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Journal of Geographical Sciences >

2024 , Vol. 34 >Issue 4: 681 - 698

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-024-2223-1

Research Articles

Different trajectories of livelihood transformations in response to the trans-Eurasian exchange in agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions of north China during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age

  • DONG Guanghui , 1, 2 ,
  • LIANG Huan 1 ,
  • LU Yongxiu 1 ,
  • WANG Jia 1
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  • 1. Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
  • 2. Zhaotong University, Zhaotong 657000, Yunnan, China

Dong Guanghui (1977‒), Professor, specialized in environmental archaeology and environmental change research. E-mail:

Received date: 2023-06-21

  Accepted date: 2024-01-11

  Online published: 2024-04-24

Supported by

National Natural Science Foundation of China(41825001)

NSFC-INSF Joint Research Project(42261144670)

Academician and Expert Workstation of Yunnan Province(202305AF150183)

European Research Council(ERC-2019-ADG 883700-TRAM)

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Abstract

Significant spatiotemporal variation in human livelihood patterns and its relationship to trans-Eurasian exchange and climate change in north China during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age, has been intensively studied in recent years, but the comprehensive influence of natural and social factors on this variation is not well understood. Therefore, we analyze archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological and carbon isotopic data from late Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions of north China. Our results demonstrate human subsistence strategies transformed at different speeds in these three geographic areas after wheat, barley, and sheep, goats, and cattle were introduced into north China. Introduced crops and livestock dominated human livelihoods in pastoral regions and became important subsistence in areas above ~1500 m a.s.l. in agro-pastoral regions after ~3600 BP. In agricultural regions, indigenous millet crops were the most important subsistence throughout 6000- 2200 BP, but wheat use increased significantly around 2700 BP. Our study suggests that the introduction of new crops and herbivorous livestock related to the prehistoric trans-Eurasian exchange, and their adaptive advantage in high-cold environments might have rapidly facilitated human adaptability and social development in pastoral regions and northwest margin of agro-pastoral regions during the Bronze Age.

Key words： subsistence strategy; 6th-3rd Millennium BP; north China; human-land relation; long-distance exchange

Cite this article

DONG Guanghui , LIANG Huan , LU Yongxiu , WANG Jia . Different trajectories of livelihood transformations in response to the trans-Eurasian exchange in agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions of north China during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age[J]. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2024 , 34(4) : 681 -698 . DOI: 10.1007/s11442-024-2223-1

