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Archaeological Records of Dadiwan in the Past 60 Ka and the Origin of Millet Agriculture

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Archaeological Records of Dadiwan in the Past 60 Ka and the Origin of Millet Agriculture Articles Geology June 2010 Vol.55 No.16: 1636−1642 doi: 10.1007/s11434-010-3097-4 SPECIAL TOPICS: Archaeological records of Dadiwan in the past 60 ka and the origin of millet agriculture ZHANG DongJu1, CHEN FaHu1*, BETTINGER R L2*, BARTON L2, JI DuXue1, MORGAN C3, WANG Hui4, CHENG XiaoZhong5, DONG GuangHui1, GUILDERSON T P6 & ZHAO Hui7 1 Key Laboratory of West China’s Environmental System (MOE), Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; 2 Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; 3 Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA; 4 Gansu Province Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Lanzhou 730000, China; 5 Preservation Institute of Dadiwan, Qin’an 741600, China; 6 Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA; 7 Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China Received June 22, 2009; accepted November 2, 2009 This paper reports the recent excavation of Unit Dadiwan06 at the Dadiwan site in Qin’an County, Gansu. A 65 ka chronological framework is established for Dadiwan06 on the basis of absolute dating (AMS 14C and OSL), stratigraphy, climate change events and archaeology. Artifact distributions reveal patterns of human behavioral variation and adaptation over the past 60 ka, from primitive hunting and gathering to advanced hunting and gathering, to primitive Neolithic agriculture, and finally to advanced Neolithic agriculture. Dadiwan site, Loess-Paleosol stratigraphy, hunting and gathering, millet agriculture origin, stone tool technology Citation: Zhang D J, Chen F H, Bettinger R L, et al. Archaeological records of Dadiwan in the past 60 ka and the origin of millet agriculture. Chinese Sci Bull, 2010, 55: 1636−1642, doi: 10.1007/s11434-010-3097-4 North China is one of a dozen or more places around the evolved from the advanced hunter-gatherer adaptation rep- world where hunter-gatherers invented agriculture without resented by North China Microliths [8−10], as both of them the help of pre-existing farmers. About 8000 a BP, agricul- indicate patterns of intensive resource procurement. There- ture based on foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and broomcorn fore, the study of the people who made the microblades millet (Panicum miliaceum) began to appear across North should provide information about the evolution of millet China [1−4]. New studies from the Cishan site in Hebei farming. Although some sites containing both Paleolithic show that broomcorn millet was an important resource as and Neolithic records have been found in China [11,12], no early as 10 ka BP, but that foxtail millet was not important specific study of the development of millet farming from until sometime after 8700 a BP [5]. The timing of early hunting and gathering has been done [13,14]. Consequently, plant domestication in China is a topic of considerable the transition to agriculture in China is not as well under- popularity, but with few exceptions [6,7], explanations for stood as similar transitions in other parts of the world [15]. the origin and development of agriculture receive much less Enhanced study of Chinese Microlithic and Early Neo- attention. It is widely believed that millet farming in China lithic remains may help to solve these problems. But there is still a problem that the archaeological assemblages of early millet farming and the archaeological assemblages of the *Corresponding authors ([email protected]; [email protected]) North China Microliths are very different. Microblades and © Science China Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010 csb.scichina.com www.springerlink.com ZHANG DongJu, et al. Chinese Sci Bull June (2010) Vol.55 No.16 1637 microblade cores are common in North China Microlithic suggesting that agriculture was an important subsistence sites (for example, Xiachuan, Xueguan, Shizitan, Hutouli- pursuit [20]. As with all early millet-based agricultural sites ang) [10] (Figure 1), but are rare or absent in the early millet in North China, no evidence of a pre-agricultural hunting farming sites (for example, Cishan [5,16], Peiligang [17], and gathering occupation was found at Dadiwan. In 2002, Xinglonggou [18], Yuezhuang [19] and Dadiwan [20]) archaeological surveys of the surrounding region revealed a (Figure 1). Therefore, two important pieces to the puzzle of Late Pleistocene stone-tool technology focused on the direct, agricultural origins in North China are first, the absolute and bipolar reduction of quartz [28,29]. This recently named dating of Microlithic and Early Neolithic sites related to the “Zhuang Lang-Tong Xin” complex (32−18 ka BP) includes origin of millet-based agriculture and second the environ- previously known