Chinese Journal of Nature ›› 2025, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (2): 139-146.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2024.03.015

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Relationship between spatial and temporal distribution and climatic evolution of Middle Holocene sites in northern Shanxi region

LI Lian, TIAN Qingchun, GUO Lei, CAO Weiming   

  1. ① College of Geographical Sciences, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan 030000, China; ② Academy of Chinese Early Civilization, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan 030000, China; ③ Taiyuan Cultural Relics Protection Institute, Taiyuan 030025, China
  • Received:2024-02-04 Online:2025-04-25 Published:2025-01-08

Abstract:   Based on ArcGIS10.8 software and combined with the nearest neighbor index and kernel density analysis, the spatial and temporal evolution of 546 sites in the Middle Holocene in the northern Shanxi region of China was studied. The results show that: during the Yangshao Culture period, the sites were concentrated along the Yellow River in the western part of the study area; during the Longshan Culture period, the number of sites surged and their distribution expanded, with the most concentrated distribution of sites in the Xinding basin; during the Xia and Shang periods, the number of sites decreased and their density diminished, with a significant decrease in the number of sites in the Datong Basin, concentrating in the Xinding Basin. Although the degree of warmth and humidity declined during the Longshan Culture period, the Longshan Culture gradually prospered due to the advancement of agricultural technology and the diversification of subsistence economy, and the ability of human beings to adapt to environmental changes. 4.0 ka BP and around the time of the climatic extremes led to the downward trend of precipitation and temperature, the reduction of cultivated land area, and tensions over human-land relations, which further triggered the social unrest, resulting in the sudden decrease of the number of sites in the Xia and Shang Dynasties and the decline of the culture.