1 Introduction

The emergence and gradual strengthening of trans-Eurasian exchange beginning in late Neolithic period led to the profound transformation in spatiotemporal patterns of human subsistence strategies extensively across the Old World during Bronze Age (Spengler et al., 2014; Dong et al., 2017; Miller and Makarewicz, 2019; Dong et al., 2022a; Dong et al., 2023; Wen et al., 2023). Wheat, barley, cattle, and sheep were first domesticated in southwest Asia, and broomcorn and foxtail millet were originated from North China (Zeder, 2008; Lu et al., 2009; Zhao et al., 2020). They had been utilized together in some regions of Central and East Asia during the late 5th Millennium BP, such as the West Tianshan Mountains (Spengler et al., 2014), Altai Region (Zhou et al., 2020), Western Pamir (Spengler, 2015), and the along mid-lower reaches of the Yellow River in north China (Long et al., 2018; Chen et al., 2020; Liu et al., 2021). Mixed use of these crops and livestock had expanded into much of Eurasia since the Bronze Age (Jones et al., 2011; Spengler et al., 2014; Janz et al., 2020; Ottoni et al., 2021), and the spatial differentiation of human livelihoods increased substantially versus the Neolithic era (Chen et al., 2015; Frachetti et al., 2017; Song et al., 2021), especially in north China (Dong et al., 2022c; Ma et al., 2022, 2023a).
While cattle, sheep, wheat, and barley spread to north China before ~4500 BP (Flad et al., 2007; Hermes et al., 2020; Zhou et al., 2020), these introduced crops and livestock were adopted as essential subsistence at varying times among regions after 4000 BP (Dong et al., 2022a). For instance, wheat, barley, sheep, and cattle were introduced into the Gansu-Qinghai Region of northwest China around 4000 BP (Dodson et al., 2013; Ren et al., 2022). Wheat became the staple food in the Hexi Corridor at ~3700 BP (Zhou et al., 2016). Barley cultivation and sheep and cattle herding being the dominant sources of subsistence facilitated permanent and extensive human settlement in the high altitude areas of northeast Tibetan Plateau since ~3600 BP (Chen et al., 2015; Dong et al., 2016a). Humans adopted different livelihoods, however, along the eastern ancient Silk Road during 3500-2200 BP (Ma et al., 2023c). On a larger spatial scale, significant discrepancy in Bronze Age subsistence strategies in north China are apparent, especially between the North China Plain and the arc, where extend from northeastern China, Gansu-Qinghai Region to Yunnan Province and acted as the key area of early trans-Eurasian exchange with unique cultural characteristics (Tong, 1987; Rawson, 2017; Dong et al., 2021a; Rawson et al., 2021; Ma et al., 2022). Livelihood transformation trajectories in different regions of north China during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age, and their relationships with the trans-Eurasian exchange have not yet to be comprehensively examined from the perspective of both natural and social factors.
North China can be divided into agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions based on environmental factors (e.g., hydrothermal conditions, vegetative cover, and landscapes) and the economic significance of agriculture and animal husbandry (Zhang et al., 2008; Shi and Shi, 2018; Ye, 2019). Therefore, exploring diachronic changes in human subsistence strategies in agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions of north China during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age is valuable for understanding how human societies responded to changing living environments after the emergence and intensification of the trans-Eurasian exchange. In this paper, we systematically analyze archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological, and carbon isotopic data of human bone collagen from late Neolithic and Bronze sites from agricultural, pastoral and agro-pastoral regions in north China. Our work reveals a markedly asynchronous pattern for the adoption of introduced crops and livestock in those different regions during the Bronze Age, and provides a new perspective on human-environment interactions among varying natural and cultural landscapes during 6000-2200 BP.
Figure 1 The distribution of late Neolithic and Bronze sites with archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological, and carbon isotopic data of human bone collagen in agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions of north China

2 Methods

2.1 Data collection and analyses

Data were collected from 425 archaeobotanical sources, 138 zooarchaeological sources, and 105 carbon isotope signatures from human bone collagen from a total of 415 late Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in north China. In recent years, the spatiotemporal variation in human subsistence strategies in different areas has been intensively discussed based on systematic reviews of published archaeological data (e.g., Yang et al., 2019; 2020; Cao and Dong, 2020; Du et al., 2020; Li et al., 2020a; Dong et al., 2021a; 2022a; 2022b; 2023c; Ma et al., 2023a). We add new archaeological data to this growing body of literature (e.g., Dong et al., 2022d; Ren et al., 2022; Cheng et al., 2023; Wang et al., 2023). As there are significant differences in seed size between crops, the numbers of seeds detected remains does not necessarily reflect the absolute proportions of different crops in human subsistence. We estimated the crop proportions using average weights in order to account for seed size differences and more accurately determine the actual contribution of the five main crop plants, following Zhou et al. (2016) and Yang (2022):
$P(\text{S})=\frac{{{N}_{\text{S}}}\times {{F}_{\text{S}}}}{N1\times F1+N2\times F2+N3\times F3+N4\times F4+N5\times F5}$
where N1 = number of broomcorn millet grains, F1 = 7.5 g, N2 = number of foxtail millet grains, F2 = 2.6 g, N3 = number of rice grains, F3 = 28 g, N4 = number of barley grains, F4 = 45 g, N5 = number of wheat grains, F5 = 35 g, and P (S) = actual yield percentage of that particular crop.
Zooarchaeological data analyses categorizing animals into three groups: omnivorous livestock (such as pigs and dogs), herbivorous livestock (including cattle, sheep, and horses), and wild animals (e.g., deer, gazelle, bear, hare, fox, rodent, and etc.). This allows us to analyze differences in animal exploitation strategies. Additionally, carbon isotopes have been widely used to detect subsistence strategies and dietary patterns in recent decades (Teeri and Schoeller, 1979; Tieszen et al., 1983; Barton et al., 2009; Ren, 2017; Li et al., 2020a; Dong et al., 2022e). Due to different pathways for the dark reaction of photosynthesis, there is a significant difference in the δ13C values of C3 crops (such as wheat, barley, and rice) and C4 crops (such as foxtail millet and broomcorn millet) (Bender, 1971; Smith and Epstein, 1971). Although there might be a minor contribution from wild C3 plants in the food chain (He, 2017), it is possible to determine the plant paleodiets of ancient humans by combining carbon isotope analysis of human bones with archaeobotanical data (Yang et al., 2019; Dong et al., 2022d; Ma et al., 2023b). In general, the results of carbon isotope data from human bone collagen are grouped into three signals: C4 signals (δ13C > -12‰), mixed C4 and C3 signals (-18‰< δ13C < -12‰), and C3 signals (δ13C < -18‰) (Cai and Qiu, 1984; Zhang, 2003; Ma et al., 2016).

