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Subsistence and persistence: agriculture in the Central Plains of China through the Neolithic to Bronze Age transition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

Yuan Jing ,
Roderick Campbell ,
Lorenzo Castellano  and
Chen Xianglong
Yuan Jing
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeological Science, Fudan University, P.R. China Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Science, P.R. China
Roderick Campbell*
Affiliation:
Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University, USA
Lorenzo Castellano
Affiliation:
Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University, USA
Chen Xianglong
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Science, P.R. China
*
*Author for correspondence: ✉ rbc2@nyu.edu
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Abstract

The Neolithic to Bronze Age transition (c. 5000–3500 BP) saw dramatic socio-economic developments in ancient China. Complex polities emerged in many regions, only to decline and collapse by the end of the period. In the Central Plains area, however, these centuries laid the foundations for China's first dynasties. This article presents zooarchaeological, palaeobotanical and isotopic research from key sites of the Central Plains spanning the period c. 5000–3500 BP. The results demonstrate that, contrary to narratives of the climate-induced collapse of these polities, Central Plains agricultural regimes intensified and diversified during the Neolithic to Bronze Age transition.

Keywords

ChinaNeolithicBronze Ageagricultural systemszooarchaeologypalaeobotanystable isotopes
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 94 , Issue 376 , August 2020 , pp. 900 - 915
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2020

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