Migration patterns of Neolithic settlements on the abandoned Yellow and Yangtze River deltas of China
- 1 September 2008
- journal article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Quaternary Research
- Vol. 70 (2), 301-314
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2008.03.011
Abstract
Archaeological records of the Neolithic settlements on the eastern China coast between 35°N and 30°N, an area covering the abandoned Yellow River and the Yangtze River delta plains, reveal that Neolithic people moved from the Yellow River basin onto the northern coast for fishing, hunting and dry-land agriculture ~ 7000 yr ago. Marine transgression interrupted their activities on the low-lying (2–5 m in elevation) coastal wetlands between 6000 and 5000 yr ago, after which they reclaimed their land near the river mouths. Their migration routes on the southern Yangtze delta plain indicate another scenario: early Neolithic communities moved onto the plain for wet-rice cultivation. Despite relative sea-level rise from 7000 to 4000 yr ago, a large number of settlements were established on the lowlands between the eastern Chenier Ridges and the western Taihu Lake depression. The Chenier Ridges, with ~ 1.0 m higher topography than the adjacent coastal area, played a role in sheltering the Neolithic people. Subsequently, settlements waned considerably, possibly due to further marine inundation combined with cold climate. The present study shows that migration patterns of the Neolithic settlements are closely associated with a gradually rising sea level between 7000 and 4000 yr ago.Keywords
This publication has 20 references indexed in Scilit:
- Mid-Holocene sea-level highstand along the Southeast Coast of ChinaQuaternary International, 2003
- Last Glacial Human Settlement in Eastern Cantabria (Northern Spain)Journal of Archaeological Science, 2002
- Sedimentary facies of the tide-dominated paleo-Changjiang (Yangtze) estuary during the last transgressionMarine Geology, 2001
- Holocene regression and the tidal radial sand ridge system formation in the Jiangsu coastal zone, east ChinaMarine Geology, 2001
- Stratigraphy and paleoenvironmental changes in the Yangtze Delta during the Late QuaternaryJournal of Asian Earth Sciences, 2000
- Shoreline reconstructions for the Persian Gulf since the last glacial maximumEarth and Planetary Science Letters, 1996
- Sediment dispersal along northern Israel coast during the early Holocene: geological and archaeological evidenceMarine Geology, 1996
- Worldwide Initiation of Holocene Marine Deltas by Deceleration of Sea-Level RiseScience, 1994
- Mid-holocene climates and environments in ChinaGlobal and Planetary Change, 1993
- Cheniers in China: An overviewMarine Geology, 1989