Distribution Of Prehistoric Sites Research Articles

Holocene environmental evolution and human adaptability in a coastal area: a case study of the Jiaodong Peninsula in Shandong Province, eastern China

The Spatio-temporal distribution of prehistoric sites and the response of human activities to climate change are important considerations in studies of human–Earth relationships. The Jiaodong Peninsula in Shandong Province is an ideal place to study the relationship between Holocene environmental evolution and human adaptability. In this study, GIS software was used to study the elevation, slope, and riverside adjacency of Holocene settlement sites in the Jiaodong Peninsula. By analyzing trends in the spatiotemporal distribution of settlements in combination with climate and sea-level changes in the Jiaodong Peninsula we were able to explore the relationship between the spatiotemporal distribution and environmental evolution of the sites. The results showed that the prehistoric sites were mainly located in low-altitude areas with elevations of 0–60 m and sun-facing (i.e. south-, southeast-, and southwest-facing) slopes of 0°–5°. The number of Houli-Beixin sites (8500–6300 a BP) were relatively fewer than the number in other areas in China due to the impact of the early Holocene transgression. Continental sites in the Jiaodong Peninsula were substantially affected by climate change and began to increase during the Dawenkou stage (6300–4600 a BP) and reached a maximum during the Longshan stage (4600–4000 a BP). With the advent of the dry and cold 4.2 ka event, the number of continental sites decreased during the Yueshi stage (4000–3500 a BP). The number of coastal sites fluctuated slightly from the Longshan to the Yueshi stage (4000–3500 a BP) because of climate change. Compared with other areas in China, the reduction rate of sites from the Longshan (4000–3500 a BP) to the Yueshi culture (4000–3500 a BP) was relatively low, likely because fishing was the main livelihood. These results could help improve our understanding of the relationship between climate change and human activities.

New luminescence dating evidence reveals the timing of Neolithic human activities in Fuzhou Basin, South China

The South China coastal area provides important insights into China’s prehistoric Marine life; however, the timing of ancient human activity during the Neolithic period in South China is still controversial, owing to the scarcity of a reliable chronology of archaeological sites. In this study, we presented the optically stimulated luminescence ages, which were derived from the medium-grained quartz at the Baitoushan site located along the coast of Fujian Province. Single-aliquot regenerative-dose measurements of red soil deposits from the site yielded internally and stratigraphically consistent ages (with errors) after excluding data that may be affected by sampling, thereby indicating the adequate reliability of the technique and the significant influence of field sampling process on the test results. The results showed that the ages of cultural deposit associated with the abundant sherds varied from 3.74 ± 0.21 ka to 5.96 ± 0.42 ka, thereby providing the earliest geochronological evidence for the presence of humans in the lower reach of Min River during the mid-Holocene. The period linked to Lower Tanshishan culture and Keqiutou cultures (to a first approximation) suggests a potentially favourable and moist environment; that is, ancient humans occupied this area within the mid-Holocene (6–4 ka). By a comprehensive comparison of environmental change factors, sea level change can control the spatial distribution of prehistoric sites in the estuary area, and climate events may be one of the main factors triggering cultural transformation.

Review of Archaeological Research in Angola

This article examines the historical processes that shaped the development of archaeological practice in Angola during the Portuguese colonial period and the aftermath of political independence. Using published works, unpublished reports, and photographic records, we examine the research themes, actors, scholars, and institutions that influenced archaeological research in the country. We also used documents and museum collections in Angola and Portugal to create a GIS database of Angola’s archaeological findings. This study highlights the events, personalities, and priorities that motivated earlier investigations, and the geographical distribution of prehistoric sites. We hope this study will be a resource for guiding future archaeological research in Angola.

Second Millennium Site Distribution and Pottery of Inland Northwestern Anatolia

Introduction Until the nineteen-sixties, our limited knowledge of the distribution of prehistoric sites in inland northwestern Anatolia was mainly based on the surface surveys carried out by K. Kokten, C. Burneyand K. Bittel. The surveys in Iznik-Inegol areas by D. French (1960-1961, 1965-1966) and J. Cullberg (1964-65) has provided the first preliminary site distribution and material evidence concerning the region. Much later, between the years 1988-1995, T. Efe conducted surface surveys in ...

Relation between human existence and environment viewing from the distribution of prehistoric archaeological sites in the Three Gorges reservoir region of the Yangtze River, China

Based on archaeological research findings in the Three Gorges region as well as the distribution of prehistoric sites in this area, the following conclusion can be derived: the unique physical and geographical conditions and variations in the Three Gorges region make local people of different ages seek their survival and development in the favorable environment along the riverbanks. Environment evolution has direct impact on the selection of location for survival. The increase of sites quantity reflects the favorable natural environment, but the decrease just reflects the consequence of such natural disasters as flood.

