Funerary animals in the Liangzhou area (Northwest China) during the Han Dynasty

The trajectory and influencing factors for changes to ancient human livelihoods in the Hexi Corridor of northwest China have been intensively discussed. The Hexi Corridor is a key crossroads for trans-Eurasian exchange in both the prehistoric and historical periods. Although most studies have focused on the reconstruction of human paleodiet and plant subsistence, the diachronic change of animal utilization strategies spanning the prehistoric and historical periods remains unclear, due to the absence of zooarchaeological and isotopic studies, especially in Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE). Here we report new zooarchaeological, stable isotope, and radiocarbon dating data from the Heishuiguo Cemetery of the Han Dynasty in the Hexi Corridor, indicating that humans mainly used domestic chickens, pigs and sheep as funerary objects, with other buried livestock including cattle, horses and dogs. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data suggest humans might have fed chickens, pigs and dogs more C4 foods (likely millets or their byproducts) than herbivorous livestock in the Heishuiguo during the Han Dynasty. Compared to other prehistoric zooarchaeological and isotopic studies in the Hexi Corridor, we detected an increasing significance of herbivorous livestock in animal utilization strategies compared with omnivorous livestock, and a basic declining weight of C4 foods in fodders from ∼2,300 to 200 BCE, which was probably induced by long-distance exchange and climate fluctuation. However, the trend was reversed during the Han Dynasty in the Hexi Corridor, primarily due to the control of the area by the Han Empire and the subsequent massive immigration from the Yellow River valley of north China.

Environmental and social factors influencing the spatiotemporal variation of archaeological sites during the historical period in the Heihe River basin, northwest China

We report dozens of direct radiocarbon dates on charred grains from 22 archaeological sites of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages in the Hexi Corridor, northwest China, a key region for trans-Eurasian exchange in prehistoric and historical times. These charred grains include remains of wheat and barley domesticated in southwest Asia and broomcorn and foxtail millet which originated from north China. Together with previously published radiocarbon dates, we consider these newly obtained radiocarbon results in the context of material cultures associated with them, to explore an episode of trans-continental cultural exchange foci at the Hexi Corridor. Our results show that millet cultivators who used painted potteries from the western Loess Plateau first settled the Hexi Corridor around 4800 BP. Communities who cultivated wheat and barley moved into this region from the west around 4000 BP, bringing with them technologies and materials not seen in central China before, including bronze metallurgy, mud bricks, and mace heads. This was part of the east–west contact which became evident in the Hexi Corridor since the late fifth millennium BP, and continued over the subsequent two millennia, and predated the formation of the overland Silk Road in the Han Dynasty (202 BC–AD 220).

An 8500-year palynological record of vegetation, climate change and human activity in the Bosten Lake region of Northwest China

Human settlement and its influencing factors during the historical period in an oasis-desert transition zone of Dunhuang, Hexi Corridor, northwest China

Changchuan Tomb No. 1 (late fifth–sixth centuries CE), in modern Jilin Province, China, is one of 96 tombs with wall paintings that survive from the Korean kingdom of Koguryo. Here, the tomb serves as the starting point for an inquiry into Koguryo funerary architecture and painting. Not surprisingly, the tomb structure and many of the paintings of Changchuan Tomb No. 1 can be shown to borrow much from Han China, especially the Eastern Han (23–220 CE). It will also be shown that the tomb structure is traceable to funerary architecture of Shandong, as opposed to the Eastern Han capital Luoyang. Ceiling construction of southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu tombs are most important in this analysis. The sources of painting motifs that are shared in numerous Koguryo tombs are traced to murals from all parts of China during the Han dynasty. Yet, it is shown that even Han sources, pre-Koguryo Korean construction and iconography, art and architecture of the Yan states that flourished in northeast Asia between the fall of Han and 436 CE, and the famous early Koguryo tombs such as Anak No. 3, which belonged to a Chinese general, in combination, cannot fully explain how Changchuan Tomb No. 1 came to be built and painted. It is suggested here that Koguryo funerary art and architecture should be studied together with contemporary tombs of Gansu Province and places even farther west, in Xinjiang. Similarities with tomb architecture and painting from northeast and northwest of China can elucidate the possible sources of Buddhist imagery at Changchuan Tomb No. 1 as well as forms and motifs of the Koguryo kingdom from the fourth through the mid-seventh centuries.