2.2 Delineation of boundaries based on land use data

Land use/cover change (LUCC), a clear indicator of the interaction between human activities and natural ecological processes, can provide an understanding of the impacts of human activities on the environment (Liu et al., 2014; Tong et al., 2019; He et al., 2022). Agro-pastoral region, which connect farmland and grassland and is often a transition zone between agricultural and pastoral regions, is therefore a significant indicator of land use change (Li et al., 2018; Li et al., 2021). Previous studies defined the boundaries of the Farming-Pastoral Ecotone based on percentages of farmland and grassland, and less often with forest cover considered as well (Wu and Guo, 1994; Ye and Fang, 2012; Shi et al., 2017). The definition of agro-pastoral region, however, remains inconsistent (Shi and Shi, 2018). Using land use data at 1 km resolution for 2020 from the China National Land Use/Cover Change Data (CNLUCC) in the Resource and Environment Science and Data Center (http://www.resdc.cn/DOI; Xu et al., 2018), we defined the land use boundaries within north China in 10 km×10 km grids following Shi et al. (2017) as follows: (a) agricultural: cropland >15% and grassland <15%; (b) pastoral: grassland >15% and cropland <15%; (c) agro-pastoral: both cropland and grassland >15%.

3 Results and discussion

Wheat, barley, and sheep entered the Altai Region, including the Tongtian Cave site in north Xinjiang, around 5200 BP (Hermes et al., 2020; Zhou et al., 2020), and cattle was also introduced into northeast China at the same time (Cai et al., 2018). Remains of these crops and livestock were detected from a few sites dated between 6000-4300 BP, but more frequently appeared in sites dated to 4300-3600 BP in the arc of north China (e.g., Hu et al., 2008; Fargo, 2014; Ye, 2015; Brunson et al., 2016; Ren et al., 2022). These introduced crops and livestock became the dominant human subsistence around 3600 BP in some areas of China, such as the northeastern Tibetan Plateau (Chen et al., 2015; Dong et al., 2016a). Meanwhile, a pastoral economy was likely introduced into northwest China around 2700 BP (Frachetti et al., 2017; Yang et al., 2019), when the significance of wheat in human diets in the Central China Plains clearly increased (Li et al., 2020c). Therefore, to explore variations in livelihood transformations in agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions of north China and influencing factors, we divided the late Neolithic and Bronze Age into four distinct temporal phases: 6000-4300 BP, 4300-3600 BP, 3600-2700 BP and 2700-2200 BP.

