Erlitou Period Research Articles

The Shangluo Corridor and the emerging Bronze Age exchange network of early China

The Longshan-Erlitou periods (ca. 2300–1520 BCE) witnessed a reconfiguration of China's political-economic landscape. With the collapse of Neolithic societies in the many regions of China, the emergence of Erlitou (ca. 1800–1520 BCE) marked the advent of the Chinese Bronze Age. During the process of repeated political collapse and regeneration, the Luoyang Basin became the center of the political-economic landscape during the Erlitou period and inherited the knowledge systems transmitted in the Longshan interaction network. The Shangluo Corridor provides a good lens to look at this process. Based on the landscape, historical geography and GIS simulation, the Shangluo corridor served as one of the most important gateways connecting the communities located in the highland regions and the Middle Yangzi River valley. Based on archaeological information from communities along the Shangluo Corridor, I discuss the structure of cultural interactions along the Shangluo Corridor during the Longshan and Erlitou periods. By integrating these analyses, I suggest that the formation of exchange networks along the Shangluo Corridor resulted from the participation of multiple cultural groups during the Longshan period. With the regeneration of Erlitou in the Luoyang Basin and its participation in the interaction network, diverse types of knowledge converged into the Luoyang Basin, laying the foundation for the formation of a Central Plains-centered political-economic landscape.

The Spatiotemporal Patterns of Human Settlement during the Longshan and Erlitou Periods in Relation to Extreme Floods and Subsistence Strategy in the Upper and Middle Qin River Reaches, Central China

Human settlement numbers have significantly changed before and after ~4000 cal. y BP in the upper and middle Qin River reaches, but the external and internal factors driving this change remain unclear. In this study, we examine changing spatial and temporal patterns of the Longshan and Erlitou settlements in relation to extreme flooding at ~4000 cal. y BP and a variety of subsistence strategies during the Longshan and Erlitou periods. The results indicate that settlement number, settlement distribution, and subsistence strategies exhibited obvious shifts between the Longshan and Erlitou periods, and the episode at ~4000 cal. y BP was an extreme-flood-rich interval within and around the Qin River Basin. During the Longshan and Erlitou periods, millet-based agriculture dominated local subsistence strategy, and ancient people would prefer to reside in the areas suitable for farming, causing the valley plains in the upper and middle Qin River reaches to contain most Longshan and Erlitou settlements. However, the frequent occurrence of extreme floods at ~4000 cal. y BP, in conjunction with intergroup conflicts due to a large amount of population immigration during the late Longshan period, is likely to have jointly decreased the settlement number and shrunk the spatial range of human settlement distribution. Subsequently, with the end of the extreme-flood-rich episode and the increasing proportion of higher-water-requirement foxtail millet in cropping structures of human subsistence strategy, more Erlitou settlements were distributed in the wetter valley plains of the middle Qin River reaches.

Micro Plant Remains Reveal the Function of Grooved Pottery Vessels From the Late Neolithic Meishan Site in Central China

From 6,000 calendar years before the present (cal BP) onward, grooved pottery vessels occurred in the lower and middle reaches of the Yangtze River in succession. After a thousand years, it was introduced into central China and became popularized there around 4,000 years ago. It has been proposed that the function of the grooved vessels was to process plant foods, replacing the previously used stone slabs and rollers in terms of ethnographic investigation, but there is a lack of solid and direct evidence although little evidence of starches has been provided. Here we report our study on the sherds of grooved vessels from the Meishan site in central China (late Longshan and Erlitou period). The combined starch and phytolith analyses were first used together to examine the residues on the sherds. Starches from geophytes, millets (Setaria italica and Panicum miliaceum), wheat (Triticum aestivum), and phytoliths from the glumes and leaves of these crops plus rice (Oryza sativa), seem to suggest that the grooved pottery vessels were likely to be used to grind geophytes and dehusk grain seeds. But, incorporating the extremely low proportion of grooved vessels to entire pottery tools at the site, we hypothesize that the invention of grooved vessels may have been related to the success of rice domestication and may have been used as tools to pound by-products of crops, leaves, and husks somehow.

