Prehistoric human activities and environmental background during the Late Neolithic to Bronze period in the Minjiang River Basin, Southeast China, based on luminescence ages and chemical elemental analysis of pottery

Abstract

The Minjiang River Basin in Fujian played a vital role in the southward spread of agriculture in China. To better understand the development of Neolithic cultures in this region and the interactions between the people of Southeast China and their environment, as well as the formation and development of agricultural civilizations in East Asia, this study focused on determining the luminescence ages of nine pottery/burnt clay samples and measuring 33 trace elements in 38 pottery/burnt clay and 15 sediment samples collected from the Minjiang River Basin. The reliability of determining luminescence age using heated quartz was also investigated. By combining the characteristics of trace elements with the background of prehistoric human environments, this study aimed to explore the relationships between humans and the environment and cultural interactions during the late Neolithic period in the Minjiang River Basin. The results showed that some pottery samples displayed a higher proportion of medium and slow components in their initial quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signals, but most OSL ages were not affected. The ages of the pottery samples were concentrated during stable environmental periods characterized by relatively high sea levels, elevated surface sea temperatures, and low El Niño–Southern Oscillation occurrence frequencies. The chemical composition and principal component analysis suggested that the majority of pottery samples were locally sourced, while pottery from coastal islands may have originated from upstream areas of the Minjiang River. This indicates that there was cultural exchange in the Minjiang River Basin during the Neolithic culture period, rather than being limited to the local living. Differences in subsistence patterns could serve as a driving force behind cross-regional cultural exchanges, which likely deepened over time.