3.1 Diachronic changes in human livelihoods in agricultural, pastoral and agro-pastoral regions of north China during late Neolithic and Bronze Age

During 6000-4300 BP in agricultural regions, millet crops accounted for the primary plant subsistence in 13 of 15 sites, and the weight of rice exceeded that of millets in only two sites (Figures 2 and 3). The dominance of rain-fed agriculture based on the cultivation of foxtail and broomcorn millet in agricultural regions during that phase is also apparent in carbon isotopic data of human bone collagen (Figures 2 and 5). C4 signals exceeding 95% in 4 of 6 sites and the other two being dominated by mixed C4 and C3 signals, which may be influenced by rice or wild C3 plants. These data suggest that most important staple in agricultural regions during 6000-4300 BP were millet crops. Meanwhile, proportions of pig and dog remains were higher than those of wildlife in 12 of 14 sites and the remains of herbivorous livestock were only detected sporadically in sites dated to that phase (Figure 4; IA-CASS, 1999; QPAT, 1979). These patterns suggest humans in agricultural regions obtained meat resources mainly from omnivorous livestock and less so by wildlife hunting.
Figure 2 Spatial differentiation of archaeobotanical (A1 to A4), zooarchaeological (B1 to B4), and carbon isotopic (C1 to C4) data from late Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions of north China during four phases differentiated by time
Figure 3 Latitudinal and elevational variations of archaeobotanical data from 6000 BP to 2200 BP in agricultural (A1 to A4), pastoral (B1 to B4), and agro-pastoral (C1 to C4) regions of north China
Figure 4 Latitudinal and elevational variations of zooarchaeological data from 6000 BP to 2200 BP in agricultural (A1 to A4), pastoral (B1 to B4), and agro-pastoral (C1 to C4) regions of north China
Figure 5 Latitudinal and elevational variations of carbon isotope data of human remains from 6000 BP to 2200 BP in agricultural (A1 to A4), pastoral (B1 to B4), and agro-pastoral (C1 to C4) regions of north China
In agro-pastoral regions, proportions of millet remain far exceeded those of other crops (rice) in 70 of 72 sites and C4 signals dominated in 15 of 16 sites (Figures 2, 3 and 5). These data suggest that rain-fed agriculture was the predominant subsistence strategy during 6000-4300 BP. Proportions of wildlife remains were higher than those of omnivorous livestock in 16 of 23 sites (Figure 5), suggesting hunting game was the primary means for obtaining meat during 6000-4300 BP in agro-pastoral regions, especially in the areas above 1500 m a.s.l. or higher than 40°N (Figure 4). These areas likely had relatively abundant wildlife resources during that phase (Chen et al., 2020). Archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological, and isotopic data were reported from only a few sites dated between 6000-4300 BP in pastoral regions (Figures 3-5). These results suggest humans mainly hunted wild animals and utilized millet crops during that phase in northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, and utilized barley and wheat on the southern piedmont of the Altai Mountains in northern Junggar of Xinjiang Province (Ren et al., 2020; Zhou et al., 2020).
During 4300-3600 BP, wheat, barley, sheep, goat, and cattle were used in most areas of north China, while millet crops and rice remained the most and second important staples in agricultural regions, respectively (Figure 3). Wheat and barley served as important plant subsistence at the Xintala (~42.2°N) and Shaguoliang (~40.2°N) sites, which are located at desert oases in Xinjiang and northern Gansu (Figure 2, Zhao et al., 2013; Zhou et al., 2016). C4 signals dominated in 7 of 8 sites, and proportions of omnivorous livestock and wildlife remains far exceeded those of herbivorous livestock in all 13 sites in agricultural regions (Figures 4 and 5). These data suggest that introduced crops and livestock had not been adopted as important subsistence except in oasis of Xinjiang and northern Gansu in the agricultural zone during 4300-3600 BP. In agro-pastoral regions, introduced crops and livestock were adopted for major human subsistence in the Hexi Corridor during 4300-3600 BP. The weight of wheat and barley exceeded traditional millet crops beginning around 3700 BP, and the remains of sheep and cattle were also frequently identified from sites of that period in this area (GPICRA, 2016; Zhou et al., 2016; Ren et al., 2022). However, rain-fed agriculture, hunted game, and pig raising were still the dominant sources of subsistence in agro-pastoral regions during 4300-3600 BP, except in the Hexi Corridor (Figures 2-5). In pastoral regions, introduced crops became the primary source of plant subsistence in 2 of 7 sites, and introduced livestock became the primary source of animal subsistence in 75% of sites dated to 4300-3600 BP (Figures 3 and 4). Moreover, carbon isotopic data of human bone collagen from 2 of 3 sites were dominated by C3 signals (Figure 5). The patterns suggest humans adopted wheat, barley, sheep, and cattle as major subsistence soon after they were introduced to pastoral regions.
