Intensification and Driving Forces of Pastoralism in Northern China 5.7 ka Ago

Abstract

AbstractInitiation and development of pastoralism in northern China, and the mechanisms involved, are poorly understood. Here we use analyses of Sporormiella‐type coprophilous fungal spores in a well‐dated sediment core from Lake Gonghai in northern China, together with other sequences of fungal spores to reconstruct the population dynamics of large herbivores during the Holocene. Comparison of the results with paleoclimatic and zooarchaeological records suggests that grazing appeared at ∼5.7–5.5 ka and further intensified again after ∼4.2–4.0 ka. The changes represent two stages of the migration of herdsmen from the steppe regions in inner East Asia eastward and/or southward into northern China, and we propose that the occurrence of drought and cooling climate were responsible. The rapid intensification of pastoralism after ∼3.6 ka may have been promoted by the wider use of horses and the development of grasslands in northern China. Intensified grazing activity potentially has contributed to methane increase during the late Holocene.