The impact of geology and geomorphology on cave and rockshelter archaeological site formation, preservation, and distribution in the Zagros mountains of Iran

AbstractThis paper is a first attempt to explore the impact of geological and geomorphological settings on formation processes of shelter sites in the karstic Zagros Mountains of Iran. In general, the Zagros Mountains can be divided geologically and geomorphologically into two main zones, highland and folded, which are located parallel to each other and run from the northeast to the southwest in western Iran. Both the geological and geomorphological zones have implications for the formation processes of archaeological deposits at shelter sites. These environmental differences also influence the preservation of archaeological deposits at these types of sites. It is suggested that apart from site formation and post‐depositional processes, the local geological and geomorphological structure might also have had some influence on the distribution of prehistoric sites in the region. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of the prehistoric site distributions and natural resources An approach to the paleoecosystem and social structure in archaeological context by using GIS

Spatiotemporal dynamics of the prehistoric site distributions and natural resources An approach to the paleoecosystem and social structure in archaeological context by using GIS

Spatiotemporal dynamics of the prehistoric site distributions An assessment of the inter-site conjunctions by CCMC analysis and A-index

Spatiotemporal dynamics of the prehistoric site distributions An assessment of the inter-site conjunctions by CCMC analysis and A-index

Prehistoric Landscapes and Settlement Geography along the Wadi Hasa, West-Central Jordan. Part II: Towards a Model of Palaeoecological Settlement for the Wadi Hasa

An earlier essay (Schuldenrein and Clark 2001) presented the palaeoenvironmental background to changing prehistoric site distributions in the Wadi Hasa, the principal drainage of west Central Jordan. Evidence for over 100,000 years of human settlement is preserved in discrete locations and within specific sediment packages associated with the ancient landscapes of the drainage. This essay explores the systematics of settlement geography by filtering out preservation mechanisms and comparing other regional (Levant wide) models of human settlement with the Wadi Hasa Palaeolithic and Neolithic site distributions. Three regional paradigms of transhumance are tested. While Pleistocene Lake Hasa (70,000–12,000 B.P.)was the central feature for earlier human settlement, subsequent geomorphic activity has obliterated much of the later prehistoric record. Henry's (1995) model of transhumance is a relatively accurate predictor of site characteristics and location for much of the. Hasa distributions, but the dynamics of long-term landscape change preclude de facto projection of the data set to any existing paradigm.

Lithic Resources, Terrain Variation And Prehistoric Site Distribution In The Kansas City Locality

Variation in the distribution of prehistoric sites within a major tributary watershed of the lower Kan sas River is seen to reflect a variety of environmental variables. These include the distribution of preferred chert resources, the contrast in drainage efficiency between the principal stream valley and the valleys of its tributaries, and the differential effects of fluvial processes on the preservation or erosion of alluvial terraces. Comparison of these variables to those throughout the Kansas City locality demonstrates their influence on the settlement patterns of the prehistoric inhabitants of that region. These data provide the basis for further comparison with other localities in the Prairie Peninsula.

NEOLITHIC SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN CENTRAL GERMANY

Summary. This paper investigates the changes in settlement patterns characteristic of early agricultural groups in the Middle Elbe/Saale region (DDR) from the fifth to the beginning of the second millennium bc. It uses the outstanding quantity of information available from this region on the distribution of prehistoric sites to describe the structure of settlement and to define the main contrasts over this period.

Late Quaternary Paleoenvironments and Prehistoric Site Distributions in the Lower Jordan Valley : A Preliminary Report

A geo-archeological survey in the Lower Jordan Valley, Israel, revealed the existence of more than forty prehistoric locations in open air context. They provide a continuous record of Upper Paleolithic through Neolithic activity in this part of the Levant over the interval 20,000-6000 BP. The present report outlines the paleo-geographic settings of the prehistoric occupations. This is attempted through geomorphological and stratigraphie investigations which document the paleo-environmental sequence. Settlement distributions in the Lower Jordan Valley may be correlated with these paleo-environmental sequences.

Tsetse in the environment of ancient man in Southern Rhodesia.

SUMMERS1 in Southern Rhodesia has examined the distribution of prehistoric sites (that is, containing traces of ancient man), and the historic routes followed by invaders and pioneers since 1823, and concluded that there was throughout the whole prehistoric and historic periods “a marked aversion to Mopane woodland” (that is, deciduous woodland dominated by Colosphermum mopane and now occurring especially in the Zambezi and Limpopo valleys). He suggests that this aversion was because of the presence of the tsetse Glossina morsitans in mopane areas.

Prehistoric Laconia: Part I

This survey (Part II of which will be published shortly in the Annual) includes all Laconia, as far as the ancient borders with Messenia and Arcadia, the Thyreatis, and the islands of Kythera and Antikythera. Most of the results have been established by surface research alone, in 1936–8 and 1956–8. Little was previously known about the distribution of prehistoric sites in Laconia, and few settlements have been excavated.Much of Laconia is either mountain or hill country. The ranges of Taygetus and Parnon form the bones of the province, while between them the Eurotas flows through the fertile alluvial plains of Sparta and Helos down to the Laconian Gulf. The Spartan plain, the central Eurotas valley, is bounded to the north by broken hill country, to the west by the great mountain wall of Taygetus (Plates 15a and the map, Plate 24), spurs of which also enclose it on the south, and to the east by the great Parnon range. It is one of the most fertile plains in Greece, and must at all times have been able to support a considerable settled population.