During 3600-2700 BP, foxtail and broomcorn millet remained the most important staples in agricultural regions (Figures 2 and 3). However, wheat and barley increased in usage compared to the former period and even became the primary plant subsistence in a few sites, such as Wangchenggang, Haojiatai, and Shaguoliang (Zhao et al., 2007; Yang, 2017; Deng et al., 2021). Humans mainly consumed millets or their byproducts in these regions, as C4 signals dominated in 5 of 6 sites (Figure 5). Horses were present in north China during the late 4th Millennium BP, and herbivorous livestock were identified from 12 of 13 sites in 3600-2700 BP (Figure 4). These patterns indicate that introduced livestock were generally utilized in agricultural regions during that phase, though they were primary sources of meat in only 2 of 13 sites (Figure 4). In agro-pastoral regions, the types of plant remains detected from 3600-2700 BP are polarized by a ~1500 m a.s.l. dividing line (Figure 3). In the areas above ~1500 m a.s.l. (e.g., the Hexi Corridor, Qinghai province), barley acted as the dominant plant subsistence in 21 of 28 sites, followed by wheat. In the areas below ~1500 m a.s.l., the proportion of millet crops was 100% in 9 of 12 sites, and wheat was the primary crop only in the Zhutong and Zhouyuan sites (Zhao and Xu, 2004; ZAT, 2011). This relationship with altitude is also evident in the isotopic data, but mixed C3 and C4 enrichment in the Tianshan Beilu and Qiongkeke sites as well, which are below 1500 m a.s.l. but higher than ~42.5°N (Figure 5, Zhang and Li, 2006; Zhang et al., 2010). As for zooarchaeological evidence, the proportions of introduced livestock remains exceeded those of omnivorous livestock or wildlife in all 7 sites analyzed (Figure 4). These results reveal spatial differentiation in human livelihoods in agro-pastoral regions with the notable increase in significance of introduced livestock and crops during 3600-2700 BP. In pastoral regions, barley dominated plant subsistence in areas above ~1500 m a.s.l., while a combination of wheat, barley and millets were cultivated in lower areas during 3600-2700 BP (Figure 3). Herbivorous livestock and wildlife accounted for primary and auxiliary animal subsistence (Figure 4), and humans mainly consumed either mixed C3 and C4 or solely C3 foods (Figure 5). These data suggest that a heavy reliance on introduced rather than indigenous crops and livestock in pastoral regions during 3600-2700 BP.
During 2700-2200 BP, archaeobotanical data revealed spatial differentiation of crop preferences in agricultural regions. Rain-fed agriculture dominated in North China Plain higher than ~36°N with weights of millets remains exceeding 80% at 4 of 5 sites, and the significance of barley far exceeded wheat and millets in the Zhaojiashuimo site in an oasis of Gansu (Figures 2 and 3, Yang, 2017). At the same time, wheat was higher than millets at 8 of 10 sites lower than ~36°N (Figures 2 and 3). Isotopic data revealed similar patterns (Figures 2 and 5). Omnivorous livestock remains were the highest in 50% of sites, while the proportions of herbivorous livestock were higher than those of omnivorous livestock or wildlife only in the Houzhaogezhuang and Shiyicheng sites (Figure 4, Li and Chen, 2020; Li et al., 2020b). Given these patterns, the significance of introduced crops and livestock was still lower than indigenous crops and livestock, though the weight of wheat in human staples was increased in low latitude areas of agricultural regions in comparison to previous periods. In agro-pastoral regions, the spatial patterns of planting strategies during 2700-2200 BP generally remained unchanged to 3600-2700 BP (Figures 2 and 3). The use of introduced livestock in animal subsistence increased in the late period, as shown by zooarchaeological evidence (Figure 4). Interestingly, a latitudinal differentiation of human diets was notable during 2700-2200 BP, with C3 signals and mixed C3 and C4 signals dominating in all 6 sites higher than ~42.5°N, and C4 signals were highest in 10 of 11 lower latitude sites (Figures 2 and 5). Combined with zooarchaeological data (Figure 2), these patterns indicate herding herbivorous livestock likely became the primary animal subsistence in northern agro-pastoral regions during 2700-2200 BP. Plant remains in sites from 2700-2200 BP in pastoral regions are similar with those from 3600-2700 BP (Figures 2 and 3), and zooarchaeological data from limited sites of that phase suggest a significant reliance on herbivorous livestock. Isotopic data suggest humans may have mainly consumed mixed C3 and C4 food in pastoral regions during 2700-2200 BP, but this needs to be further examined with data from additional sites (Figures 4 and 5).

