolution in the study area. Before 3.6 ka BP, westward and northward expansion of Neolithic cultures in the Poyang Lake watershed occurred under the background of climate amelioration （becoming warmer and wetter）. The ancient people lived in the hilly areas with high elevation. The simple mode of a fishing and gathering economy was mostly suited to this area in the early Neolithic Age. The scope of human activities was expanded and cultural diversity developed in the late Neolithic Age. However, with population growth and increasing survival pressure in a dry-cold climatic stage after 3.6 ka BP, this sim-pie living mode had to be abandoned, and various forms of economy, the majority being ag- riculture, were developed on flood plains of the lower reaches of numerous rivers around Poyang Lake. This promoted flourishing of the Bronze culture of South China.
