中国新石器时代的人地关系及其特点

地理环境对中国新石器时代文化的影响作用表现为对文化发展历程的影响、对文化发展速度的影响、对文化特征的影响、对文化格局的影响、对中华文明早期发生发展的影响等5个方面,中国新石器时代先民对于自然环境的利用与改造体现在农业生产活动的开展、采集渔猎经济的存在、家畜饲养业的发展、对居住地的选择、因地制宜的居宅建筑、生产生活用具的制造、对原有生态系统的干预等7个方面。新石器时代的人地关系具有人对地依赖性强、地对人制约严格、相互作用极为直接等特点。     

长江中游与黄河中游史前城址的比较

本文从城址及其所处聚落群变迁的角度对黄河中游和长江中游地区的史前城址进行比较研究,认为在新石器时代晚期,长江中游率先出现城;铜石并用时代早期,长江中游出现城址群,而黄河中游始有单个城的出现;铜石并用时代晚期,长江中游出现中心城址与非中心城址的差别而黄河中游城址群始涌现,到了青铜时代早期,长江中游的城址衰落,而黄河中游都城兴起。     

The changing Neolithic household: Household autonomy and social segmentation, Tell Halula, Syria

While households are widely held to have existed as the fundamental building block of early agricultural villages, researchers have only a limited understanding of the local social and economic trajectory of Neolithic households. Expanding our archaeological understanding of the Neolithic household beyond architecture, settlement organization, and subsistence practices, in this paper we explore how gradual changes in mortuary practices at Tell Halula, Syria, help us to understand the process of household development around 7500–7300 Cal. BC. Drawing upon high-resolution mortuary data we consider the tempo and mechanisms of change and how these patterns help us understand the organization of the household. Material patterns including the increased use of burial objects, an increased frequency of the placement of burial objects among adults, and the differential use of burial objects between households. These represent subtle, yet observable, small-scale shifts in how social roles were redefined and materialized. We argue that these reflect a series of gradual changes that are suggestive of increased household autonomy and an increase in social segmentation within and between households. The Tell Halula data highlight elements of continuity and how household members adhered to a broadly shared physical and organizational framework of life. Data also illustrate how household members developed subtle means by which practices were personalization, and potentially, reflect growing means by which households and individuals were identified within these communities. Collectively, this research provides a detailed understanding of the grass-roots building blocks of Neolithic households over a short time frame and a more detailed understanding of the local social and economic trajectory of Neolithic households.     

Reconstructing northern Chinese Neolithic subsistence practices by isotopic analysis

Stable isotope signatures of both human and non-human animal bone samples indicate that Neolithic farmers of the Yellow and Wei River basins in China potentially cultivated millet for two reasons: as a staple for human consumption and as fodder for domesticated animals, specifically pigs, dogs, and perhaps chicken. Bone samples were analyzed from four Neolithic sites: Jiangzhai, Shijia, Xipo, and Kangjia, spanning the time period from 7000 to 4000 years ago. A combination of very high carbon isotope ratios (δ¹³C = −7.7 ± 0.4‰) and low nitrogen isotope ratios (δ¹⁵N = 7.5 ± 0.5‰) in samples of Xipo pig and dog bone suggests that these monogastric animals consumed substantial quantities of C₄ plants, almost certainly millets. In fact, the proportion of C₄ plants in animal diets appears to have been even greater than that in human diet. Stable isotope values (δ¹³C = −10.0 ± 0.8‰; δ¹⁵N = 8.3 ± 0.5‰) of human bone collagen recovered at Jiangzhai and Shijia indicate a staple role for millets, as well as the consumption of both wild and other non-C₄ domesticated plant foods. As millet agriculture and animal husbandry apparently depended on one another, a strong mutualism between them was likely established in northern China during the Neolithic. We propose that variable redistribution of agricultural products between humans and animals, depending on the availability of wild resources and annual fluctuations in agricultural output, helped ensure the stability of Neolithic human subsistence in the Yellow and Wei River basins.     

Obsidian provenance for prehistoric complexes in the Amur River basin (Russian Far East)

