商代的生态环境与农业发展

从整体上看,商代的生态环境处在"中国全新世大暖期".但在长达约600年的商代历史中,以气候为主要因子的生态环境也出现有不小的波动,表现为商代早期出现有短暂的干旱,中期到后期有较长时期的温暖适宜期,商末环境又有转为干旱的迹象.商代的生态环境对农业生产有直接的影响,形成了"粟稻混作区".商代农业确定了中国古代农业发展的方向,并为商王朝的崛起和兴盛奠定了坚实的基础.     

试论河北东北部地区新石器时代遗址与生态环境的关系

本文从河北东北部地区新石器时代遗址出发,结合气候学、地质学等相关学科成果,分析中全新世时期不同时段文化的特点,指出文化交流、文化遗存分布受其所处生态环境演变的影响。     

长江中游地区新石器时代自然环境变迁研究

长江中游地区彭头山文化时期为全新世大暖期初期的第一个适宜期。大溪文化开始时正处于大暖期的鼎盛时期 ,此时温热多雨。从大溪中期偏晚阶段开始 ,气候转冷 ,洪水位升高 ,江汉湖群扩张 ;到大溪文化晚期和屈家岭文化早期出现冷锋 ,并出现较高洪水位 ,云梦泽基本形成。屈家岭晚期至石家河文化早期气候重新变暖 ,降水增加 ,洪水位降低 ,湖群萎缩。从石家河文化中期偏晚开始 ,气候又开始恶化 ,气温下降 ,洪水频发 ,同时云梦泽再次扩张。新石器时代长江中游地区自然环境的变迁过程与其社会文化的发展轨迹之间存在着很强对应关系     

甘青地区全新世环境变迁与新石器文化兴衰

我国北方大部分地区,距今8000年前后的降温事件之后,才真正意味着人类的全新世气候适宜期的开始.距今5500年前后降温以及由此带来的干旱,使甘青地区这一时期人口与资源之间的矛盾的激化,甘青地区葫芦河流域仰韶文化中晚期出现的社会复杂性,可能是在资源紧张状态下的一种人类文化行为的生态调整.甘青地区距今4500年气候转变可能首先促进或刺激了齐家文化的发展.但随着气候转变的幅度增加,环境条件渐趋恶劣并超过了当时人类所能承受的极限,西北地区史前农业体系不可避免的发生彻底地解体和衰落.长期的干旱环境可能是导致齐家文化的衰落以及齐家文化之后较长时间农业文化的低潮的重要原因之一.     

河北及京津地区早中全新世文化的时空分布及其气候环境因素

本文根据考古学14C年代数据和考古遗存情况,结合高分辨率的地层和古气候研究资料,分析了河北及京津地区早中全新世文化的时空分布格局以及影响遗址分布的地貌和气候因素。该地区早中全新世文化时间序列为:早期新石器时代文化(10,000~8,800 yr BP)、新石器早中期之间的文化缺环(约8,800~7,300 yr BP)、7,300~6,500yr BP的磁山.兴隆洼.北福地一期三大文化系统并立发展时期以及6,500~6,000 yr BP的前仰韶文化时期。文化序列与气候序列对比发现:文化发展很大程度上受到气候条件的制约。从文化分布空间来看,具有如下特征:首先,早中全新世时期的文化分布在与当时海岸线平行的弧形地带上,这种分布格局与气候和地貌条件有关。在排除了地势高亢和海侵影响地区后,太行山东麓到古海岸线之间的弧形地带成为最佳选择。其次,从遗址分布高度来看,当时人仍居住在较高地貌面上,海侵及众多湖沼阻止了人类向东部平原腹地迈进的步伐。     