New insights into the settlement patterns of the capital city at Erlitou

Abstract By examining the structural components, settlement plan, and developmental trajectory of the capital city at Erlitou, it is possible to explore the emergence of the state, kingship, and accompanying characteristics. Erlitou has been subjected to intensive excavation, revealing roads, walls, huge sacrificial pits, and palatial buildings with multiple courtyards as indicated by foundation No. 5. As to the developmental trajectory of the settlement pattern, all principal components of a capital city appeared in phase II of the Erlitou culture. A layout based on intersecting roads also formed, thus laying a foundation for the plan of an urban center in later periods. The open urban system formed during the Erlitou period changed to a closed system during later periods. The Erlitou site went through an initial phase during which it flourished as a capital city, then a period when principal urban components were gradually abandoned. The site became a high-ranking settlement during the early Erligang period. There is a relationship between the changes through time in pottery typology and the development of the settlement pattern. Kin-based residential and burial areas define the spatial division of the capital city at Erlitou. The mode of craft production is characterized by a large-scale workshop enclosure along with small-scale production sites.

Human settlement distribution patterns during the Longshan and Xinzhai-Erlitou periods and their hydrogeomorphic contexts in the Central Plains, China

The Central Plains of China witnessed a crucial cultural transformation towards the end of the Longshan period from a chiefdom-like society to a state-level society that has been speculated to be associated with regionally favorable environmental conditions. However, this speculation has not yet been substantiated. We first compiled the information on human migrations and extreme floods during the late Longshan period and then compared the relationships of human settlements with hydrogeomorphic settings in the Central Plains between the Longshan and Xinzhai-Erlitou periods. Our comparison shows that the course of the Yellow River was relatively stable during the Longshan period in the eastern Central Plains, where abundant highlands might have existed for human dwellings. However, geologically and archaeologically documented extreme floods that occurred at ~ 4000 cal. yr BP changed hydrogeomorphic settings in key locations along the Yellow River. The northern Henan area and the bordering area of Henan, Shandong and Anhui Provinces were subjected to frequent crevasses from flooding of the Yellow River at ~ 4000 cal. yr BP, which might have forced human migrations. Consequently, the northern Henan area and the bordering area of the three provinces lacked human settlements, whereas the western Central Plains contained concentrated human settlements during the Xinzhai-Erlitou period. We propose that the success of the above-mentioned cultural transformation was likely causally associated with hydrogeomorphic setting changes in the lower Yellow River Basin. Specifically, the frequent crevasses from flooding of the Yellow River at ~ 4000 cal. yr BP in the eastern alluvial plain regions made the western hilly and mountainous regions of present-day Henan Province the “refuge” for eastern immigrants during the late Longshan period. After the floods, human reoccupation and subsequent population increase beyond the local optimum carrying capacity within the Luoyang Basin during the Erlitou period might be a key driver of local social complexity.

Reconstructing diets and subsistence strategies of the Bronze Age humans from the Central Plains of China: A stable isotopic study on the Nanwa site

AbstractA multicrop agricultural system, including millet, wheat, rice, and soybeans, first emerged in China in the Late Longhang period and is considered to be one of the most important basic foundations underpinning the origin and development of early states in China. However, there is still a lack of studies on the specific subsistence strategies of humans from the Bronze Age, specifically addressing how widespread the multicrop agricultural system was. To explore these questions above, carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis on human bones from the Nanwa site (ca 1720–256 BC & 960–1279 AD) was undertaken to investigate the palaeodiet and subsistence strategies of the Nanwa humans. This paper also reviews the existing stable isotope data of Bronze Age humans on the Central Plains of China.The Nanwa humans from the Erlitou and Yinxu periods have a mean δ13C value of −9.4 ± 0.7‰ and −9.1 ± 0.9‰, suggesting a predominantly C4 diet, probably derived from millet agriculture or domesticated animals fed on millet. Nanwa humans of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty have a relatively low mean δ13C value of −10.5 ± 2.4‰, indicating a consumption of much more C3 foods, likely derived from rice, wheat, soybean, or animals that fed on those plants. A temporal stable isotopic comparison from the Erlitou period to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty on the Central Plains of China shows the majority of the Bronze Age humans have high mean δ13C value (−9.5 ± 1.8‰), suggesting a predominantly C4‐based diet. We infer that millet agriculture was still the primary economy for humans during the Bronze Age. However, there is a relatively large proportion of humans from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty that have decreased δ13C values, indicating a much more C3 foods consumption and diversity diet, presumably derived from a multicrop agricultural system of millet, wheat, rice, and soybean. It is possible that the trend moved from a narrowly focused, mainly millet‐based diet, to a more diverse agricultural system and was triggered by a combination of factors such as climate change, agricultural reform, social stratification, wars, migration, and so on.