The sources of high quality volcanic glass (obsidian) for archaeological complexes in the Amur River basin of the Russian Far East have been established, based on geochemical analyses by neutron activation and X-ray fluorescence of both ‘geological’ (primary sources) and ‘archaeological’ (artifacts from the Neolithic and Early Iron Age cultural complexes) specimens. A major obsidian source identified as the Obluchie Plateau, located in the middle course of the Amur River, was found to be responsible for supplying the entire middle and lower parts of the Amur River basin during prehistory. The source has been carefully studied and sampled for the first time. Minor use of three other sources was established for the lower part of the Amur River basin. Obsidian from the Basaltic Plateau source, located in the neighboring Primorye (Maritime) Province, was found at two sites of the Initial Neolithic (dated to ca. 11,000–12,500 BP). At two other sites from the same time period, obsidian from a still unknown source called “Samarga” was established. At the Suchu Island site of the Early Neolithic (dated to ca. 7200–8600 BP), obsidian from the ‘remote’ source of Shirataki (Shirataki-A sub-source) on Hokkaido Island (Japan) was identified. The range of obsidian transport in the Amur River basin was from 50 to 750 km within the basin, and from 550 to 850 km in relation to the ‘remote’ sources at the Basaltic Plateau and Shirataki-A located outside the Amur River valley. The long-distance transport/exchange of obsidian in the Amur River basin in prehistory has now been securely established.     

Morphometric Analysis of Sus Remains from Neolithic Sites in the Wei River Valley,China, with Implications for Domestication

Size variation of Sus remains within and between sites is examined for the Neolithic sites in the Wei River valley in China. The coefficient of variation [V] for pig measurements at the sites of Wayaogou, Quanhucun and Jiangzhai was calculated, and we observed patterns that show evidence of two populations of different‐size pigs, supporting the likelihood that both wild and domestic pigs were present. Also, size reduction of pigs can be traced within the Neolithic‐early Bronze Age archaeo‐faunal sequence of the Wei River valley. This size reduction was accompanied by an increase of coefficients of variation through the Neolithic. Both of these trends were probably the consequences of pig domestication, and the morphometric differences probably provide evidence for the different stages of pig domestication in this region. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Epipaleolithic/early Neolithic settlements at Qinghai Lake,western China

Transitions from terminal Pleistocene Upper Paleolithic foraging to Holocene Neolithic farming and pastoralist economic orientations in the northern Tibetan Plateau are examined from the perspective of Epipaleolithic sites located near Qinghai Lake, Qinghai Province, western China. Jiangxigou 2 is an artifact-rich, multicomponent midden site with the main period of occupation dating ca. 9000–5000 cal yr BP, containing abundant flaked stone artifacts including a substantial proportion of microlithic tools, abundant faunal remains including gazelle, deer, and sheep, and a small number of ceramics, including the oldest known on the Tibetan Plateau. Heimahe 3, on the other hand, is a brief hunter's camp dating ca. 8450 cal yr BP, with evident affinities to late Upper Paleolithic camps in the same region that date several thousand years older. The two distinctively different sites are probably nodes within a single Epipaleolithic foraging system that developed on the margins of the high Tibetan Plateau during the early Holocene, and that served as a basis for colonization of the high-altitude Plateau at that time. Jiangxigou 2 appears to be connected to early Neolithic agricultural settlements along the upper Yellow River (Huang He) drainage during the middle Holocene, and may provide insights into forager–agriculturalist interactions that lead to the development of pastoralist systems in the region.     

Neolithic rock art in context: Landscape history and the transition to agriculture in Mediterranean Spain

Rock art is one of the most salient features of Neolithic societies in eastern Spain and an explicit form of landscape history. This paper summarizes current debates of Mediterranean rock art chronology and interpretation and explores the contextual differences in two areas of Neolithic settlement with rock art: the Canyoles Valley (Valencia) and the Alcoi Basin (Alicante). Large-scale survey of the Canyoles Valley resulted in a clearer understanding of agricultural land use during the Neolithic that contrasts with evidence from the Alcoi Basin. By analyzing Neolithic rock art in its archaeological context, we discuss the significance and limitations of rock art analysis for understanding and characterizing landscape histories and the transition to agriculture in the region.     

THE FORMATION OF SOCIAL RANK IN THE EARLY NEOLITHIC OF NORTHERN EUROPE

Klavs Randsborg has made important contributions to the archaeology of the Bronze Age and later prehistoric periods, but in the 1970s he also touched upon issues such as the formation of rank in Neolithic societies. In his article ‘Social Dimensions of Early Neolithic Denmark’, he suggested that a hierarchical society arose at the transition from the Early to Middle Neolithic, c. 3300–3200 BC. Since then, excavations and research have resulted in numerous publications about the Neolithic, but only rarely have these examined social development. In this article, the authors continue the debate, sharing the same starting point as Klavs Randsborg, but here approaching the question of emerging social inequality on the background of recent research into the early agricultural societies in Northern Europe, seen in a broader European context. The primary focus is upon burial monuments as manifestations of status and power, and parallels are drawn with similar construction activities amongst present‐day farming communities in such remote areas as the islands of Southeast Asia. The social organisation and ritual customs of these modern farming communities are considered relevant when interpreting the archaeological evidence for early agricultural societies in Northern Europe.     

