Browsing by Author "Ji, M"

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    Early bronze in two Holocene archaeological sites in Gansu, NW China
    (Elsevier, 2009-11) Dodson, JR; Li, XQ; Ji, M; Zhao, KL; Zhou, XY; Levchenko, VA
    Understanding of the origin and development of bronze technology in eastern Asia remains unresolved. Here we report on the distribution of copper and associated cations in sediments from Huoshiliang in northwestern Gansu, China, strontium and lead isotope analyses of ore and slag samples, and some artifact fragments at archaeological sites at Ganggangwa and Huoshiliang in the Black River valley. We conclude that bronze production began perhaps as early as 2135 BC and that the Baishantang modern mine site at Dingxin was a possible source of copper ore. There was at least one other, but currently unidentified, source of ore. The Bronze Age people were also farmers and planted cereals such as wheat, and they may have abandoned the region when wood was exhausted and desertification took over. © 2009, Elsevier Ltd.
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    Impact of agriculture on an oasis landscape during the late Holocene: Palynological evidence from the Xintala site in Xinjiang, NW China
    (Elsevier Ltd., 2013-10-17) Zhao, KL; Li, XQ; Zhou, XY; Dodson, JR; Ji, M
    Pollen and charred seeds from the Xintala site within the Yanqi Oasis of Xinjiang in Northwest China were investigated to understand the impact of early agriculture on an oasis landscapes. The data show the original vegetation was meadow steppe dominated by Asteraceae and Poaceae. Wheat-growing agriculture reshaped the landscape by destroying the original vegetation and expanding the farmland area in ca. 3900-3600 cal BP. The high percentage of Typha pollen is likely to have resulted from selective harvesting of cattail for domestic uses. Persistent and probably over-irrigation may have led to an increase in soil salinity as evidenced by dramatic increases in Chenopodiaceae and Nitraria pollen percentages. The land salinization possibly resulted in the weakening of agricultural activity and later the abandonment of farmland after ca. 3600 cal BP at the Xintala site. © 2013, Elsevier Ltd.
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    The impact of early smelting on the environment of Huoshiliang in Hexi Corridor, NW China, as recorded by fossil charcoal and chemical elements
    (Elsevier, 2011-05-15) Li, XQ; Sun, N; Dodson, JR; Ji, M; Zhao, KL; Zhou, XY
    Recent research has greatly increased our knowledge of early human impacts on the environment. Records of fossil charcoal and chemical elements from a bronze smelting site at Huoshiliang, in the Hexi corridor of northwest China, provide material with which to estimate the extent of smelting activity and its impact on the environment. Analysis of the microstructure of wood fossil charcoal is used to identify the types of charred wood and to reconstruct the local vegetation present during the period of smelting. Four wood types were used as firewood for smelting: Tamarix, Populus, Salix, and Polygonaceae. The assemblages of fossil charcoal showed that Tamarix was the most dominant shrub and was widely used as firewood, as a percentage of charcoal it increased from 89% to 97% over the smelting period. Populus. Polygonaceae and Salix were much less common and finally disappeared completely. When the trees and shrubs were used as fuel, the vegetation cover was reduced and erosion rates increased. This erosion increase was recorded in the higher values of the Rb/Sr ratio in the lacustrine sediment of Tiaohu lake, located near the Huoshiliang site. The deforestation caused by smelting activity sharply reduced the vegetation coverage and had serious impacts on the environment. When the available fuel wood ceased to meet the needs of smelting and human settlement, the Huoshiliang site was eventually abandoned in about 1860 BC. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V.