3.2 Asynchronous livelihood transformations in agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions of north China during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age

Based on the comparative analyses of archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological, and carbon isotopic data from human bone collagen from sites dated to the late Neolithic and Bronze Age in agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions of north China (Figure 6), differing trajectories of livelihood transformations in response to the trans-Eurasian exchange can be detected. Average proportions of millet crop remains in agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions accounted for 79%, 70%, and 97% during 6000-4300 BP, and 61%, 64%, and 93% during 4300-3600 BP, respectively. These data indicate that the prevalence of rain-fed agriculture across north China during 6000-3600 BP. However, average proportions of millets and barley remains in pastoral regions were 10% and 77% during 3600-2700 BP, and 10% and 80% during 2700-2200 BP, respectively. These data indicate that there is a shift in plant subsistence patterns with the dominance of millet crops being replaced by barley in pastoral regions since ~3600 BP. In agro-pastoral regions, the average proportions of millets, barley and wheat were 46%, 44% and 10% during 3600-2700 BP, and 36%, 41%, and 23% during 2700-2200 BP, respectively. These results reveal that the transformation of planting patterns in the regions was complex with relatively high spatial differences during the Bronze Age (Figure 6). In agricultural regions, millets declined to 64% and 52% during 3600-2700 BP and 2700-2200 BP, respectively. These results reveal that foxtail and broomcorn millet remained the most important staples in the regions during the Bronze Age though their significance in plant subsistence declined. This was further supported by isotopic evidence (Figure 6). The average proportions of wheat remains increased from 1% and 6% during 6000-4300 BP and 4300-3600 BP to 25% and 36% during 3600-2700 BP and 2700-2200 BP, suggesting the use of wheat for plant subsistence gradually increased in agricultural regions during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age.
Figure 6 The average of archaeobotanical (a), zooarchaeological (b), and carbon isotopic (c) data percentages from late Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in agricultural, pastoral and agro-pastoral regions of north China across four phases differentiated by time
The average proportions of omnivorous livestock, herbivorous livestock, and wildlife remains changed variably over time among geographic regions during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age. In agricultural regions, the average proportions of omnivorous livestock, herbivorous livestock, and wildlife changed from 73%, 0%, and 27% during 6000-4300 BP to 55%, 10%, and 35% during 4300-3600 BP, 52%, 28%, and 20% during 3600-2700 BP, and 41%, 34%, and 25% during 2700-2200 BP, respectively. In agro-pastoral regions, the average proportions changed from 37%, 0%, and 63% during 6000-4300 BP to 33%, 24%, and 43% during 4300-3600 BP, 40%, 53%, and 7% during 3600-2700 BP, and 49%, 41%, and 10% during 2700-2200 BP. Meanwhile, the average proportions in pastoral regions changed from 1%, 0%, and 99% during 6000-4300 BP to 16%, 46%, and 38% during 4300-3600 BP, 1%, 58%, and 41% during 3600-2700 BP, and 0%, 99%, and 1% during 2700-2200 BP (Figure 6). These zooarchaeological data suggest that humans engaged in different strategies of animal exploitation in these three geographic areas during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age. In pastoral regions, human mainly relied on wild animals during the late Neolithic, herbivorous livestock during the Bronze Age (An and Chen, 2007; You, 2012; Ren, 2017; Qiu, 2020), and the contribution of omnivorous livestock as a meat resource was limited. In agro-pastoral regions, humans primarily utilized wildlife and secondarily omnivorous livestock during the late Neolithic (XBM, 1988; Hu and Sun, 2005; Chen and Zhang, 2017; Zong et al., 2021), but strategies later became diversified as herbivorous livestock, wildlife, and omnivorous livestock became primary animal subsistence in different phases among areas (Li, 2012; Chen, 2014; Brunson et al., 2016; Hu et al., 2016; Hou et al., 2021). In agricultural regions, omnivorous livestock was the primary animal subsistence during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age, but the significance of herbivorous livestock markedly increased during 3600-2200 BP versus 6000-3600 BP (Figures 4 and 6).