黄河流域区域经济差异的时空动态分析

以黄河流域的各地级市为研究单元,人均GDP为测度指标,综合运用不同时空动态分析方法,在Open Geoda和Pysal2.7软件支持下,对1990-2013年黄河流域73个地级市经济发展水平空间格局和演变过程进行分析。研究表明:黄河流域整体区域经济差异呈现先扩大后减小的趋势,东部地区内部差异最显著对整体差异贡献最大,中部、西部区域经济差异相对稳定;流域经济空间异质性明显,存在显著的空间正相关,区域经济格局两极化明显且东部经济水平明显高于中西部地区,流域经济发展的热点区主要分布在山东省内,冷点区主要分布在甘肃、陕西、青海等部分州市;通过分析黄河流域73个地级市经济发展类型时空演变特征,反映出黄河流域经济发展存在俱乐部趋同趋势,初始状态对区域经济发展具有重要作用,区域背景亦具有一定作用,区域经济水平的跨越式发展基本不存在。     

Lithic technology and social transformations in the South Indian Neolithic: The evidence from Sanganakallu–Kupgal

Here we examine patterns in stone tool technology among Mesolithic, Neolithic and Iron Age localities in the Sanganakallu–Kupgal site complex, Bellary District, Karnataka, South India. Statistical tests are used to compare proportions of raw materials and artefact types, and to compare central tendencies in metric variables taken on flakes and tools. Lithic-related findings support the inference of at least two distinct technological and economic groups at Sanganakallu–Kupgal, a microlith-focused foraging society on the one hand, and on the other, an agricultural society whose lithic technologies centred upon the production of pressure bladelets and dolerite edge-ground axes. Evidence for continuity in lithic technological processes through time may reflect indigenous processes of development, and a degree of continuity from the Mesolithic through to the Neolithic period. Lithic production appears to have become a specialised and spatially segregated activity by the terminal Neolithic and early Iron Age, supporting suggestions for the emergence of an increasingly complex economy and political hierarchy.     

The Transition from the Neolithic to the Copper Age: Excavations at Vésztö-Bikeri,Hungary, 2000–2002

Abstract

The transition from the Neolithic to the Copper Age on the Great Hungarian Plain (ca. 4500 B.C.) coincides with dramatic changes in house form, settlement layout, settlement distribution, and mortuary customs. These changes affected nearly every aspect of social organization—from the organization of households and villages to the distribution of cultural groups across the landscape. Our current understanding of the various changes that occurred during this important transition is hindered by a lack of systematically excavated settlement sites dating to the Early Copper Age on the Great Hungarian Plain.

The results of three years of excavation at an Early Copper Age settlement located in the Körös River Valley suggest that, in contrast to the Neolithic, craft activities on Early Copper Age sites are segregated in different parts of the settlements. This general pattern of increasing economic specialization occurs throughout SE Europe at the end of the Neolithic and is associated with a tendency towards increased integration of economic and social units in settlements during the Copper Age.     

Household economy and gendered labor in the 17th centurya.d. on Guam

Abstract

The gendered division of labor in household economies is well known in documentary accounts of many societies, although archaeological evidence for it is often elusive. Our study compares ethnohistorical accounts of household organization with archaeological patterns at a 17th-century village on the island of Guam in the Marianas archipelago to determine if these different sources of evidence provide similar insights. We investigated archaeological assemblages from two latte (megalithic) buildings to document their economic activities. Unexpected differences in their assemblages revealed that economic activities varied between the two latte buildings. They were domiciles of a single economically integrated household, but their disparate functions likely signaled a gendered division of labor. This study reveals aspects of gendered labor that documentary accounts do not fully describe. Our findings suggest that the assumption that domestic buildings were functionally redundant in traditional societies must be tested on a case-by-case basis.     

Use of space in a Neolithic village in Greece (Makri): phytolith analysis and comparison of phytolith assemblages from an ethnographic setting in the same area

Phytolith analyses were conducted in a Pottery Neolithic village (Makri) of Northern Greece in order to reconstruct aspects of past human activities as a function of both space and time. The analyses of phytolith assemblages were based on a reference collection of modern plant phytoliths (Tsartsidou et al., 2007), as well as an ethnographic study in an agropastoral community (Sarakini) in the same area that showed that many phytolith assemblages are characteristic of the activities carried out in different locations within and around the village (Tsartsidou et al., 2008). The same approach was used for studying the phytolith assemblages in the Neolithic village of Makri, namely measuring phytolith concentrations, diversities of phytolith assemblages relative to control samples collected from samples outside the village and detailed analysis of various phytolith morphotypes. At Makri samples from floors and various constructions (i.e. pit, platforms) were analysed, as well as sediments from an open area inside the village. The results show that Neolithic Makri was a society with a mixed agricultural and pastoral economy. Wheat and barley were cultivated for food and fodder and free-range animals were raised in a village inhabited year round. Indoor areas were not clearly differentiated from outdoor areas inside the village. The phytolith assemblages in only one series of floors produced at a specific location over an extended period of time reflected the use of that space for cereal storage or food processing. The phytolith assemblages from all the other floors examined did not reflect the local activities, but rather the constructional materials used for producing the floors.     

