Neolithic agriculture, freshwater resources and rapid environmental changes on the lower Yangtze, China

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dc.contributor.authorQin, Jen_AU
dc.contributor.authorTaylor, Den_AU
dc.contributor.authorAtahan, Pen_AU
dc.contributor.authorZhang, Xen_AU
dc.contributor.authorWu, Gen_AU
dc.contributor.authorDodson, JRen_AU
dc.contributor.authorZheng, Hen_AU
dc.contributor.authorItzstein-Davey, Fen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2011-01-27T04:26:32Zen_AU
dc.date.available2011-01-27T04:26:32Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2011-01en_AU
dc.date.statistics2011-01en_AU
dc.description.abstractAnalyses of sedimentary evidence in the form of spores, pollen, freshwater algae, dinoflagellate cysts, phytoliths and charcoal from AMS 14C-dated, Holocene-aged sequences provide an excellent opportunity to examine the responses of Neolithic agriculturalists in the lower Yangtze to changing environments. Evidence from two sites close to the southern margin of the Yangtze delta and separated by what is now Hangzhou Bay attests the critical importance to early attempts at food production of access to freshwater resources. More readily, if episodically, available freshwater resources during the early to mid-Holocene on the Hangjiahu plain may have encouraged an early reliance on rice-based agriculture, which in turn facilitated the accumulation of agricultural surpluses and cultural diversification. Cultural change was relatively attenuated and human population pressures possibly lower on the Ningshao plain, seemingly because of much more profound environmental impacts of variations in local hydrological conditions, and because predominantly saline conditions, associated with rising relative sea level, hampered the early development of irrigated agriculture. The evidence, although largely dating to the early and middle parts of the Holocene, provides a timely warning of the complexity of vulnerability to climate change-induced processes of agriculture, and indeed human activities more generally, on megadeltas in Asia. Analyses of sedimentary evidence in the form of spores, pollen, freshwater algae, dinoflagellate cysts, phytoliths and charcoal from AMS 14C-dated, Holocene-aged sequences provide an excellent opportunity to examine the responses of Neolithic agriculturalists in the lower Yangtze to changing environments. Evidence from two sites close to the southern margin of the Yangtze delta and separated by what is now Hangzhou Bay attests the critical importance to early attempts at food production of access to freshwater resources. More readily, if episodically, available freshwater resources during the early to mid-Holocene on the Hangjiahu plain may have encouraged an early reliance on rice-based agriculture, which in turn facilitated the accumulation of agricultural surpluses and cultural diversification. Cultural change was relatively attenuated and human population pressures possibly lower on the Ningshao plain, seemingly because of much more profound environmental impacts of variations in local hydrological conditions, and because predominantly saline conditions, associated with rising relative sea level, hampered the early development of irrigated agriculture. The evidence, although largely dating to the early and middle parts of the Holocene, provides a timely warning of the complexity of vulnerability to climate change-induced processes of agriculture, and indeed human activities more generally, on megadeltas in Asia. © 2011, Elsevier Ltd.en_AU
dc.identifier.citationQin, J., Taylor, D., Atahan, P., Zhang, X., Wu, G., Dodson, J., Zheng, H., & Itzstein-Davey, F. (2011). Neolithic agriculture, freshwater resources and rapid environmental changes on the lower Yangtze, China. Quaternary Research, 75(1), 55-65. doi:10.1016/j.yqres.2010.07.014en_AU
dc.identifier.govdoc3149en_AU
dc.identifier.issn0033-5894en_AU
dc.identifier.issue1en_AU
dc.identifier.journaltitleQuaternary Researchen_AU
dc.identifier.pagination55-65en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2010.07.014en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttp://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/2948en_AU
dc.identifier.volume75en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherElsevieren_AU
dc.subjectYangtze Riveren_AU
dc.subjectChinaen_AU
dc.subjectQuaternary perioden_AU
dc.subjectAgricultureen_AU
dc.subjectWater resourcesen_AU
dc.subjectFooden_AU
dc.titleNeolithic agriculture, freshwater resources and rapid environmental changes on the lower Yangtze, Chinaen_AU
dc.typeJournal Articleen_AU
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