3.3 Influencing factors of human livelihood in agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions of north China during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age

Spatiotemporal patterns of human subsistence strategies during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age might have been influenced by many factors, such as dispersal of crops and livestock across Eurasia (Manning et al., 2013; Liu et al., 2019), agriculture intensification (Dong et al., 2016b), cultural exchange (Dong et al., 2018) and climate change (Sun et al., 2019; Dong et al., 2020; Tan et al., 2021). Asynchronous livelihood transformations in agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions of north China between 6000-2200 BP were triggered by additive effects of natural and social environment factors, especially the fitness of available plant and animal resources for the natural environments of different regions. For example, rice is most suitable for high hydrothermal conditions (Gao et al., 1987; Fahad et al., 2019), and therefore was mainly planted in agricultural regions during 6000-3600 BP when introduced crops were not yet adopted as staples. Millet crops are tolerant to drought, sensitive to frost (Tadele, 2016; Ganapathy et al., 2021), and can grow well in agricultural and agro-pastoral regions with relatively high cumulative temperature, but cannot grow well in pastoral regions where temperatures are relatively low. As illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, millet crops were consistently the primary staple in agricultural regions and agro-pastoral regions below ~1500 m a.s.l. during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age. Barley has a high tolerance for low cumulative temperature and precipitation (Goyal and Ahmed, 2012; Elakhdar et al., 2022), meaning it can grow well in cold climates, such as the Tibetan Plateau and mountainous areas in Xinjiang. While barley was not introduced to main regions of north China until ~4000 BP (Chen et al., 2015; Zhou et al., 2016; Yang, 2017), it was a major plant subsistence in pastoral regions and agro-pastoral regions above ~1500 m a.s.l. since ~3600 BP.
Intensive farming can provide adequate forage for feeding pigs, and therefore the emergence of intensive farming in north China during the 7th Millennium BP promoted the development of a pig-millet agricultural system since ~5500 BP (Dong et al., 2016a; Yang et al., 2022). During this time, pigs and dogs were utilized as major animal subsistence in agricultural regions where crop production was the dominant livelihood through the late Neolithic and Bronze Age. These omnivorous livestock were also important meat resources in agro-pastoral regions during 6000-3600 BP, but the later introduction of new crops and livestock led to reduced use of pig and dog meat during 3600-2200 BP (Figures 2, 4 and 6). The grassland and forest-steppe ecotone in pastoral regions and agro-pastoral regions are not suitable for cultivating millets and rice or raising pigs, but environmental conditions favor hunting game and herding herbivorous livestock. Wild animals were primary animal subsistence in high elevation areas of pastoral and agro-pastoral regions during 6000-3600 BP, but this changed to sheep, cattle and other introduced herbivorous livestock during 3600-2200 BP (Figures 2 and 6). In summary, the introduction of new crops and livestock, and their adaptive advantages in high-cold environments was the most important factor for the rapid transformation of subsistence strategies in pastoral and agro-pastoral regions above ~1500 m a.s.l. during the Bronze Age. Meanwhile, livelihood transformation in north China during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age was also affected by substantial climatic fluctuations (Li et al., 2015; Yang et al., 2021), agriculture intensification and expansion (Dong et al., 2016b), diffusion of pastoral economy (Frachetti et al., 2017), population growth (Lu and Teng, 2000), and cooking habits (Ritchey et al., 2020), which have been intensively discussed in recent decades (Ember et al., 2020; Li et al., 2020a; Dong et al., 2021b; Sebillaud et al., 2021; Li et al., 2023; Zhang et al., 2023).
The introduction and utilization of new crops and livestock not only promoted livelihood transformations and diversification during the Bronze Age in north China, especially in pastoral and agro-pastoral regions, but also expanded human adaptability to different living environments, including high-cold areas on the Tibetan Plateau and mountain-basin landscapes in Xinjiang and Gansu. New crops and livestock then facilitated extensive and permanent human settlement in these previously unexploited geographic environments since the early 4th Millennium BP (Zhao et al., 2013; Chen et al., 2015). Humans developed or adopted different livelihoods as they adapted to different habitats during the Bronze Age. For example, humans mainly engaged in herding sheep, yak, and cattle and cultivating barley in the east Qaidam Basin of north Tibetan Plateau (Dong et al., 2016a), herding herbivorous livestock in mountain areas and deserts, and cultivating millets, wheat, and barley in oases along the Tianshan Mountains (An et al., 2020a, 2020b). Long-distance exchange also contributed to the emergence of ancient civilizations in the Central China Plains, which is located in the transition zone between agricultural and agro-pastoral regions in north China (Lee et al., 2007; Dong et al., 2021b).

