Quaternary International 521 (2019) 75–84 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint Thiessen polygon analysis and spatial pattern evolution of Neolithic cultural sites (8.0–4.0 ka BP) in Huaibei Plain of Anhui, East China T ∗ ∗∗ Li Wua, , Hui Zhoua, Jiaoyang Lib, Kaifeng Lic, , Xiaoling Suna, Shuguang Lua, Linying Lia, Tongxin Zhud, Qingchun Guoe,f a Provincial Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Regional Response in the Yangtze-Huaihe River Basin, School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, 241002, China b Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China c College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China d Department of Geography, University of Minnesota Duluth, MN, 55812, USA e School of Environment and Planning, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, 252000, China f State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, 710061, China ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: The Thiessen polygon concept was applied to analyze how Neolithic sites were gathered and the features of Thiessen polygon agriculture, living environment and transportation in the Huaibei Plain, Anhui Province, East China, in the Neolithic cultural site Shishanzi cultural period (8.0–6.5 ka BP), Dawenkou cultural period (6.5–4.5 ka BP), and Longshan cultural Huaibei Plain period (4.5–4.0 ka BP). The Thiessen polygon analysis method was effective in determining the settlement center Site catchment analysis of the region and helped to confer the complex relationships among agriculture, the living environment and Holocene civilization transportation during the Neolithic Age. From the Shishanzi cultural period to the Longshan cultural period, a East China growing number of small polygons showed enhancement in the degree of gathering and cultural communication. In the Dawenkou and Longshan cultural periods, the central part of Huaibei Plain was the settlement center and the distance from the center of each Thiessen polygon to its edges was decreasing. This indicates that the ancients' dependence on agriculture and development conditions increased over the three cultures. The devel- opment of Neolithic cultures was also affected by the environmental changes in the Huaibei Plain. From the Shishanzi cultural period to the Longshan cultural period, the climate tended to be dry, and the area of marsh decreased. However, there was little change in temperature, which was beneficial to the ancients' lives and production. Not only did cultural sites and small polygons increase constantly, but groups of sites and settlement centers also appeared in the central part of plain and areas along the main stream of the Huai River. The Neolithic culture developed vigorously, and the abilities of ancients to adapt to environment and transform nature gradually improved. The NW to SE direction of the small polygons’ distribution suggests the control of the ancient rivers on transportation in the Huaibei Plain. 1. Introduction van Andel, 1984; Bintliff and Snodgrass, 1985; Bintliff et al., 2010). Site catchment analysis focuses on the distance and time taken for ancient Site catchment analysis is a method for studying the spatial dis- people to go out from the site and obtain natural resources. The method tribution of archaeological sites based on environmental archaeology is conducted as follows: the first step is investigation and analysis of the (Vita-Finzi et al., 1970; Bintliff et al., 2010; Li et al., 2013; Cui et al., environment around a site; the second step is speculation about the 2018; Storozum et al., 2018; Zheng et al., 2018; Yan et al., 2019). After scope of ancient people's daily activities and how they may have ob- being verified in the field successfully in 1970, this method was pro- tained resources with the site as a center; and the third step is in- moted and applied across Europe and has become one of the major vestigation of the evolution of the man–land relationship at such a site methods in the archaeological research field in the west (Vita-Finzi (Bintliff et al., 2010; Perakis and Moysiadis, 2011; Lu and Yang, 2013; et al., 1970; Jacobi et al., 1976; Bailey and Davidson, 1983; Pope and Wu et al., 2014; Yan et al., 2015; Kompatscher et al., 2016; Scoz et al., ∗ Corresponding author. ∗∗ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (L. Wu), kfl[email protected] (K. Li). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.06.005 Received 21 December 2018; Received in revised form 7 May 2019; Accepted 4 June 2019 Available online 07 June 2019 1040-6182/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. L. Wu, et al. Quaternary International 521 (2019) 75–84 2016; Tripković and Penezić, 2017; Bebermeier et al., 2018; Amati free days. The abundant rain synchronizes with high temperature in et al., 2019). summer. The southern boundary of the Huaibei Plain is the Qinling With the continuous development and improvement, site catchment Mountain–Huai River Line, a geographic boundary that defines the analysis now can be realized in two main ways: the first is field study, natural and human geographic characteristics of the Huaibei Plain which needs to establish an irregular circle with the site as a center; and (Jiang et al., 2018). The Huaibei Plain of Anhui is subject to a monsoon the second is to carry out Thiessen polygon analysis for the site, which climate in the warm temperate zone (Zhou et al., 2016; Zhang et al., represents the scope of daily affairs and production activities of people 2018). In spring and summer, the climate is warm and rainy with at the prehistoric site. prevailing southeastern wind, whereas in autumn and winter, the cli- From the perspective of cultural development, the Huai River basin mate is dry with less precipitation and prevailing northwestern wind. is one of the major areas of collision and exchange of ancient cultures Cinnamon Soil in this region is fertile (Anhui Survey and Design between the eastern coastal region and the central–western hinterland, Institute of Water Conservancy and Hydropower and Institute of Soil and between the Yangtze River basin and the Yellow River basin Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1976), with arable land of (Huang et al., 2006; Liu and Feng, 2012; Yang et al., 2016; Luo et al., 21,400 km2, or 47.8% of the total arable land in Anhui Province and the 2016, 2019). It is also an important area in which Chinese civilization agricultural population is 15,263,000 (Liu et al., 2016). The region has originated and spread. The Huaibei Plain of Anhui Province, located in been an important agricultural zone throughout history. the middle and eastern part of the Huai River basin, generally has a The overflow of the Yellow River to the south of the Huang-Huai- plain topography and borders the provinces of Jiangsu, Shandong and Hai Plain after the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD) contributed sub- Henan in the east, north and west, respectively. The low bedrock area stantially to the present natural geographic environment of the Huaibei and hills are present in the northern plain. Because the Huaibei Plain of Plain and changed the geographic environment of the prehistoric Anhui is located at the southern end of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, its period (Hu et al., 2009; Zou, 2013; Ren, 2015; Zhang et al., 2016). main landform in modern times is the alluvial plain formed through Influenced by the numerous occurrences of the Yellow River overflow long-term silt alluviation of the Huai River and the Yellow River (Chen, to the south of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, the ancient riverbed has 2007). The plain appears in inclined form from northwest to southeast changed greatly throughout history in the place which is now the area and takes the Huai River as its main water system. In addition, nu- north of the Huai River (Editorial Office of Chorography of Water merous tributaries flow into the Huai River from northwest to south- Conservancy of Anhui Province, 2010). Because there has been no east. Because of the favorable climate and abundant resources, such systematic and reliable mapping of the position for prehistoric riverbed areas were important settlement sites for ancient people (Huang et al., migration in the Huaibei Plain, the specific relation between settlement 2006; Luo et al., 2016; Yang et al., 2016). Archaeological excavations site and river system is not discussed. and studies show there was a developed Neolithic culture with nu- merous sites in this region (Liang et al., 1993; Huang et al., 2006; Chen, 3. Neolithic site catchment analysis 2007). In the Neolithic Age, three periods consecutively evolved: the Shishanzi culture (8.0–6.5 ka BP), Dawenkou culture (6.5–4.5 ka BP), 3.1. Thiessen polygons of Neolithic cultural sites and Longshan culture (4.5–4.0 ka BP). The economy of Shishanzi cul- ture relied on fishing and hunting, and its agriculture was at a primitive There is a total of 128 discovered Neolithic sites in the Huaibei Plain stage. Dawenkou culture evolved from primitive agriculture to hoe- of Anhui, including eight sites from the Shishanzi cultural period, 44 farming agriculture. Longshan culture evolved into an economic model sites from the Dawenkou cultural period, and 76 sites from the of livelihood based on farming. There are distinctive cultural char- Longshan cultural period, which basically cover all developmental acteristics for each of the three periods, which have a high continuity stages and types of Huai culture in Anhui (Liang et al., 1993; Huang from the perspective of prehistoric cultural sequence. The Huaibei Plain et al., 2006; Chen, 2007; Zhang et al., 2010; Cao and Zhu, 2011). covers most of the Neolithic cultural sites of the Huai River basin in Therefore, this is an ideal region for the study of the evolution of Anhui and it is one of the regions where the Neolithic cultural sites are Neolithic culture and settlement sites.