Changing of crop species and agricultural practices from the Late Neolithic to the Bronze Age in the Zhengluo region, China

An assemblage of charred plant remains from 17 sites in the Zhengluo region has been collected and analyzed with a semi-quantitative method representative index and also with a multivariate statistical method correspondence analysis for this article. It provides a useful perspective for the understanding of the changing in the crop spectrum and crop husbandry practices from ca. 2500 BC to 1046 BC in this region. In the Longshan period, rice was subdominant while more dry-resistant broomcorn millet was cultivated during the Xinzhai and Erlitou periods; however, the importance of rice rose again in the Erlitou period, especially stood out in some central settlements and wheat witnessed a remarkable increase in the Shang period. Combined with the ecological information from arable weeds, it might conclude that agricultural techniques played a much more important role in farming since the Bronze Age. It is possible that in the Bronze Age, elaborate irrigation system, fertilizer practice, and spikelet-form storage method guaranteed the stable production and the preservation of crops, especially rice in some of the central settlements.

Landforms influence the development of ancient agriculture in the Songshan area, central China

The environment exerts a strong influence on the development of ancient agricultural systems, however ancient environmental conditions are often poorly understood in comparison to the development of ancient agricultural systems. In this study, we investigated the temporal patterns of crop distributions from the Neolithic to Bronze Age (9000-2300 yr BP) in the Songshan Mountain area of Henan Province, China in relation to the landforms. Our results show that broomcorn and foxtail were widely distributed across all landforms, regardless of the time period, but more sites are located on hills and mesas and less on the plains. Rice remains dating to the Peiligang period (9000-7000 yr BP) are only found in the plains. While some rice sites are distributed in the hill and mesa areas during the Yangshao period (7000-5000 yr BP), the plains are still the major area where rice sites are found. During the Longshan period (5000-4000 yr BP), soybeans are found at sites located on both mesas and plains. Wheat first appeared during the Erlitou periods (3900-3600 yr BP or 1900–1600 BC) in the region, but the evidence is too limited to determine its landform preference. In the following Shang (3600-3046 yr BP or 1600–1046 BC) and Zhou (3046-2256 yr BP or 1046–256 BC) dynasties, this crop was widely distributed at sites in hills, mesas and plains. Our study reveals that different landforms provide preferred ecological conditions for certain types of agricultural development and played a key role in determining farming styles: dry-farming or rice-farming.

Strontium isotope analysis of Yangtze alligator remains from Late Neolithic North China

Endangered wild Yangtze alligators (Alligator sinensis) inhabit the downstream subtropical lakes and swamps of the Yangtze River at a latitude of approximately 30° N. What remains puzzling is the discovery of the remains of Yangtze alligators at many Middle and Late Neolithic archeological sites in North China, mainly in the form of alligator osteoderms buried in tombs of the elite. To determine whether these Yangtze alligators were indigenous or were part of long-distance trading between the northern and southern parts of China, we conducted a strontium isotope analysis of alligator osteoderms from three archaeological sites dating from the Late Neolithic Age (2500~1900 BC). The results show that these remains are mainly indigenous, which means that the northern boundary of the distribution of Yangtze alligators may even have reached the Yellow River basin 4000 years ago. Based on historical records from the Longshan and Erlitou Periods (2500~1600 BC), which mention some clans specializing in breeding “dragons” during the Yu (虞) and Xia (夏) Dynasties, combined with the discovery of dragon and alligator images from the Xia and Shang Dynasties, we believe that society at that time viewed Yangtze alligators as the manifestation of “dragons.”