4 Conclusions

The veils of human livelihoods change during late Neolithic and Bronze Age in different geographic areas of north China is gradually revealed, with the accumulation of data sourced from archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological and stable isotope analysis in prehistoric sites. In agricultural regions, humans mainly cultivated and consumed indigenous crops (i.e., foxtail millet, broomcorn millet, and rice) and obtained meat from omnivorous livestock (i.e., pigs and dogs) during 6000-2700 BP. Wheat and herbivorous livestock (i.e., sheep, goat, and cattle) increased in importance for subsistence during 2700-2200 BP, though traditional livelihoods still remained prevalent. In pastoral regions, barley, wheat, and herbivorous livestock were rapidly adopted as important human subsistence sources after they were introduced, and became the dominant food resources between 3600-2200 BP. In agro-pastoral regions, humans mainly relied on cultivation of millet crops and hunting game, supplemented by raising omnivorous livestock during 6000-3600 BP. However, the trajectories of livelihood transformations in areas with diverged by altitude during 3600-2200 BP, when barley became the dominant cultivated crop above ~1500 m a.s.l. and foxtail and broomcorn millet remained prominent below ~1500 m a.s.l. Herbivorous livestock markedly increased in agro-pastoral regions during 3600-2200 BP versus 6000-3600 BP. The different speeds of adoption and utilization of introduced crops and livestock in agricultural, pastoral, and agro-pastoral regions after they were introduced to north China was primarily affected by their fitness for local natural environments (i.e., hydrothermal conditions and temperature). As a result, the introduction of these new subsistence resources influenced social development variably among geographic areas before the onset of the imperial period in China. However, the impact of these introduced crops and livestock on the transformation of social landscapes in Bronze Age north China is complicated and needs further evaluation.

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