Multiple Factors Affecting the Historical Development of Agriculture in the Hei River Basin, Northwestern China

The history of agricultural development is of great importance to understanding the evolution of human societies. In this respect, one important location is the Hei River Basin (HRB), an ecotone in northwestern China where prehistoric patterns of cultivation are known to have changed significantly. To identify the factors behind the subsequent development of agriculture in the HRB in the historical period, a hitherto under-researched topic, we employed paleoclimate records, historical documents, radiocarbon dating, and archaeobotanical analyses from seven ancient cities and one large settlement. The results demonstrated a shift from mixed-crop farming to the cultivation of (mainly) barley and wheat during the Wei, Jin Northern and Southern dynasties, Song-Yuan and early Ming period, with the latter crop increasingly predominant. Technological innovations and increased labour power brought about by external population migration resulting from geopolitical changes in northern China were likely responsible for the shift in crop cultivation in the HRB, rather than climate change. This study provides important archaeobotanical evidence for the agricultural development of the HRB over the historical period and highlights multiple factors that seem to have influenced the evolution of agriculture in the region.

农业发展的历史对于理解人类社会的演变至关重要。在这方面，一个重要的地区是黑河流域，它是中国西北部的一个生态交错带，已知该地区史前的种植模式发生了重大变化。为了确定历史时期黑河流域农业后续发展背后的因素（这是一个迄今为止研究不足的课题），我们采用了来自七座古城和一个大型聚落的古气候记录、历史文献、放射性碳定年以及考古植物学分析。结果表明，在魏晋南北朝、宋元以及明初时期，从混合作物种植转变为（主要）种植大麦和小麦，且后者逐渐占据主导地位。中国北方地缘政治变化导致的外部人口迁移所带来的技术创新和劳动力增加，可能是黑河流域作物种植转变的原因，而非气候变化。这项研究为历史时期黑河流域的农业发展提供了重要的考古植物学证据，并强调了似乎影响该地区农业演变的多种因素。