Studies on the materials and manufacturing technology of the murals unearthed at Shimao Site in Shenmu County, Shaanxi

AbstractThis paper presents preliminary scientific analytical results and discussion on the murals unearthed at the Shimao Site in Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province. The murals were composed of pigment layer, plaster base layer and daub layer. The pigments used include hematite, goethite, glauconite and carbon black. Same with the floor plaster layer of the house foundations in the site, the plaster layer of murals is made of calcium carbonate. For the painting procedure, a draft had firstly been designed by engraved lines, and then the murals were painted with various pigments. A tentative comparative study shows that the manufacturing technology and painting techniques of the Shimao mural are similar to that of the murals of the Han and Tang Dynasties. It indicates that the fundamental manufacturing technology of mural had probably been established in the Erlitou Period at latest, which was just followed and enriched over the Han and Tang Dynasties.

Erlitou: The origin of the tradition of non-fortified primary capitals in early China

This paper reviews and assesses traits and concepts related to “non-fortified primary capitals” within China and evaluates its two thousand year history in the development of Chinese ancient capitals from its origins in the Erlitou (二里头) period to the Eastern Han Dynasty. Non-fortified primary capitals are defined by urban plans that include a walled palatial area with an extensive outer-city sphere (gongcheng 宫城+guoqu 郭区). Through an analysis of the urban layout and settlement patterns of the Erlitou site, I argue that the practice of building non-fortified capitals began during this time due to the declining need for peripheral fortifications. Large competing polities that once flourished in the Central Plain during the Longshan period gradually declined at approximately 1800BCE, and did not represent a military threat or direct competition to the powerful centralized state at Erlitou.

China and the steppe: reception and resistance

Abstract

Ceramic production and provenance in the Yiluo Basin (Henan, China): Geoarchaeological interpretations of utilitarian craft production in the Erlitou state

Petrographic and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis performed on late Neolithic/early Bronze Age utilitarian ceramic assemblages from three high-level centers in the Yiluo River valley (Henan, China) – Erlitou, Huizui, and Shaochai – have identified discriminating features which serve as a basis for inferring community-level production loci on an intra-basinal scale. Principal among these are 1) a volcanic and sulfide-silica “Luo River” inclusion signature seen at Erlitou and Shaochai, 2) a metamorphic (amphibole gneiss and schist) signature seen almost exclusively in sherds from Huizui, and 3) a predominantly fine-grained siliciclastic and carbonate sedimentary lithic “Songshan Mountain” signature observed among sherds at both Huizui and Shaochai. The pXRF data help to further refine these petrographic provenance assignments. Identification of overwhelmingly “local” production signatures suggests that wares were not widely exchanged between the Erlitou urban core and the surrounding centers with much frequency during the Erlitou period (ca. 1900–1500BCE). Domestic wares may have been produced for systems of local exchange among regional centers and surrounding rural potting communities utilizing ceramic raw materials found within shared geological resource zones. The persistence of local production signatures throughout the Yangshao (ca. 5000–3000BCE), Longshan (ca. 3000–2000BCE), and Erlitou periods at Huizui suggests that systems of localized ceramic production and exchange within the Yiluo basin were not significantly altered in response to processes of urbanism and regional economic integration characterizing formation of the Erlitou state.

