Holocene environmental changes and the evolution of the neolithic cultures in China

Abstract

China has three great topographic zones (Fig. 19.1). The first, in the eastern part of the mainland, contains plains ranging from a few tens of meters to ca. 100 m in elevation and hills and low mountains ranging from hundreds of meters to ca. 1000 m asl. The first zone passes gradually westwards into the second, which is characterized primarily by hills and mountains over 1000 m high and by deep river valleys. The third topographic zone is the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateaus with average altitude over 4000 m asl. China also has three climate zones: the monsoon controlled zone in the east, a semi-arid to arid zone in the northwest, and the Tibetan Plateau zone in the southwest. The monsoon zone covers the regions of the first topographic zone and the eastern part of the second zone. The north-western part of China, with its inland location, is usually dry, and desertification is common. The Tibetan Plateau is cold and dry by virtue of its inland position and high altitude. The high latitude of the Northeastern China ensures cold conditions compared with the country to the south. The sub-tropical monsoon region (the middle and lower Yangtze areas) and temperate monsoon region (the Yellow River areas and the Western Liao River areas) are commonly viewed as the main regions where Neolithic cultures developed early. Neolithic cultures emerged later in areas of extreme climatic conditions in comparison. In South China, because of the easy accessibility of wild plant and animal food resources in the tropical forests, domestication and cultivation developed slowly. As we show in this chapter, archaeological data and environmental reconstructions indicate that regional environmental conditions and their changes affected the ways in which local cultures evolved. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010.