全新世典型期中国北方旱作农业分布北界

通过对内蒙古中南部地区考古、文献资料综合研究,编绘出大暖期、西周寒冷期、汉代温暖期、中世纪温暖期、小冰期旱作农业北界图,恢复了全新世各典型时期降水情况。     

中国新石器时代文化演变动力分析

对多年来积累的气候资料的综合分析表明:在全新世期间有两个比较明显的温暖期。它们的时间分别为8～6kaBP(校正成日历年龄大约为9～7calkaBP)和5～3kaBP(日历年龄大约为5.5～3.2calkaBP)。文化的发展很大程度上受到了环境条件的制约。在前一个温暖期的后半段(8～7calkaBP),北方旱作农业(磁山文化、大地湾文化、兴隆洼文化)发展起来。南方稻作农业要在7.0～6.0calkaBP才初具规模。而6.0～5.5calkaBP的气候冷干事件使得南北方文化均有不同程度的衰退,但是南方受到的影响要小于北方。在后一个温暖期到来之后(5.5～3.2calkaBP),分别以龙山文化和良渚文化为代表的南北方新石器文化几乎同时进入发展史上的另一个黄金时代。尽管南北方文化体系对于气候变化的响应有所差异,并且不同时期不同地域文化发展动力也不尽相同,但是从大的时空尺度上来看,我国的新石器时代发展经历了如下阶段:最早期文化萌芽阶段(10calkaBP)——早中新石器时代之间的文化相对衰退期(10～8calkaBP)——新石器时代中期的北方农业文明崛起(8～7calkaBP)——7.0～6.0calkaBP的南方稻作农业的极大发展期——6.0～5.5calkaBP的文化衰退期——新石器时代晚期(5.5～4.0calkaBP)文化的极大繁荣。其间一些大的文化演替或者转型事件的时间在各地也大致相同。说明这种大的文化演进过程还是受到了同一个信号的支配,而只有环境气候因素才可能影响到如此大的范围。     

黎凡特的纳吐夫文化——农业起源的开端

黎凡特地区因保存丰富的晚更新世到全新世初期的遗址而成为近东史前考古研究的重要地区。距今1.5万年前后,纳吐夫文化的出现是近东历史上的一个重要转折点。因其定居、种植和采集植物活动并存、驯化动物和狩猎活动并存等特点,该文化在西亚农业起源研究中受到学者们的广泛关注。Ofer Bar-Yosef教授长期在以色列、近东等地进行考古工作,在旧石器时代晚期考古、近东农业起源等领域卓有建树。他的这篇《黎凡特的纳吐夫文化——农业起源的开端》,尽管发表时间较早,对我们今天系统认识纳吐夫文化及农业起源动因等相关问题,仍有着重要意义。     

内蒙古中南部考古学文化演变的环境学透视

内蒙古中南部位于我国北方农牧交错带的中段, 是气侯变化的敏感地区。全新世以来的气侯波动, 对于塑造这里的自然景观和古文化的面貌起着重要的作用。本文分析了全新世大暖期的不同时段上古文化的特点和生计方式的变化, 并从沙地进退、湖面升降的视角探讨了这一地区考古学文化的演变以及人地之间相互作用的过程。     

全新世气候事件及其对古文化发展的影响

全新世以来,气候和环境经历了多次变化幅度大、持续时间长、影响范围广的气候事件;同时,人类社会也经历了古代文明社会兴起与衰落阶段。本文主要以三个具体事例初步探讨了全新世气候事件对早期人类社会及其古文化的影响     

Wild galliform and gruiform birds (Aves,Galliformes and Gruiformes) in the archaeological record of Bulgaria

A total of 453 bones (294 of galliform and 159 of gruiform birds) from 28 archaeological sites are considered here, 34 per cent of the total ornithoarchaeological wild bird finds collected in Bulgaria so far. They cover a period from the Early Neolithic to the Middle Ages. Eleven species (six galliform and five gruiform), 87.5 and 45.5 per cent, respectively, of the Holocene avifauna of both orders, have been identified. One species, Tetrao tetrix, has totally disappeared and three others, Grus grus, Otis tarda and O. tetrax, now breed beyond the borders of Bulgaria and the Balkans. Some of the sites of the large gamefowl species indicate their wider distribution in the past. Phasianus colchicus is present as early as the Eneolithic period. The wild galliform and gruiform species were important as a source of meat for the local population up to the Middle Ages, in spite of widespread breeding of domestic poultry. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluating Intensity in the Processing of Guanaco (Lama Guanicoe) at the Lower Basin of the Colorado River (Argentina): Fragmentation Levels and Fracture Patterns Analysis

This article explores the levels of fragmentation and fracture patterns in archaeofaunal assemblages from the lower basin of the Colorado River (Argentina) following Outram's methodology. Remains of ungulates (guanaco) have suffered, in these assemblages, a high degree of fragmentation probably caused during the processing of the carcasses. The presence of helical debris and shaft fragments indicates that fragmentation would respond to processing tasks for the consumption of marrow and possibly bone grease. The results of the application of this methodology that were obtained from the analysis of three late Holocene sites (La Primavera, Loma Ruiz 1 and El Tigre) are presented. These results provide new evidence not only for patterns of marrow and bone grease consumption but also for dealing with the subsistence model proposed for the study area. In this sense, the intensification processes already proposed during the final late Holocene (1000–250 bp ) are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Drowned and deserted: a submerged prehistoric landscape in the Solent, England

A submerged landscape containing worked flint tools has been found at—11m OD in the western Solent. This paper reviews coastal sites in northern Europe and suggests that many similar sites should exist around the coast of southern England; as a result of isostatic shifts and eustatic fluctuations many coastal sites of the Mesolithic will now be submerged. A need has been identified to locate, protect and record submerged sites before they are lost to erosion or development, for which outline proposals are suggested.     