Spatial pattern and temporal trend of prehistoric human sites and its driving factors in Henan Province, Central China

The Yangshao Culture (approx. 6.9–5.5 ka BP) and the Longshan Culture (approx. 4.6–4.0 ka BP) played important roles in Henan’s Neolithic Period. Due to spatial distribution of the Yangshao cultural sites, they had a river-oriented trend in comparison with those in the Longshan Period. Apart from terrain factors, distribution of the sites in both periods is subject to paleo-environmental changes. The Yangshao Culture originated in Holocene Optimum Period, and the Longshan Culture started in climatic fluctuations prior to Neolithic ending. But the latter owned more sites and wider scopes than the former did. Both the Cultures developed fast in rich rainfall and warm periods, and withered for abrupt cooling events in 5.4 ka BP and 4.0 ka BP respectively. Therefore, the sustainability of Henan’s Neolithic Cultures is not good as expected. Whilst, the ancient farming acted an irreplaceable part in distribution of human sites, and the need for farming space prompted human sites to expand from the western hilly areas towards the eastern plain of Henan. Moreover, the neighboring cultures poured into Henan and complicated the cultural patterns. Besides, characteristics of the sites in the Erlitou Period suggest that some social factors disturbed the spatial pattern at the end of Neolithic age in Henan.

Research on charred plant remains from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age in Luoyang Basin

Analysis of charred plant remains is an efficient way to study ancient agriculture and has yielded many insights. Because of the complexity and diversity of ancient agriculture, how to select the best sites to improve the representativeness of charred plant remains is an important research topic. An assemblage of charred plant remains were obtained using flotation samples collected from ash pits and cultural layers of 22 small sites from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age in the Luoyang Basin, North China, where Neolithic cultures developed. The species of the plant remains were identified stereoscopically. Previous research on both small and large sites had shown that foxtail millet (<italic>Setaria italica</italic> subsp.<italic> italica</italic>) and broomcorn millet (<italic>Panicum miliaceum</italic>) were the major corps in the Luoyang Basin during the Neolithic period, where rainfed agriculture practiced. Rice (<italic>Oryza sativa</italic>), wheat (<italic>Triticum aestivum</italic>), and soybean (<italic>Glycine max</italic>) were cultivated later. In the Erlitou period, five crops were grown in this area. The diversification of crops in small sites occurred earlier than in large sites. Small sites had higher proportions of rice and wheat than did large sites in the Erlitou period, reflecting the differences in site function. Plant remains taken from different landforms showed that the agricultural structures on alluvial plains were different from those on loess terraces. More crop species were grown on loess terraces than on alluvial plains from the Yangshao to the Longshan period, but the species and quantities of crops on the alluvial plains were greater in the Erlitou period. Environmental factors such as climate, landform, and hydrology are probably the main reasons for these patterns. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of charred plant remains analysis of small sites. More attention should be paid to small sites in future research.

Stone Tool Production-Distribution Systems at Huizui, China

Different ground stone tool production-distribution systems have been proposed as present at the site of Huizui in the Yiluo River Basin, central China, during the Erlitou period (1900-1500 BC). The current study used an economic approach to identify if differences could be observed between the systems. Using efficiency as the main parameter for comparison; raw material procurement and on-site production were investigated. Raw material procurement was shown to be efficient for all of the tool types studied, with particular focus on distance to source and the functional and extractive properties of the raw materials. Efficiency in production was less clear, with scale of production instead being the distinguishing factor. In total, two different production-distribution systems were identified; the mass produced oolitic dolomite spades which appear to be distributed regionally, and the locally produced and consumed adzes, axes, chisels, knifes and grinding slabs. Both of these systems appeared to be retained within the household context and may have operated independently of elite control, which is a contrast to the heavily circumscribed production and distribution of elite items. This study also showed that whilst efficiency is a useful tool to elicit detailed information from the stone tool production-distribution systems, further parameters need to be included to provide a more accurate contrast between systems.