Paleolithic sites, such as Changweigou mental and cultural contexts of this behavioural transition. and Shuangbuzi [30,31]. In 2004, test excavations at Dadi- Recent excavations at Dadiwan, the earliest example of wan revealed a microblade technology related to the millet-based agriculture in Northwest China, provide data pre-agricultural North China Microliths. Our 2006 work that address both of these issues. This paper describes the with Unit Dadiwan06 demonstrates the stratigraphic and results of these excavations and a preliminary evaluation of developmental relationship between the Zhuang Lang-Tong the transition from hunting and gathering to millet agricul- Xin Paleolithic, the North China Microlithic, and the earliest ture at Dadiwan. farming phase at Dadiwan. Because the Dadiwan site is a protected national land- mark, our work was limited to three 1× 2 m units (together 1 Dadiwan site and Unit Dadiwan06 named Dadiwan06) excavated in 10 cm levels and screened through 3.0 mm mesh. Artifact distributions justify dividing Located in Shaodian Village, Qin’an County, Gansu Prov- the 7.1 m of cultural deposit into six provisional compo- ince, China (105°54′14″E, 35°0′54″N), Dadiwan (Figure 1) nents (Component 1−6) with a sterile level at the bottom is the oldest known example of the Dadiwan (or Laoguantai) called Component 0. We describe only the ceramics and cultural complex, which is the westernmost example of chipped stone, which are the bulk of the archaeological as early millet agriculture in North China. The original exca- semblage. vations of 1978 to 1984 [21−26] revealed a five phase cul- The profile of Unit Dadiwan06 is a classic loess-paleosol tural sequence. The first two phases represent early millet section composed of early Malan Loess (L1L2), interstadial farming. The earliest Dadiwan phase (7800−7300 a BP) paleosol (L1S1), late Malan Loess (L1L1) and Holocene contained small amounts of domesticated broomcorn millet soil(S0) (Figure 2), compatible with the loess-paleosol sec- (Panicum miliaceum). It represents primitive or “low-level” tion of Yuanbao [32] in the same region. The hydrological [27] millet farming. The following phases (Early Yangshao, investtigation in Dadiwan site conducted by the hydrology 6500−5900 a BP, Middle Yangshao, 5900−5500 a BP, and and geology investigation academy shows that loess deposi- Late Yangshao, 5500−4900 a BP), contain abundant remains tion in the Dadiwan I area is about 13 m thick, underneath of both broomcorn millet and foxtail millet (Setaria italica) which is fluvial sand, gravel and water-embedded riverbed Figure 1 Distribution of important Microlithic sites (triangles) and early agriculture sites (circles) in North China. 1638 ZHANG DongJu, et al. Chinese Sci Bull June (2010) Vol.55 No.16 gravel1). The description of the stratigraphy is as follows gation shows that Malan loess could reach as deep as 13.0 m (Figure 2(a)): in this area. This stratum is full of carbonate powder above Holocene soil (S0): 0−1.85. The soil is highly disturbed 8.2 m, where three 5-cm-thick carbonate nodule layers are by human activity and full of charcoal. The top 0.5 m is interbedded. Carbonate nodules are usually with diameters modern deposition. From 0.5 to 0.8 m, it is dark brown and of 2−3 cm. The bottom of this stratum has weak soil devel- massive A/B horizon soil, where many sherds are collected. opment. From 0.8 to 1.3 m, it is light grey B horizon soil full of car- bonate powder and a few small carbonate nodules. An early Yangshao house feature is found at depths of 0.8 to 1.0 m. 2 Methods and chronological sequence From 1.3 to 1.85 m, it is light grey and massive soil with lots of root holes, rodent burrows and worm castings. Abundant Nine pieces of charcoal and one piece of animal bone were microliths and sherds are found from 1.5 to 1.7 m. chosen for radiocarbon dating. A single bulk soil sample Late Malan loess (L1L1): 1.8−3.5 m. The sediment is from 2.5 m was collected and dated by conventional radio- classic Malan loess, which is loose and relatively coarse. carbon dating to evaluate bioturbation of charcoal in the soil Natural cracks are observed and rodent burrows are com- profile. Radiocarbon dates estimated younger than 26000 mon. rcybp were calibrated with Cal04, using the Intcal04 cali- Interstadial paleosol (L1S1): 3.5−7.1 m. This stratum is bration curve [33]; older dates were set to a calendar scale moderately compacted grey soil with indistinct top limit but using the downloadable version of the CalPalradiocarbon clear bottom limit. At depths of 4.5 and 6.2 m, soil devel- calibration software package and the CalPal-2007HULU com- oped relatively weakly, with obviously light color. Root parative curve [34]. All dates reported in text are in calen- holes and rodent burrows are common in the whole stratum. dar years before present (cal a BP). OSL samples were col- Early Malan loess (L1L2): 7.1−8.5 m.
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