The provenancing of ochres from the Neolithic Temple Period in Malta

Ochres have played an important role in early human societies, and recent studies have shown that these pigments are important tools in establishing trade routes between countries as particular varieties of the material were sought for use by these ancient groups. This paper explores the provenancing of the ancient ochres used during the Neolithic Temple Period on the Maltese islands. Here ICP-AES was employed to establish geochemical trends and ‘signature’ elements present in ochre that had previously been thought to have been imported from mainland Europe. When coupled with statistical tests, data was used to link the archaeological pigments to a geological source. Results revealed a strong link between the Maltese archaeological pigments and local sources, which had never been studied prior to this project. These indicated that, contrary to popular belief, the Maltese archipelago was the most likely source for Neolithic ochre.     

Early Neolithic pig domestication at Jiahu,Henan Province,China: clues from molar shape analyses using geometric morphometric approaches

The zooarchaeology of pig domestication in China is a challenging task due to its wild boar ancestors being widespread throughout Eurasia. However using geometric morphometric approaches on molar tooth (M₂), shape and size variations, from modern and Neolithic suids, using Yangshao pigs as a surrogate for the Neolithic domestic form, we have addressed the identification of morphological change during the early step of domestication in three early Neolithic sites where claims of pig domestication have been made. Phenetic relationships here have revealed clear and interpretable phenotypic signatures in the samples of modern and Neolithic pigs; which provide evidence for pig domestication at the site of Jiahu from at least 6600 BC cal., re-establishing the Yellow River region as one of the earliest centre of independent Chinese pig domestication.     

A Pilot Study in Odontochronology for the Pig Domestication Question in North‐Central China

In this paper, we report results of the pilot study in which we apply skeletochronological analysis of teeth to a collection of modern Chinese wild boar (Sus scrofa) of known age and date of death. This is the first time that odontochronology has been applied to suids in China. This work allowed us to establish parameters for subsequent analysis of a limited number of Neolithic‐aged Sus (wild boar and possible early domesticated pig) samples from Henan Province. The goal of the research is to contribute to the ongoing reconstruction of Neolithic dietary, health and economic patterns along the Yellow River. Our results are encouraging in that regular seasonal growth patterning is observed in the northern control sample, which is from the same region as our archaeological investigation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中国史前的纵梁冠——由凌家滩遗址出土玉人说起

考古所见我国史前玉人的冠式多为纵梁冠。这种冠式在长江、黄河中下游晚期新石器时代文化的玉件上经常出现,体现着某种神格,是史前人格化神灵的一种标准冠式。     

山东新石器时代早期考古新收获

山东地区的史前考古工作,始于1930年举世闻名的章丘市龙山镇城子崖龙山文化遗址的发掘.至80年代末期止,经过近60年的艰难探索,几经高潮,逐步建立了距今7300年至2200年左右,前后承袭、持续不断的北辛文化、大汶口文化、龙山文化、岳石文化和齐鲁文化的考古学文化发展谱系,表明……     

Spatial and temporal variety of prehistoric human settlement and its influencing factors in the upper Yellow River valley,Qinghai Province,China

We report an investigation of forty-two prehistoric sites in the upper Yellow River valley located in Guide, Jianzha, Hualong, Xunha and Minhe, Qinghai Province, China, including forty-four new radiocarbon dates from twenty-four sites, review published archaeological surveys and radiocarbon dates, analyze landform features and discuss the reasons for spatial and temporal variety of regional prehistoric human settlement. Our results suggest that people occupied the upper Yellow River valley during the early Holocene, but a continuous archaeological record begins only after about 5500 Cal yr BP. Thereafter, the intensity of prehistoric human settlement in the area is varied. Neolithic human settlement spread northwestward to high altitude areas of the upper Yellow River valley during early-mid Majiayao and Qijia periods, but moved southeastward to lower locations in the area during late Majiayao period. During the Bronze period, two coeval archaeological cultures, the Kayue and Xindian, occupied the upper Yellow River Region. Kayue archaeological sites are numerous and widely distributed in the high areas of the upper Yellow River, while Xindian sites are restricted to the lowest basin of the region. Variation in site density and location are likely the result of changing paleoclimate and technology.