Special section on the Yiluo project] SOIL MICROMORPHOLOGY, CHEMISTRY AND MAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY STUDIES AT HUIZUI (YILUO REGION, HENAN PROVINCE, NORTHERN CHINA), WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON A TYPICAL YANGSHAO FLOOR SEQUENCE

31 thin sections and 25 bulk samples were investigated from Huizui (Loess Plateau of northern China) creating a broad, albeit limited, dataset for the Peiligang, Yangshao, Longshan and Erlitou Periods. The study provides punctuated insights into the occupational and landscape history of the site. These are briefly reported in order to examine, in context, some details of a typical Yangshao Period floor sequence (11 layers). Here, ground-raising was achieved mainly through constructing layers of planttempered adobe, manufactured from `clean' loess that is present at Huizui. A dark, `red' coloured mud-plastered surface was made at the top of the adobe layers, to underlie each `white' floor. Contrary to expectation, soil micromorphology found that the `white' floors are not `burned lime' floors, but single and multiple quarried slabs of fossiliferous tabular formed tufa, of likely Quaternary age and local origin; a finding consistent with bulk analyses. As these slabs appear to be at least 3-4 m in size their quarrying and transport imply a high degree of social organization. No Yangshao occupation floor deposits were found, suggesting that either floors were of ritual use or were swept or mat-covered. An example of an off-site gleyed, Yangshao to Longshan soil-sediment sequence, containing anthropogenic inclusions, was found to overlie the local truncated grey, gleyed, and archaeologically sterile Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene alluvial soil.

Special section on the Yiluo project] CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF PLANT REMAINS AT THE ERLITOU-PERIOD HUIZUI SITE, HENAN, CHINA

This paper examines intrasite distributional patterns of plant remains and their implications for plant use and disposal in the past. We analyzed charred plant remains from various excavated features dating to the Erlitou period at the Huizui regional center, Henan Province, China. The main subsistence strategy of the Erlitou period was dryland farming, as archaeologically evidenced by the dominance of dryland crops such as millet and soybean, and the new incorporation of wheat. However, wetland rice was more in use during the drier and cooler Erlitou than during the wetter and warmer preceding periods, and its regional distribution is restricted to major Erlitou centers. Therefore, rice likely played a primarily social role as a prestige crop and status symbol rather than satisfying basic dietary needs. At Huizui, quantities of plant remains by feature types are not correlated to the functions of the features, as defined by feature shape and size as well as artifact contents. Our quantitative analyses of plant remains suggest that the automatic dismissal of rare taxa as casual intrusions, which is common practice in archaeobotany, may be unwarranted, and that any quantitative classification of feature types by plant content is biased by sample size effects.

DEVELOPMENT OF COMPLEX SOCIETIES IN THE YILUO REGION: A GIS BASED POPULATION AND AGRICULTURAL AREA ANALYSIS

The Yiluo basin is the heartland of the origin of early states in China. Based on archaeological data from the ongoing Yiluo project, I construct a GIS based study detailing the carrying capacity, catchment productivity, population fluctuation and development of social complexity in the surveyed region from the Peiligang to the Erlitou period. The study demonstrates that, although increase of population coincided with the initiation of social complexity, it probably did not lead to it in any direct causal way. Instead, the growing population might have provided more opportunities for elites to manipulate different strategies to maintain power and establish a more complex social structure. The study employs two models to explain the initiation of social complexity: 1) the tribute model, 2) the special resources model. Although there are some limitations in this study and some of the specific interpretations may change as more data and finer chronological controls become available, the analytical methods I employ here have shown great potential for application in future studies.

Settlement Patterns and Development of Social Complexity in the Yiluo Region, North China

This international, collaborative, and interdisciplinary archaeological program examines changes in settlement patterns from the early Neolithic to the full development of states (ca. 6500–200 B.C.) in the Yiluo region of central north China. Full-coverage regional surveys are integrated with geoarchaeological investigations, ethnobotanical studies, and lithic analyses. The data are used to assess changes in population, environment, land use, agricultural production, and craft production, and to test theoretical propositions regarding the emergence and development of social complexity. Research results suggest a significant sociopolitical transformation taking place in the Yiluo basin during the Erlitou period, including the development of the first four-tiered settlement hierarchy, marked population nucleation, and economic integration between urban center and rural areas. These changes indicate the emergence of the earliest state in China.