Oasis evolution, one of the most obvious surface processes in arid regions, affects various aspects of the regional environment, such as hydrological processes, ecological conditions, and microclimates. In this paper, the historical spatio-temporal evolution of the cultivated oases in the Heihe River Basin, the second largest inland watershed in the northwest of China, was assessed using multidisciplinary methods and data from multiple sources, including historical literature, ancient sites, maps and remotely sensed images. The findings show that cultivated oases were first developed on a large scale during the Han Dynasty (121 BC–220) and then gradually decreased in extent from the Six Dynasties period (220–581) to the Sui-Tang period (581–907), reaching a minimum in the Song-Yuan period (960–1368). An abrupt revival occurred during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and continued through the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), and during the period of the Republic of China (1912–1949), oasis development reached its greatest peak of the entire historical period. The oasis areas during seven major historical periods, i.e., Han, Six Dynasties, Sui-Tang, Song-Yuan, Ming, Qing, and Republic of China, are estimated to have been 1703 km2, 1115 km2, 629 km2, 614 km2, 964 km2, 1205 km2, and 1917 km2, respectively. The spatial distribution generally exhibited a continuous sprawl process, with the center of the oases moving gradually from the downstream region to the middle and even upstream regions. The oases along the main river remained stable during most periods, whereas those close to the terminal reaches were subject to frequent variations and even abandonment. Socio-economic factors were the main forces driving the evolution of cultivated oases in the area; among them, political and societal stability, national defense, agricultural policy, population, and technological progress were the most important.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Arid area is an important base for human settlement, however, long and drastic human activities have altered the drainage patterns in the arid watersheds significantly, causing serious ecological consequences. This study, through a case study of the Minqin Basin, a microcosm of the artificial oases in the arid northwest China, used the multi-types of data to recover the spatial distribution of human settlement and drainage patterns during historical period and analyze the relationship between them over the past 2000 years.Outcomes: Before the Han Dynasty (121 BC), the utilization of water resources in the Minqin Basin was in the primitive stage and the drainage pattern maintained the natural state. From the Han (121 BC- 220) to the Wei-Jin Dynasties (220- 316), the utilization of water resources intensified unprecedentedly, but the natural shape of the river systems was still maintained. In the following 1,000 years or so, the drainage pattern was in the state of “following its own course” due to the small human population. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), with the alteration of the main rivers, the water resource utilization increased obviously, but the human reclamations were mainly confined to the southern part of the basin. In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the reclamation of the Liulin Lake area significantly changed the drainage patterns, resulted in the drastically northward expansion of human settlement. Since the foundation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, the artificial water system completely replaced the natural water system and intensified the ecological problems in the basin.Discussion: The changes over the past 2000 years show the drastic impacts of human activities on the alterations of the drainage patterns and related ecological problems in the arid Northwest China.Conclusion: Rehabilitation of such ecological impairments requires both ecological restoration projects and changes in human paradigm and behavior over multiple temporal and spatial scales.

The history of cultural exchange in prehistoric Eurasia (CEPE) has been widely investigated. Based on archaeological evidence, this process is thought to date back to at least the early Bronze Age, although details about timings and routes remain unclear. It is likely that CEPE promoted the spread and exchange of crops that originated in different parts of Eurasia; since these remains can be definitely identified and directly dated, they provide ideal research materials to explore the history of CEPE. In this paper, we review the available archaeobotanical evidence and direct radiocarbon dates for crop remains, alongside carbon isotopic data from human bones unearthed from prehistoric sites in Eurasia, in order to investigate the history of the spread of millet crops, and wheat and barley, that were first domesticated in the eastern and western parts of Eurasia during prehistoric times. In combination with other archaeological evidences, we discuss the history of CEPE. Our results suggest that wheat and barley were domesticated in western Asia around 10500 a BP, spread into Europe and western Central Asia before 8000 a BP, and reaching eastern Central Asia and northwestern China between 4500 and 4000 a BP. Data show that both broomcorn and foxtail millet were domesticated in eastern Asia before 7700 a BP, spread into eastern Central Asia between 4500 and 4000 a BP, and into western Asia and Europe prior to 3500 a BP. Wheat, barley, and millet crops were first utilized together in eastern Kazakhstan within Central Asia around 4400 a BP, the region where earliest CEPE is likely to have taken place. These crops were mixedly used mainly in eastern central Asia and northwest China between 4500 and 3500 a BP, and then across the Eurasia before 2200 a BP. The results of this study suggest that transcontinental CEPE might have been initiated during the fifth millennium, before intensifying during the Bronze Age to lay the foundations for the creation of the ancient Silk Road during the Han Dynasty (between 202BC and 220AD).