New research on the Holocene settlement and environment of the Chad Basin in Nigeria

Recent investigations of three archaeological sites in the Nigerian part of the Chad Basin during the Holocene reveal key stages in the cultural development and environmental history of that region. At Dufuna, a dugout boat was dated to around 6000 BC, making it the oldest known boat in Africa and one of the oldest in the world. Boats may thus have contributed to the mobility of the population of the southern edge of the Sahara 8000 years ago and, thereby, to the cultural homogeneity of this period. The pottery site at Konduga is around a thousand years younger than Dufuna but still belongs to the time of Mega-Chad. The site is on the Bama Ridge, an old shoreline. Its pottery, decorated in the Saharan tradition, belongs to the earliest ceramic phase of the West African Later Stone Age, long before the beginnings of food production. Although this site was probably settled by pioneers advancing into a largely flooded landscape along the slightly raised shoreline, the human occupation of the area previously covered by Mega-Chad began along a broad front around 2000 BC. Archaeological and palaeoecological finds from two settlement mounds at Gajiganna are described as case studies for this phase, which predates the well-known site of Daima.

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Résumé Les résultats présentés proviennent de recherches récentes sur trois sites archéologiques, dont chacun représente un épisode clé du développement culturel et de l'histoire environnementale du Bassin nigérian du Tchad au cours de l'Holocène. A Dufuna, la découverte d'une pirogue monoxyle, datée d'environ 6000 ans BC, constitue le témoignage le plus ancien d'une embarcation en Afrique et l'un des plus ancien dans le monde. Ce moyen de transport indique la mobilité des populations de la marge sud du Sahara à l'Holocène inférieur et moyen; ce qui a dû contribuer à l'homogénéité culturelle de cette période. Le site à poterie de Konduga est le plus jeune d'un millénaire que Dufuna, mais appartient à l'époque du Méga-Tchad. Le site est installé sur une ancienne ligne de rivage, la Bama Ridge. Sa poterie, décorée selon la tradition saharienne, appartient à la plus ancienne phase à céramique du Later Stone Age ouest-africain, bien avant le début d'une production alimentaire. Vu que ce site ne devait étre occupé que par des pionniers aventurés dans un paysage largement amphibie à la faveur d'un mince cordon émergé, la colonisation de l'espace antérieurement couvert par le Méga-Tchad, débute le long d'un large front vers 2000 ans BC.Les trouvailles archéologiques et paléoécologiques de deux tertres anthropiques à Gajiganna sont décrites commes études de cas illustrant cette phase, qui précède celle du célèbre site de Daima.

     

Beavers (Castor fiber) in the Past: Holocene Archaeological Evidence for Beavers in Romania

Archaeological beaver (Castor fiber) remains from Romanian sites dating from the Mesolithic to the Middle Ages are described in terms of their frequencies (based on the number of identified specimens), morphology and size. A summary of previous archaeozoological studies in the geographical and historical regionalization of the Romanian territory (i.e. Banat, Dobrudja, Moldavia, Muntenia, Oltenia and Transylvania) shows that temporal and regional variation characterizes the assemblages. The data also reveal that beaver hunting contributed little to local economies, although some spatial and temporal variations are apparent and are here compared with the evidence from the historical record. In addition, univariate, bivariate and geometric morphometric analyses are employed to examine different anatomical elements. Studies of the lower third molar (M₃) reveal that there is a statistically significant intraspecific variability between the Neolithic and Iron Age populations, situated also in different regions, Muntenia and Moldavia, respectively. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New insights on the first Neolithic societies in the Horn of Africa: The site of Wakrita,Djibouti

Abstract

The site of Wakrita is a small Neolithic establishment located on a wadi in the tectonic depression of Gobaad in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. The 2005 excavations yielded abundant ceramics that enabled us to define one Neolithic cultural facies of this region, which was also identified at the nearby site of Asa Koma. The faunal remains confirm the importance of fishing in Neolithic settlements close to Lake Abbé, but also the importance of bovine husbandry and, for the first time in this area, evidence for caprine herding practices. Radiocarbon dating places this occupation at the beginning of the 2nd millennium b.c., similar in range to Asa Koma. These two sites represent the oldest evidence of herding in the region, and they provide a better understanding of the development of Neolithic societies in this region.