T he central Asian caravan trade linking Europe, the Middle East, and China, which had developed as early as the Han dynasty (206 b.c. – a.d. 220), began to decline during Sung (960–1279) times and truly collapsed in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. It flourished during the Han and T'ang (618–907) dynasties, but the turbulence in northwest China during the Sung period disrupted trade along the so-called Silk Roads. In the Mongol era (midthirteenth to midfourteenth centuries), trade across Eurasia witnessed a resurgence that continued through the first century or so of Ming (1368–1644) rule. By the late Ming, however, the long-distance trade between China and the Middle East and Europe had dwindled to a trickle. Decline of this central Asian caravan trade has often been attributed to competition from the European oceangoing vessels that began to reach China in the sixteenth century. This new trade conveyed bulkier items, was less costly, and was freer of harassment and plunder. Such economic advantages, it has been asserted, enabled the sea trade to supersede the overland commerce, resulting ultimately in the collapse of the traditional caravan trade. This paper proposes, however, that though rising costs and competition from the oceangoing trade undermined land commerce across Eurasia, the political disruptions and the religious and social changes of the time must also be considered. These transformations were as critical as the economic pressures challenging merchants who were intent on maintaining the caravan trade.

Historical human activities accelerated climate-driven desertification in China’s Mu Us Desert

The central Asian caravan trade linking Europe, the Middle East, and China, which had developed as early as the Han dynasty (206 b.c.–a.d. 220), began to decline during Sung (960–1279) times and truly collapsed in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. It flourished during the Han and T'ang (618–907) dynasties, but the turbulence in northwest China during the Sung period disrupted trade along the so-called Silk Roads. In the Mongol era (midthirteenth to midfourteenth centuries), trade across Eurasia witnessed a resurgence that continued through the first century or so of Ming (1368–1644) rule. By the late Ming, however, the long-distance trade between China and the Middle East and Europe had dwindled to a trickle.

Based on the remote sensing images and GIS, this study focuses on understanding the spatial changes of Minqin Oasis over the last 2000 years, combining with the historical documents and maps, archaeological investigation, and field work. Having the interpreting keys and DEM been setup, the RS image was used to identify the distributing range and the archaeological survey data was used to determine the time of ancient oasis. The result shows that: Since this region was conquered by Han Dynasty in BC 210, the natural oasis was quickly changed into farmland. In the Wei and Jin Dynasties (AD 220-420), the reclaimed area reached to the first climax. Farmland deceased during the next 800 years from the South-North Dynasty (AD 420-581) to the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271-1368) when nomadic people invaded. The second intensified development began in Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644) when the central government encouraged farmers in east China migrating to this oasis. This was followed by another more intensive development period in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1644-1911) and the irrigated area reached the largest of the whole the history which established the frame of modern Minqin Oasis. The irrigated oases developed in different dynasties located in different locations, with the trend to increase in scale. An intensive development period was always followed by a strong desertification thereafter.

Dunhuang, originally a commandery established at the Han dynasty's northwest frontier, was China's westernmost settlement and trade hub on the overland Silk Road. Its remote, arid geography has preserved a great wealth of ruins and artifacts, and it is home to some of China's most important archaeological discoveries. These include an abundance of manuscripts, written mostly on slips of wood and bamboo, and excavated from watchtower ruins and other sites distributed throughout the region, such as Yumenguan and Xuanquanzhi. The Mogao Caves complex preserves Buddhist temple caves and murals from the mid‐fourth through fourteenth centuries ce . A huge trove of paper manuscripts, written in Chinese, Tibetan, Uyghur, and other languages from the fifth century ce onwards, was sealed in one of the caves in the eleventh century. The manuscripts shed substantial light on ancient textual philology as well as many aspects of premodern Chinese arts and letters, religion, and society. Because of Dunhuang's key location, function, and significance, the term “Dunhuang studies” has come to encompass not only the art historical, social, and textual realms on which these discoveries shed the most direct light, it has also become metonymic for the broader study of China's interactions with Central Asia as seen at nearby sites such as Turfan, Juyan, Gaochang, and others throughout modern China's northwest. Dunhuang may thus represent not only a location, but also a web of cultural interactions and an archaeological time‐capsule.

Auto-identification of linear archaeological traces of the Great Wall in northwest China using improved DeepLabv3+ from very high-resolution aerial imagery